What to do after Year 11?

Welcome to your post- Year 11 Student Zone

Your guide to choosing between college, sixth form, an apprenticeship or T-levels in one place!

Follow us on our Instagram for exclusive student content!

Life after Year 11:

You may have heard your teachers, friends, parents or carers ask you 'What are you going to do after you leave school?', and this question may be difficult to answer right now. And that's okay!

Whether you're wondering if you should go to college, sixth form, do an apprenticeship, or if you have no idea at all, here is some information to help you make the right decision for you.

Remember that what you choose now, does not define your whole future, choose what is best for you right now!

Your options for after Year 11

College

A college is a place where you are able to study A-levels, BTEC and T-level courses. Compared to sixth-forms, colleges are often bigger and are not attached to existing secondary schools.

Due to the size of colleges, there is often a larger range of courses on offer, such as travel and tourism, construction, and health and social care.

Sixth Form

A sixth form is a place where you are able to study mainly A-level courses with BTECs as well. Sixth forms are often attached to secondary schools - your school may already have a sixth form!

There is often less subjects on offer at a sixth form, and are suitable for people wanting to study more traditional courses such as Maths, Science, or Languages to name a few.

You are able to go to a sixth form at a school that is different to the secondary school you went to.

Apprenticeships and T-Levels

Fancy working and studying at the same time?

Apprenticeships and T-levels are the perfect way to do this.

By doing an apprenticeship you are able to work 80% of your time, earning money, and study 20% of the time.

Prefer to study for more time? No need to worry - a T-level may be for you where you would study 80% of the time and work 20% of the time. One T-level is equivalent to 3 A-levels.

The answers to all your questions...

How do I apply for college or sixth form?

You can apply to colleges and sixth forms directly on the colleges/ school's website. We would recommend attending the college's and sixth form's open days which usually happen around September/ October.

How do I apply for an apprenticeship? How do I apply for a T-Level? Is is better to go to a sixth form or college? Can I go to university if I go to college?

You can certainly go to university having gone to college! Many universities will calculate entry grades differently if you did a BTEC course called 'UCAS points', meaning that you can often access the same courses as someone who went to sixth form and did A-levels.

If you have a specific university degree in mind, we would recommend researching what subjects you would need to study now to help you get onto the course.

Who should I speak to if I am unsure what to do?

We're on the road!

We may be coming to your school very soon to talk all about post-Year 11 options in our Future You Careers Roadshows.

If you would like your school to receive a ThinkHigher delivered session all about College, Sixth form, Apprenticeships and T-levels, get your teacher to email us at info@warwick.ac.uk and we will be in touch to deliver content for you.

To find out about how our roadshows have run in the past, check out our Roadshow website page.