If your 16 year old is sitting GCSE exams this Summer, they are probably also considering their next moves for the following 2 years. It’s no longer possible to leave school at 16 and enter the world of work. Students today are expected to stay in some kind of education until they are 18.

For some, the prospect of studying 3 academic A Level subjects for a further 2 years, fills them with dread. However, there are alternative options available in the form of BTECs. An 18 unit Level 3 BTEC is considered to be the equivalent of 3 A Levels and therefore is often an alternative valid entry requirement for most UK universities. BTECS are vocational qualifications and are offered in subjects from Health and Social Care, Engineering, Travel and Tourism to Business Studies. Assessment is by continual assessment and practical projects and often includes some kind of work based experience which could be a series of placements of one day a week spent in a children’s nursery, IT department or with an engineering company, depending on the course followed.

Increasingly, more and more universities, including the more traditional red-brick establishments, are considering BTEC students and are offering them places on degree courses. However, if you want to study a purely academic subject at degree level, like maths or history, then you will have to go via the A level route. However, if you are considering a degree in nursing, computer studies, engineering or even psychology, you may find that a relevant BTEC qualification will be enough to get you on the course that you want.