Whilst our Year 13s last day of school is close upon us, we are encouraging them to continue with their studies throughout June and July in order to best prepare for their next steps. In a normal year, we would begin “study leave” in preparation for-A Levels at this time but as students have completed their assessments, this offers a unique opportunity to embark on training and research in other areas.
We are looking to support our Year 13 students with a range of opportunities to keep them motivated and continue their learning into the summer months. Certainly, it is advisable to keep a record of such additional study as this can be used as evidence in future applications in education or employment. As such, outlined below there are a selection of online learning opportunities available.
SpringPod:
This is a website which offers virtual work experience programmes. The site allows visitors to apply to join live delivery programmes from a huge range of employers and will send recordings of the session to review at a later date. With hosting virtual work experience, the platform allows students to learn about positions in cities throughout the country that they would not normally be able to access as part of a standard work experience. Click on the link here and sign up by creating your own account – all you will need is an e-mail address.
FutureLearn:
This is an online education company that allows students access to accredited courses in anything from personal finance management to a taster forensic science course. The courses are funded by industry to allow the contents to be free and users can register to complete them over a series of weeks. In order to gain access to the assessments and certificates, a fee has to be paid but you can still access all of the content and record your completion with a free account. Click the link here to browse their courses and “find out more” and then click “join course for free” to register.
They have a course entitled “Preparing for University” which can be found at the link here.
OpenLearn:
This website hosts free courses that are produced by the Open University and they offer nearly 1000 free courses across 8 different subject areas including “Education and Development”, “History and the Arts” and “Science, Maths and Technology”. Students will need an e-mail address to set up a free account here.
The Skills Toolkit:
This is part of the National Careers Service and again offers free courses to help students learn new skills including general skills that apply to all sectors such as “Computer Essentials” or “Practical Maths”. All that is needed is an e-mail address to create a free account and then users you can access and track your progress in all of the courses. You can access the site here.
Journey to Work:
This is a free online learning programme which contains access to 8 courses to boost skills and career confidence. There is a certificate for your CV when each course is completed. You can access the site here.
UniFrog:
As many students and parents will be aware already, Unifrog contains a whole host of work experience, MOOCs and careers-focused media that can be accessed for free in order to prepare for future and upcoming university courses. Students just sign in using their Unifrog log-in details to access all content. A reminder that the ‘Geek Out’ section allows users to watch video interviews of people who speak about their experiences of working in specific career fields and have become experts at their job. You can access the site here.
Sarah Creswell, Head of Sixth Form, said: “If you need any further support then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us – we genuinely believe that nobody amongst our Year 13s ever truly leave our school and we will be there to support you through any further education opportunities you take and beyond.”
