Students
As part of our motto of Learning for Life, we want you to have the very best chance to have a successful, rewarding and happy future. You will be given lots of support during your time at WPA to help you achieve this, such as Mock Interview Days, Careers Fair, Work Experience and visits. We want to inspire you to achieve your dreams!
Below, you will find lots of useful information to help you make informed choices about the next stage of your educational journey.
Post 16 options
It is compulsory for you to be in education or training until the age of 18. There are plenty of different routes to go down when you turn 16, whether that’s going to college to do A levels or a vocational course like a T level, or starting to earn while you learn, as an apprentice. You can choose:
A levels – the most traditional route for more able students who may wish to go to university. You will typically study three subjects, which can be something that you studied at GCSE, or something completely new. Most of our students go to one of the Sixth Forms listed below, but there are plenty of others that you can choose.
T Levels
T Levels are new qualifications that are an alternative to A levels. They are equivalent to 3 A levels and will allow you to go to university. You will spend 80% of your time at college learning the academic skills you need for your particular subject, and 20% of your time on a work experience placement. For more information, click on the links below.
College
If you want a more vocational route, college may be the answer for you. Here you can study a huge array of more practical subjects from plumbing to painting or hairdressing to horticulture. Depending on the level you study, they are also the equivalent of 3 A levels and are an alternative route to university. Have a look at the colleges below to see what type of course you can choose. There are lots of other FE colleges you can go to, but these are the most popular ones for our students.
Apprenticeships
If you want to get out into the world of work straight away, then an apprenticeship may be for you. An apprenticeship is a paid job where you will learn and gain valuable experience at the same time. Alongside on-the-job training, apprentices spend at least 20% of their working hours completing classroom-based learning with a college, university or training provider, which leads to a nationally recognised qualification. For more information, click on the links below.
Useful Resources
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Unifrog – this is the careers platform used by the school and it has lot of useful information about how to get into certain jobs, Labour Market Information, personality quizzes and more! Click on the link below and then the sign in box at the top right of the page. Your username is your school email address. If you have forgotten your password, click on the forgotten password link.
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Post 16 applications – when it comes to applying for college and Sixth Form places, we use a system called ps16. You will receive a username and password for this at the start of Year 11. Click on the handy guide to the application process below.
The websites below contain lots of useful information about careers, personality quizzes and the job market in Leicestershire and university.
