How these Catholic sixth forms are preparing for T levels

As Deputy Principal, Vocational and T Levels at Christ the King Sixth Forms, my team have been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for the new T Levels, so we were delighted that CTK Emmanuel was one of the sixth form providers selected to be able to offer the new T Levels from September 2022. 

T Levels are high-quality technical alternatives to A Levels, combining classroom theory, practical learning and a work placement.  These new qualifications have been designed with industry experts, to make sure that students have the skills they need to thrive in the workplace and give businesses the workforce they need to succeed.   

We are excited to have been chosen to offer the new T Levels in Business & Admin and Engineering & Manufacturing at CTK Emmanuel from September 2022.  Our students are already able to choose from a wide range of high-quality vocational courses and we welcome the addition of T Levels as an exciting new programme of study to give our students even more choice. 

CTK Emmanuel is a Catholic professional centre for excellence, offering a wide range of vocational routes to university.  The Business and Engineering departments are already well established, with excellent outcomes, university progression and highly specialised Business and Engineering teaching staff.  Preparation for offering T Levels began last academic year, by introducing the 45-day work placement for Level 3 students, meaning that CTK Emmanuel has a head start on being able to offer the T Levels in 2022. Ensuring students at the Sixth Form have access to high-quality Industryplacements is an important part of our vision.  T-Levels will ensure that learners are able to combine academic subject knowledge with up to date practice.  Employers have been impressed by the calibre of our students on weekly placements and our students have gained invaluable skills and experience during the process. 

Work is taking place this summer to redesign our Business and Engineering teaching and learning areas. The redesign will focus the learning areas on collaborative and practical learning, along-side the more traditional teaching spaces. We are reshaping the environment to ensure outstanding vocational education, which uses the latest technology. This investment is taking place to take Christ the King Sixth Forms into the future of T Levels and vocational learning future. 

Established in 1992, Christ the King is a group of Catholic sixth forms in the south London area, dedicated to the education and development of the whole person. CTK’s motto is ‘Ut Vitam Habeant’ - ‘that they may have life’. Our ethos is to develop students’ mindset, beliefs, ambition and employability with the objective of high progression to university and high-level professional careers.  The addition of T Levels, to wide range of courses already on offer across our family of sixth forms, means that we are truly able to fulfil our Catholic mission, as an inclusive environment, able offer a place to any hard-working motivated students with a wide variety of university and career aspirations. 

CTK Emmanuel serves a wide range of students from the local community in South London and surrounding boroughs. The addition of T Levels gives local students even more choice in their post 16 progression options locally, with the option of studying in a Catholic sixth form environment. Students starting CTK Emmanuel in September 2022 will be able to choose to study T Levels in Engineering & Manufacturing or Business & Admin, in addition to the current wide range of A Level equivalent courses already on offer. These courses are designed with university progression in mind and currently, almost 90 per cent of CTK students go on to university, with around half of these being Russell Group institutions.  

At Christ the King Sixth Forms we are always looking to innovate and to offer our students the best start so they can fulfil their potential and become the role models of tomorrow. We are always looking for new employers to work with, so please contact the CTK Emmanuel for more information, if you would like to form a working relationship with us. 

Simon Spearman is the Deputy Principal for Vocational and T Levels at Christ the King Sixth Forms. You can follow Christ the King on Twitter here and on Facebook here.