Getting pupils career and university-ready at Telford College

Holly Davies, head of the college's 7th form, said: "Telford College’s 7th Form is a ground-breaking new approach to bridging the gap between education and careers for 16 to 18 year-olds.

"Just like a traditional 6th Form, it offers school leavers academic qualifications such as A levels – in fact, the widest range of A level courses anywhere in Telford & Wrekin. But there’s much, much more to our 7th Form than that.

"It’s a brand new approach to education – the first of its kind in the UK, looking at much more than simply the academic side of students’ lives for two years.

"We’ve responded to feedback from local businesses, universities and the Government, who are all calling for young people to be more career-ready when they finish their studies.

"Our direct links to universities, and partnerships with mentors from high-profile local businesses, give students a much wider range of career options – and a greater awareness of what lies in store for them when they enter the world of work.

"The 7th Form is offering four distinct career routes in leading industries, in business, finance & legal; creative industries; social sciences & humanities; and science, technology, engineering & maths (Stem).

"Maybe you want to follow a Stem pathway. Perhaps you want a more creative route like art, photography or media?

"It’s all possible, thanks to a team of tutors with industry experience, and some fantastic business mentors who are keen to pass on their real-life experiences.

Confidence

"All of which means students can enrol in the 7th Form with the confidence of knowing that their qualifications are current and relevant, because leading employers and UK universities have worked with us to help shape the study programmes.

"Side-by-side with their academic studies, our 7th Form students get chance to work on presentations, projects and research tasks with local business mentors. We want them to benefit from that approach when it comes to producing a stand-out university application.

"Our mentors include Neale Dayus, from Telford-based finance company ReAssure Limited, who is a former student from the college."

Neale said: "Our initial focus is really on employer mentors for students that want a taste of what a career really involves. We'll come into some tutor lead sessions to spend an hour once a week with the students to run some exercises such as mock interviews and industry-based projects.

"It's very clear that as we move into the digital age we need this new generation of talent to come through, but that doesn't always require a university degree.

"It's becoming more frequent that we're seeing the students have some absolutely fantastic ideas that are good enough to be taken straight into business."

Holly added: "The opening of the 7th Form is part of a dedicated investment in an all-new academic centre at our Haybridge campus.

"It includes the creation of new music studios, two science labs, an academic study centre and a state-of-the-art virtual and augmented reality suite.

"We believe the Telford College 7th Form is truly cutting-edge. We have been offering work-related learning for many years, but this takes things to the next level.

"It’s about guiding and shaping our students to make them career and university-ready, and providing them with a priceless insight into what it takes to be successful in the world of work.

"More information about the 7th Form will be available at our next open event on November 14, from 5pm to 7.30pm."

For more details visit defineyourfuture.co.uk.