Other Courses

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a well respected qualification that allows students to progress to higher education or employment. It is broad ranging, so that students have to undertake a wider scope of subjects to gain the qualification.

Students study six subjects in total over two years. Three at studied at standard level and three at higher level. The nearest place where you can study for the IB is Newcastle College.

All students have to complete an extended essay, Theory of Knowledge component and participate in sporting or creative activities. This is so they are developing social skills and an awareness of the world around them.

The same rules apply that you should choose a course that is right for you. Every course that you will find on Routes either offered at school or elsewhere will lead to a recognised qualification and will enable you to progress to the next level should you suceed. As long as you are happy that you are choosing courses for the right reasons and they will take you where you want to go then you should have the best start.

Most courses that are not GCSEs have different names such as BTEC National Certificates, National Awards and National Diplomas. They are offered by awarding bodies such as Edexcel, OCR, City and Guilds (C+G) and NCFE. These courses are usually more practical in nature and often involve learning work-related skills for instance you can take courses in ICT, Childcare or Uniformed Services. Most people who take courses in this section have some idea of the kind of work they want to do in the future.

Not at all! As you can imagine there are thousands of different courses and putting them all into a simplified system of learning routes takes time. Many courses you can take now will still exist in the future but may have a different title. The important thing is that only those courses which really benefit the learner and will have clear progression routes into work or further learning will be allowed to run.

Employers often recognise these courses more than the newer ones being offered, but this is because many of the qualifications in this section have been around for a long time and employers respect them. In fact, many of the courses in this section assess qualities and skills directly related to the area of work being studied so they are transferable to the world of work.

BTEC qualifications are work-related awards that are designed for students who have a clear view of their future career or are seeking progression to higher education. There are over 250 BTEC subjects and most are based on the same standards used at work eg, if you are studying a BTEC National Award in Forestry and Arboriculture then what you will learn will be entirely relevant to that area of work so that you are fully prepared for it.

All qualifications are part of the qualifications table and are set at a certain level. For example, a BTEC First Diploma is a Level 1 qualification (equivalent to GCSEs grades D-G) whilst a CACHE Diploma in Childcare is a level 3 qualification and is equivalent to 2 A levels or an NVQ 3. This means you can be assured that every qualification offered by a learning provider reaches the required standard and will help you move on to the next level.