Options galore on offer to students

THE long wait for GCSE results will come to an end today as hundreds of thousands of students discover how they fared.

And regardless of whether today's grades provide excitement or disappointment, it is important that pupils are prepared and well informed about the options available.

Young people who are unsure of their next step can speak to a careers adviser at their school or contact their local Connexions service.

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Studying A-levels could mean staying on at their existing school, moving to a different sixth-form college or a further-education college.

When making the choice it is important to look at both the range of courses on offer and the environment which pupils think will suit them best.

However schools and sixth-form colleges are not the only option out there for 16-year-olds and, equally, A-levels are far from the only academic qualification.

Pupils who are seeking a change from the school environment may wish to join a further education college to continue their studies. While the courses on offer may be similar to schools, they offer young people the chance to experience a culture more akin to university.

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For young people who decide against A-levels, there are a range of alternatives out there.

NVQs can be studied while at work or at college. They are studied at different levels, and range from a basic overview of an occupation to a specialist understanding.

Further-education colleges also offer Skills for Life qualifications which allows people who did not achieve a maths or English GCSE to achieve an equivalent certificate.

There are also a variety of courses which will allow young people to gain their first taste of work while studying for a formal

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qualification. BTECs, City & Guilds and OCR Nationals are all work-related courses which can be studied in further education.

Another option to consider is apprenticeships which combines on the job training with a nationally recognised qualifications at the end of

their course.

They are currently on offer in almost 200 different areas, ranging from accountancy to textiles, engineering to veterinary nursing, and business administration to horticulture. n For more information,

visit www.apprenticeships.gov.uk