This one’s less for you and more for someone you know. If you’ve a son, daughter, grandchild, niece, nephew or family friend finishing school this summer, you’ll know it’s an exciting time – a real new chapter – but a daunting one too, with so many decisions about what comes next. GCSE results land in mid-August, and while plenty of young people will have their next step mapped out, plenty won’t. If someone you know is still weighing things up, here’s a calm, practical look at the options – and why DCG is worth a proper look.
The main routes after school
There’s no single “right” path, and that’s worth saying out loud. At Derby College Group, the choices broadly fall into four routes. A Levels are the traditional academic route towards university – students usually take three subjects over two years, with options like Core Maths or an Extended Project Qualification to strengthen a UCAS application. Vocational and technical courses give a head start in a specific career, with hands-on learning and industry placements. T Levels are newer two-year qualifications, equivalent to three A Levels, with a substantial industry placement built in. And apprenticeships let a young person earn while they learn, training on the job with a real employer.
Why Derby College?
DCG’s promise is to “create optimistic futures”, and the breadth on offer backs that up. A Levels are taught at the Joseph Wright Centre, with a wide spread of subjects from the sciences and humanities to psychology, law and economics. The vocational and technical range is vast, spread across distinctive campuses: land-based and animal care at Broomfield Hall, construction trades at the Hudson Building, creative and digital at the Joseph Wright Centre, and everything from automotive and engineering to hair, beauty, health and business at the Roundhouse. T Levels run across areas including health, digital, engineering, construction, and education and early years.
What ties it together is high-quality teaching, first-class facilities and strong employer links – so students leave properly ready for work or university. And nobody has to decide alone – the College’s regular Information Evenings are a chance to walk round, see the facilities and talk options through with the tutors who actually teach the courses.
A word on results day
If the young person in your life doesn’t get quite the grades they hoped for in August, it’s genuinely not the end of the road. Colleges are well used to helping students find the right level and route, whatever their results – there are starting points at every level, including courses designed to build up to the next step.
Pro Tip: The single most useful thing you can do is encourage them to get in touch early rather than wait. A quick call to the College on 0800 028 0289, or a look through the course options, opens far more doors than worrying in silence.
It’s a big decision, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. Whether their future lies in a workshop, a studio, a lab or a lecture theatre, there’s a route that fits – and people on hand to help them find it. If you know someone who’d value a steer, do pass this on. You can explore everything on offer at derby-college.ac.uk.