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Education levels explained
We want to see you succeed and achieve your goals. Our courses and apprenticeships are designed to help you to achieve this. From Entry Level to Level 3 (which is equivalent to A Level), our courses will give you the skills and knowledge you need to progress further and enhance your CV.
Choosing your level
Based on your achieved or predicted GCSE grades, we can help you to choose the right level for you. For those applying to a Level 2 or Level 3 course, if you don’t have your GCSEs maths and/or English, you can retake these as part of your course, or study functional skills.
Our aim is to enable you to maximise your potential both at college and in your future. This means making sure you are studying the right type of qualification for the career you want to follow.
Professional and technical qualifications
Our technical courses, including BTEC, Cambridge Technical and City & Guilds, allow you to combine academic study with practical learning and training. These courses provide you with a wide range of employability skills such as presenting, teamwork, communication and problem solving which are gained through work placements and your classroom participation.
Technical courses are a great choice if you already have a specific career in mind as the skills you develop can relate directly to your chosen industry. They also provide you with a recognised national professional qualification, which will prepare you for further study at university level or within the work place.
What to expect
All full-time learners undertake a study programme which consists of 540 hours of study per year and is tailored to suit you. In most cases, study programmes are run over three or four days a week, 9am-4.30pm. You will have one day a week free to use as a study day, focusing time to complete wider research and assignments, or alternatively as a work placement day, to attend work experience on a regular basis.
Technical qualification
Entry Level or a Level 1, 2 or 3 qualification such as BTEC Subsidiary Diploma, 90 Credit Diploma, Diploma, Extended Diploma, Cambridge Technical, City & Guilds or other professional qualification that provides the main focus of your study programme.
Progression coaching
All learners have access to one-to-one progression coaching sessions, where you will discuss your future and the steps needed to achieve your goals, on a weekly basis. This could cover discussing a career pathway completing educational courses throughout college and university or looking at gaining skills for interviews and employment opportunities.
English and maths
If you are aged 16-18 at the start of your programme and haven’t achieved a GCSE grade 5 (previously grade C) or above in English and maths then these classes will be a key part of your study programme. Our teachers will work with you to achieve better grades, which will help you progress to the next stage of your education or your chosen career.
Work experience
At Totton College, we know how important it is to combine practical work placements and work-focused activities with classroom-based study, so there will be plenty of opportunity for you to develop your work experience while you are studying with us. Some study programmes dedicate a particular day each week to work-focused activities while others embed block placements into the academic year. Our specialist work experience coordinators will help you find a placement to complement your study programme.
Enrichment activities
You will also have the opportunity to take part in additional activities such as directed study time, e-learning, trips, events, additional qualifications and support with job and further study applications.