THE NEX-T LEVEL | Oldham College students Sharon Balogun (Merit) and Molly Walsh (Distinction) celebrating their results in the Health – Supporting the Adult Nursing Team T Level.
OLDHAM College’s first-ever set of T Level students became history makers when collecting their results (August 17).
These are the first students to complete T Levels since Oldham College launched the new courses across the Construction, Digital, Health and Healthcare Science, Education and Childcare sectors in September 2021.
T Levels are ground-breaking advanced qualifications offering learners that do well in their GCSEs a career-focused option aligned to excellence in the future world of work. Developed in close collaboration with employers, they combine the benefits of practical and theory-based learning with a mix of 80 per cent classroom-based learning and 20 per cent ‘on the job’ workplace experience.
The overall pass rate for Oldham College’s cohort was 96 per cent – which is 5.5 per cent above the national average (90.5 per cent) – and more than six in ten of the group (62 per cent) achieved a Merit or Distinction grade.
Most students have already secured job offers, apprenticeships or places on higher education courses following completion of their two-year courses.
Debra Woodruff, Oldham College’s Interim Principal, said: “This is an important milestone in the future of our learner provision and we congratulate all our T Level students and staff on these fantastic results.”
“It has been an amazing journey seeing the dedication to their studies and the personal development of these students over the last two years.
“Our unmatched links to employers across all sectors, our expert tutors and our state-of-the-art facilities all mean that Oldham College is uniquely placed locally to offer T Level students the best possible launchpads into their chosen careers. We are very proud of them all and wish them the very best for the future.”
Amongst the college’s high-flying learners is Joseph Davies who got a Distinction on his Construction – Design, Surveying and Planning course. His industry placement was with Keir Construction and he has now secured a Telecommunications Engineering apprenticeship starting with Network Rail in October.
Tom Leahy, Head of Building Engineering Services, said: “Like Joe, all our construction learners worked extremely hard to achieve these results. The feedback from their industry placements was really positive, and they’ve all grasped the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills learned here to progress to the next level in their chosen field.”
Molly Walsh, who also achieved a Distinction, was one of several success stories in the Health – Supporting the Adult Nursing Team T Level cohort. She undertook a placement at the Royal Oldham Hospital with the Northern Care Alliance and is now moving on to an apprenticeship.
Debs Wilson, Head of Caring Professions, said: “All our students showed real determination and resilience, supported by a great team of tutors, to get these results. They’re now moving onto the next stage of their careers in a variety of disciplines, and we cannot wait to see the amazing things they achieve in the future.”
Since launching in 2021, Oldham College’s T Level offer has expanded to include new courses in areas including business and administration, legal, finance and accounting.
Specialist facilities replicating ‘real world’ digital, sport science, nursery and hospital working environments have been built for T Level learners on campus and two new suites –mirroring courtroom and financial trading floor workplaces – are opening next month.
Information about places still available on T Level courses starting this September is on the Oldham College website at Oldham.ac.uk – plus details about the next Open Day event on Saturday, October 7 (10am-1pm).
