Education Choices at 16

Once you've completed Key Stage 4, you will have to make some decisions about your future. There are many choices on offer and a whole host of ways to gain further qualifications, work experience and skills. Think about the following questions:

• What really interests you? It's important to enjoy what you're doing.
• Do you want to continue with academic studies? Or something more work-related that will allow you to train for a particular job?
• Do you want to concentrate full time on your studies? Or would you rather learn whilst you earn?
• Do you need to work towards a qualification for a particular job? Do you need a certain number of points to get onto a degree course?

Full-Time Education

If you decide to stay on at school , or go to a sixth form college or further education college you'll find a wide variety of subjects and qualifications on offer, including:

• A levels
• General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ)
• Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC)
• OCR Nationals
• Vocational Qualifications
  

There's also financial help for 16-18 years olds in the form of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which could give you up to £30 a week.

Work-Based Training

Starting work doesn't mean that you have to stop learning; there are many ways that you can improve your skills and achieve qualifications, such as Apprenticeships and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ).

Whatever you choose to do, it pays to keep learning; research has shown that people with qualifications tend to earn substantially more than those without.