This article is primarily aimed at students and learners who are about to/considering making a decision on the next stage of their education after their GCSEs.
In this article, we will discuss the different options available to students after GCSE, what exactly is meant by a level 3 qualification and additionally the differences between the A-level standard of work, compared with GCSEs and the future university level work that students might complete if they choose to continue their education.
This article might also serve as a useful guide to parents whose children aren’t quite ready to consider level 3 education, but will need guidance in the future to make the right choice.
What is a level 3 qualification?
The UK education system divides its qualifications into eight different categories, according to their level of specificity and difficulty. While level 3 might therefore seem quite low or average, they are in fact some of the most important qualifications that a student can earn in their education.
They are the avenue into most early apprentice work, low level employment and university studies.
In essence, the Level 3 qualification can be seen as a key to one’s future career path, permitting them to start qualified work at a respectable pay, or to invest further in education to find more specialised positions later in life (which reward greater salaries).
The most common type of Level 3 qualification is the A-level, which is obtained in the Sixth Form in secondary schools, or at separate colleges that specialise in their subjects.
There are also many Level 3 apprenticeships where students can study part-time while earning money from relevant work.
Recently, the UK government has phased out what were known as BTEC qualifications, in favour of a new format of T-Levels. These are shorter Level 3 courses geared at providing students with practical skills that they can immediately put to work after completion.
They are formatted like a hybrid of A-levels and Apprenticeships.
Are level 3 qualifications or A-levels compulsory?
Unlike GCSE Subjects, students have a choice as to whether they choose to continue their education or instead go and look for work immediately after finishing their compulsory education.
For some people, this choice might be more financially driven than anything else, or perhaps their family and friends can provide them with a different entry into a career.
The point is, there is no ‘correct’ thing to do after finishing GCSEs, but some choices might make a lot more sense than others depending on who you are and where you are in life.
Fortunately for many financially less advantaged individuals or families, everyone has a fair shot at a Level 3 qualification in the UK.
Unlike university, a great many Level 3 qualifications are provided by sixth forms and colleges which do not charge tuition fees, but rather expect a certain level of grades before accepting students.
In accordance with these entry requirements, the quality of further education is likely to be dependent on the quality of a student's grades.
If you’re reading this as a current GCSE student, it’s imperative that you try your very best. Even if you think the GCSE qualifications themselves are less important to you, they will open the door to the qualifications that really matter later on.
Who takes level 3 qualifications?
It might appear as though level 3 qualifications are just another stage in a young student's journey, and that there is just one chance to obtain them, however this could not be further from the truth.
Although the options for doing so might be more limited and may be costly in certain cases, it is always possible for a young person or an adult to return to level 3 education should the need, or even simply the desire, arise again later in their lives.
One of the most common cases of this is the increased standards for Mathematics and English in certain professions, which causes some adults to return to obtain level 3 grades that they might have missed out on earlier in their lives.
Some of this is purely by choice and desire for a wider range of employment, but in other cases, companies who are already employing a person might send them to do a level 3 qualification as part of their paid training.
Ultimately, it’s clear to see that level 3 qualifications are important at all ages, but most importantly can be obtained at all ages.
With this in mind, students should realise that sooner rather than later is the best time to obtain such qualifications, since while future opportunities exist, they might not be free and adults do not have even close to the amount of time children do for education.
How do level 3 qualifications differ from GCSE?
Level 3 qualifications are quite the departure from GCSEs in scope and breadth. That is to say: they are far more complicated and each subject will require more time and energy from the student. This is why, compared with the 8-16 GCSEs a student might take, it is uncommon to take more than 4-5 AS Levels or 3-4 A-Levels.
The extra work is certainly worth it, though. To start with, A-levels and other Level 3 qualifications are chosen directly by students, since they are not compulsory at all.
Hopefully, although not the case for all, this means that students are showing up to lessons and doing the work because they want to, or at the very least, it’s a means to an end for which they are enthusiastic.
Fortunately, much like the increase from Key Stage 3 to GCSEs, students aren’t instantly flooded with much harder work. Especially when it comes to A-levels, learners are eased into the level, often by taking lessons and doing work which is already familiar to them, before taking off in a more specific direction.
For A level students specifically, their experience will encompass a somewhat counterintuitive situation. A-levels are more work, no one is going to argue that…
The qualification is harder and therefore takes more investment of both time and energy, yet suddenly students will notice that they have blank slots on the same timetables which used to be chock-full at GCSE. ‘Frees’ as students call them are an erroneously named introduction of time management into student life.
In order to succeed at this level, students will need to be wise with their ‘free’ time and use it to complete homework and do independent revision and study so that they can ace their exams at the end of the year.
While it is certainly possible for some very smart students to make it through without using every minute of free time to study and learn, this format is essentially preparation for work. Especially for university, where the onus is entirely on the student to make the most of their time.
What are the other 5 levels of education?
You might be wondering that if education is often over for many people after level 3, what are the remaining 5 levels for?
- Levels 4/5/6: These levels are representative of bachelors degrees, i.e. the courses that students take upon entry and the subsequent 3 or more years of their time at university. As you might expect, this means that each year represents a 1 of these levels in the education system. But what you might not know is that each of these years are technically their own qualification, even though they all count towards the same degree.
- Level 7: At this level, if students decide to continue their studies, they are taking part in an aptly named ‘Postgraduate Degree’. This level is either the cap on top of a ‘Master’s Degree’, or a year of teaching qualification, allowing the student to not only have learned the content of their course, but teach it to other students for work.
- Level 8: Finally, for the highest level of education, students will work towards their doctorates. At this point, students are practically experts in their chosen field, so rather than being specifically taught from a curriculum, they are instead guided in their own new research. That is essentially what it takes to obtain a doctorate: Entirely new and extremely detailed peer reviewed research that has never been done before. As difficult as this might sound, students at this level are already armed with all the previous knowledge and experience that most others would never have obtained.
Now remember, all of these superior levels of education are only accessible through the main subject of this article: the level 3 qualification. This also means that the more interesting, better paying jobs are often reserved for those who make it further, making level 3 all the more important as a stepping stone.
With that said, if you’re an aspiring Level 3 student yourself, work hard and best of luck with your exams!
Afterword
If you made it this far, we here at the Superprof blog would like to thank you for your continued reading and support.
If you are looking for more information about the education system, or even a broad range of different academic subjects, look no further, because we have plenty more articles about nearly anything you can think of.
We hope you find something that piques your interest and wish you a pleasant morning, evening or afternoon, wherever you are.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
