Follow our T Level trio on their two-year journey – Part 3

Are you wondering whether the technical-based qualification might be a strong alternative route to A Level study for your first step into Further Education?

Then, hopefully, our T Level Case Study Blog will prove a valuable and informative guide.

The quality of our T Level offering for 16 to 18-year-olds has been recognised and highlighted by national media publication FE Week.

We are about to enter our fifth year of delivering the two-year qualification, which was introduced in 2020 and combines classroom learning with 315 hours of work placement experience.

It seemed the right time, therefore, to follow the journeys of some of our T Level students from enrolment to their progression beyond Sim Balk Lane.

With that in mind, we have been sitting down at regular intervals with Leadership & Management T Level students Hope Simpson, Jakub Krzemien and Harrison Davis to learn more about the qualification and the opportunities it can provide.

In this latest instalment, we catch up with the students just before they return for the new academic year and find out about how they found the final few months of their first year, including the start of their work placements, their end-of-term exams and Employer Set Project (ESP) presentation. 

HOPE SIMPSON

What have you enjoyed most about the placement?

My placement is with Samuel Grant Packaging and, instead of doing the same thing every week, I am in different departments every time I’m there. I’ve done 99 hours since the start of February and been in each department twice so far, which is good because it helps me decide what I enjoy the most, because I went into the placement not knowing what I would and wouldn’t like.

What are the different departments you’ve been working in?

I have been in HR, Finance, Purchasing, Sales, Health & Safety and Warehouse. My favourites have probably been HR and Sales and I probably know now that Finance, even though it’s interesting, is probably not for me.

What hours do you work?

I go in every Tuesday during term time and do 8am-4pm with a hour break.

In what ways have you been able to put into place what you’ve been learning in the classroom on placement?

I use a lot of the computer systems we use at College, so I’ve been helping people use Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint. We have also learned a lot about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) in class and they actually use it on my placement as well, so I’ve been able to learn more.

What have you been focussing on class module wise since we last spoke in February?

We’ve been doing a lot more about finance, as quite a few people were struggling with it, so we’ve looked at it in more detail. We also did about CRM and a lot about PowerPoint because we had the Employer Set Project (ESP) exam when we had to do a PowerPoint presentation followed by two written exams, which we prepared for by going over all the topics we’d covered during the year.

How did you find the exams?

They went better than I thought, especially the presentation. I was a bit stressed, because I’ve never been good at presenting and felt that it had to be good because it needed to last 20 minutes.

I thought there was no way I would be able to speak for 20 minutes, but I remember doing it and, when I was told there was five minutes left, I thought it had gone so quickly and I’ll definitely feel more confident doing presentations now. With the written exams, I did struggle with some of the questions but, on the first paper, I did it from the beginning to the end, so I did the long, 12-mark questions last and I found that I was rushing towards the end so, on the second paper, I did the 12-mark questions first and then the lower-mark ones and that helped me a lot.

What have been the highlights of the course over this first year?

I enjoyed all the units, but Unit 7 was probably my favourite. It was based on people and characteristics and went into depth about that.

When we did the mocks for the exams, for some reason, I really enjoyed that as well. We did them together and helped each other in class, which was really helpful because it gave you an idea of what it was going to be like.

How has the first year proved that this was the right choice of course for you?

I think mostly because I have enjoyed it. When I first started, because it was a very new course, I was a bit unsure about it, but I now realise that I have learned a lot from it.

If you do a Business A Level, for example, you can’t learn as much because you’re also doing other A Level subjects, but the T Level is so in depth and you get to do a placement as well as all the units. I thought I did a lot when I did GCSE Business but there’s been a lot we’ve done in College that I didn’t know anything about.

What are you looking forward to most during your second year?

I think we’re doing a few more trips, which will be good. There were a few this year, but I wasn’t able to go on some for different reasons.

I did go to The Grand, which was good. I enjoyed that, but missed the ones to Castle Howard and Go Ape, so I’m looking forward to being able to go to more with the rest of my class.

JAKUB KRZEMIEN

What are you enjoying most about your placement?

I’m on placement with the Department for Education in Leeds and I enjoy all of it, but the bit I like the most is working with the team. I like joining in calls and finding out what they’re doing.

