During Year 11, students will typically choose what they want to study after their GCSEs. Usually even in Year 10, students may start at least thinking about their future education at a college or sixth form. Students will have the option of either doing A-Levels, apprenticeships or T-Levels (BTECs are being phased out of the education system). You also may have concerns regarding what subjects you can choose for T-Levels, as they are a relatively new option.
Fear not! This article will guide you through what T-Levels are, and the current, as well as the new, T-Level subjects.
Table of Contents
Which subjects are available for T-Levels?
The first T-Levels started in September 2020, and more started in the following years. Currently, around 20 are available, ranging from management to education and childcare.
To read more about all the options available, it may be helpful to read through the T-Level UK Government list here, which also contains information for each as well as career pathways.
Below is a comprehensive list of the current T-Level subjects:
- Management and Administration
- Building Services Engineering for Construction
- Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction
- Onsite Construction
- Digital Business Services
- Digital Production, Design and Development
- Digital Support Services
- Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing
- Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing
- Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control
- Education and Childcare
- Health
- Healthcare Science
- Science
- Accounting
- Finance
- Agriculture, Land Management and Production
- Legal Services
What subjects will be available from September 2024 onwards?
Below, you can find a short list of T-Level subjects that will be introduced this year. T-Levels are expanding fast so it’s important to check the government website for up to date subjects.
- Marketing
- Hairdressing, Barbering and Beauty Therapy
- Media, Broadcast and Production
- Craft and Design
- Catering
- Animal care and Management
What are T-Levels?
T-Levels are alternative post-16 option. They combine orthodox classroom learning with hands-on industry work placements, which can be at least 315 hours, or approximately 45 days. They are equivalent to three A-Levels.
T-Levels are two-year courses carefully designed to prepare students for future study, work or training, along with teaching students specialised skills to meet the industry needs. Students learn the skills necessary as well as all the technical and practical aspects of their industry and employers.
Typically, 1,800 hours are spent on T-Levels over the two years, industry placement included!
Many schools and colleges offer T-Levels as part of their post-16 options. They are becoming more requested. As well as this, the range of options offered by T-Levels is rapidly expanding, with more options being added each year and more still in the works!
T-Levels are slowly replacing BTECs. While both those options give a broader and more nuanced understanding into specific industries, BTECs were scrapped due to criticisms of the confusing post-16 system.
To read more about this fascinating replacement, it may be helpful to check this article out from Think Student!
The requirements to continue and study T-Levels post-16 are a minimum of five GCSEs at the grades 9-4, including English Language and Maths GCSEs. Check out this article from Think Student to read more about both the age limits and other requirements!
T-Levels vs the other options
Students may wonder the difference between T-Levels and apprenticeships, and the difference between T-Levels and A-Levels, as well as what the options can give them.
For one, apprenticeships and T-Levels are both careers based, but those similarities end around there. Apprenticeships have no upper age limit (16+) and can therefore be taken by adults as well.
Apprenticeships are also 12 months or more, whereas T-Levels have a fixed duration of 2 years (in some cases, even one year). Another significant difference is that while apprenticeships pay the students, it is not the case in T-Levels.
Both T-Levels and apprenticeships have similar entry requirements, with at least 5 or 6 GCSEs grades 9-4. This can vary from course to course, such as Healthcare Science, which may also require higher science grades for the course.
It is important to always do research on specific courses. To read more about the difference between T-Levels and apprenticeships, this article from Think Student may be helpful!
Both T-Levels and A-Levels are taken in a college/sixth form setting after GCSEs. However, T-Levels typically focus on one subject, and as a result take up the equivalent of 3 A-Level courses. Meanwhile, A-Levels focus on multiple different courses (with the very max being 5).
A-Levels are usually better for those not particularly keen on going straight into industry placements, or who prefer a more rigorous and academically focused curriculum, or who just want a range of subjects to do.
To read more about the differences between A-Levels and T-Levels, check out this article from Think Student.