College Advice Team
Advice and Guidance for School Leavers
We understand that making decisions about your future can feel a little overwhelming. Our College Advice Team (CATs) are trained in information, advice and guidance and work in schools across the South West giving face to face advice and guidance about all courses and opportunities for school leavers at Exeter College.
The College Advice Team regularly visit a number of different schools, so if you would like to meet with the team to discuss your options at Exeter College then please speak to your school Careers Coordinator to find out if they will be able to arrange an appointment. If they aren’t available in your school then don’t worry, you can still contact them by phone on 01392 400600 or email at cat@exe-coll.ac.uk.
How to make a decision about your next steps
Here are some hints and tips that we hope will make the process of choosing your options for College a little easier for you:
Think about what you enjoy: Consider your hobbies, favourite subjects at school, work experience or part time job.
Talk to family, friends and your teachers: Though this is your decision, it’s a good idea to talk things through with the people who know you best.
What are your strengths? Think about your predicted grades and the subjects you’re doing well in at school. Have your teachers recommended that you study any subjects further?
Future plans: Do you want to go to uni or have you got a career plan? It’s important to select a course which will ensure these options remain available to you. If you’re not sure, then pick something that really interests you and keeps your options open.
How do we support schools and students?
The College Advice Team offer Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services on all vocational and academic school leaver courses offered at Exeter College through a range of activities and engagement:
- Annual School activity planning meetings
- Offering a wide range of activities to support schools in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks and the Provider Access Legislation (PAL), such as interactive presentations or classroom sessions
- Regular updates on students’ applications, attendance at interviews and enrolment to support successful transition
- Termly newsletters with relevant updates to college events and opportunities for prospective students & parents
- Curriculum Update Event (annual event to ensure updates to curriculum and services are widely communicated with stakeholders)
- 1:1 IAG appointments in schools for year 10/11 students
- Assemblies for years 8-11 in partnership schools to support students through their year
- Bespoke assemblies focusing on specific course types
- Attendance at school events (e.g. careers events, Mock Interview days, parents’ evenings)
- Application workshops
- Classroom sessions aimed at giving students an insight to careers and their links to courses
- Bookable IAG sessions (face to face or virtual)
- College Open Events
- College Interviews & Enrolment (Advice Zone IAG)
- Bespoke taster events and college visits throughout the year (e.g. Level 1 Aspirational visit, Academic Insights event)
- Individual and group college tours
The College Advice Team aims to ensure all prospective students have access to accurate and aspirational Information, Advice and Guidance in alignment with Exeter College’s ‘right student, right course’ ethos.
Frequently asked questions
For answers to some frequently answered questions please see below.
For school leavers we offer courses from Entry Level to Level 3, and the level you will study at College will be determined by your GCSE results. We will ask you to include your predicted or target grades on your application form, and we will use these as a guide to make sure you are offered the right level of course for you.
Your College offer is conditional upon your GCSE results, so the level of course you study at will be finalised when you enrol at College after you have received your results. When researching courses in the College course guide or on the College website you will see the entry requirements listed clearly on each course. Be sure to check these and make sure you are on track to achieve the grades required for your chosen course.
Exeter College holds several Open Events every year. Our Open Events usually run in October, November and April. Keep up to date with our Open Events by registering.
We recommend that you begin researching our courses using the College website, or College Course Guide. Another great way of finding out more about your course options is our Open Events. You can also have a chat with our College Advice Team.
We offer a wide range of courses from Entry Level to Level 3, including A Levels and vocational and technical qualifications. Students who choose to study an A Level programme will ordinarily study three different subjects, with their programme of study being made up of either three A Levels, or two A Levels and a BTEC certificate. Level 3 BTEC Certificates are each equivalent to one A Level choice.
All of our other vocational and professional qualifications, including BTECs, UAL Diplomas and other vocational courses such as T Levels, are full time study options which cannot be combined with other courses.
You can apply to us during the academic year prior to the September you wish to join, which for most students will be during year 11. We accept applications all the way through the year, however we recommend that students apply by the end of January if possible, in order to secure an early interview and College offer. You can easily apply online through the College website. In order to apply online you will need to create an account, which will allow you to manage your application and keep your information up to date. When registering online, we recommend that you use a personal email address rather than a school address, as we will use this address to contact you during the summer holidays and right up to the start of your course. For further help with completing your application, please watch this handy guide.
All students will have a College interview in order to secure an offer of a place on a course. This is a really important part of our process as it helps to ensure you are supported to find the right course for you. We interview regularly throughout the year, and we will be in touch shortly after we receive your application to confirm the details of your interview.
At your interview, we would like to know about you, your interests and what you want to do in the future. You will also be able to find out more about the course or Apprenticeship that you want to do. We will want to know about the GCSE grades that you are likely to achieve. We will also tell you about the grades you will need to get for the course that you have chosen. We want to get to know more about you so that we can make sure that you are choosing the right course or Apprenticeship for you.
What should I talk about?
- Why you have chosen your course or Apprenticeship.
- What went well or not so well for you at school.
- What you like to do outside of school e.g. hobbies or work.
- Your plans for the future.
- How you did in your mock GCSEs.
We want to see that you are positive and you are committed to your course or Apprenticeship. We want you to be relaxed, so just dress comfortably.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
When researching our courses on the College website or in the College course guide you will find that each course listing features a section about what the course can lead on to. On completion of an Entry Level, Level 1 or Level 2 course then you may be able to progress to the next level of that course at College. Level 3 qualifications, including A Levels and full time vocational and technical qualifications, allow students to progress to university, an Apprenticeship or employment. We also offer our own Higher Technical Education courses at Exeter College which are a great progression route from a number of our courses.
As a student at College you will have access to support from the Future Steps team you will help advise you about your next steps weather it be as an Apprentice, in the world of work or if you plan to go to University. In the meantime the website Informed Choices is a great way to start.
There are lots of useful websites which you can use to research your future career plans, and which can help you to ensure that you choose the right course or courses at College. You can use their job search tools to research different careers and check the entry requirements section of the job profiles to make sure you are choosing the right courses at College:
If you’re planning to go to university then we recommend that you use the UCAS website to research university degrees and their entry requirements. For some degrees it will be essential that you have studied certain subjects at College, so it’s important that you do your research now to make sure you are choosing the right courses for your future.
Still have Questions?
Don’t worry, the College Advice Team are here to help! They are available all year round to support you to make the right choices.
Contact us on 01392 400600 or cat@exe-coll.ac.uk.
Useful Resources
We understand that making decisions about your future can be daunting and that you need to research your options in detail. Below are some resources we’ve created or compiled to assist you in making informed decisions about your future studies.
- This presentation aims to give you a brief introduction to your options at Exeter College, so whether you’re beginning your decision-making process or you’re a school leaver looking to finalise your decision, watch this presentation to find out more about the options available to you at Exeter College.
- The how to decide leaflet contains useful tips on choosing the right course for you as well as information about the types and levels of courses on offer. We have listed some handy websites for you to carry out research into careers, higher education and Apprenticeships.
- Don’t our forget to look at our Course Guide and come to an Open Event.
Other Useful Contacts
There may be other questions that you may have that are not just about the courses we offer. Please use our contact form to get in touch with our support teams or visit the pages listed below for further information.
- Learning Support (EHCP queries etc)
- Travel Support
- Financial Support (including Bursary)
- Apprenticeships
- Adult Advice Team (for students over 19)
- Future Steps Team (for current or previous students)