Then, I’ll do whatever they need me to do, as directed by my line manager. Everyone on the team is nice and works together to ensure we achieve our goals. I’ve not been made to feel like an outsider.

What duties have you been given during the placement?

In March, I helped out at the Annual Conference with the former Minster for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education. I worked with the team on the presentation and then had to be there to help ensure everything went as planned. I’ve also helped with newsletters and putting together spreadsheets.

How many hours have you been working?

I’ve been going in on placement one day a week and have now completed more than 100 hours and I also did some more in August.

In what ways have you been able to put into practice what you’ve been learning in the classroom?

Doing the ESP in the classroom has helped me a lot during the placement with things like plan on a page and having an overall knowledge of business has also helped because I can understand the terms that people are using and I don’t need things explaining to me, because we’ve already focussed on them in College.

What modules have you been doing since we last spoke in February?

We went back over all the units and then we focussed on the ESP, which we started in late March up until the middle of April, so we could mock for that exam. That was basically putting all of our knowledge from the units into practice.

Once we finished on the project, we then focussed on revising the units and, at the end of the year, we made a start on next year’s units.

How did you find the presentation and end-of-year written exams?

Both my tutors recorded it and I did feel a bit of pressure, because you do have to remember all the slides and what’s coming next but, overall, I think it went great. I find presenting to others hard and it can feel overwhelming for me but I have to overcome that feeling and, doing them in class before the exam, really helped me

The written exams in June went over the units we have done and I think they went well overall.

What have been the highlights of the course during this first year?

I have really enjoyed the learning process from every tutor who has taught me. The class is great as well – everyone gets along and, when we got put into different groups, everybody still worked together well. I’ve liked the research and planning elements of the course, too.

In what ways has this first year confirmed that it was the right choice of course for you?

The point that I felt this was the right course was when I started my placement. I am planning to stay with my placement after College as an apprentice, so I feel, if other people are thinking of doing this T Level course, they should focus on picking the right placement.

I think that’s what makes the T Level stand out from A Levels and is the most important part of them.

What are you looking forward to most about the second year?

We don’t have any more written exams, so I’m looking forward to that! We’ve also only got one more project to do, but I think that will be a bit easier than last year, because we’ve got the whole year to learn about the project.

HARRISON DAVIS

What are you enjoying most about your placement?

I am working at the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Fulford and enjoying it a lot, because it has enabled me to see the real world and led to me experiencing many different situations.

What duties have you been given during the placement?

My duties normally vary every day. Sometimes, I could be going down and talking to the different stores about different subjects and, at other times, I could be putting together PowerPoint presentations for my superiors, who try and give me as many opportunities as they can.

How many hours have you been working?

I do eight-hour days, including one hour for lunch.

In what ways have you been able to put into practice what you’ve been learning in the classroom?

When we have done group work, I have been able to use the people skills I have learnt from dealing with the stores and public.

What modules have you been doing since we last spoke in February?

We have been focusing on our upcoming exams and our Employer Set Project that we had to do. I also enjoyed the finance and business communications lessons, because I felt those two units gave a thorough understanding of a real business.

Did you have any mid-course exams or assessments and how did you find them?

I had two exams and they were OK. It’s not all about knowledge – it’s also about how you answer the question.

In what ways has this first year confirmed that it was the right choice of course for you?

Mainly, the enjoyment I have got out of it. It’s been fun and I have been able to exceed the expectations of what I wanted from the course.

I don't really know what I’m going to do when I’m older, but doing this course enables me to have many opportunities because of the fact it covers such a variety of topics.

What are you looking forward to most ahead of your second year?

My placement and gaining more experience to become better in terms of my business skills and knowledge. I’m also looking forward to the big project we'll be doing, as it really focusses deeply into an actual business. 

To read Part 1 of the students' T Level journey, please click here

Part 2 can also be read by clicking here

For more information on T Level and Vocational courses at York College & University Centre, please click here

To learn more about the T Level Leadership and Management course, please click here

You can also discuss our T Level provision with tutors at the next Open Event on Tuesday 8th October (5.30pm-8pm). Register a place by clicking here