University Academy Holbeach unveiled its £2.3million new T-level block

Exciting new facilities are opening up amazing opportunities for ambitious students – as many enjoy real life experiences such as working on a maternity ward and seeing a plate removal operation in theatre.

University Academy Holbeach has unveiled the £2.3million classroom block which was built to support students career aspirations – some of which include becoming a Formula One mechanic, electrical engineer, systemic therapist, pediatrician and many more.

The school was among the 88 schools and colleges nationally which was selected to provide T-level courses, which are an alternative qualification to A-levels.

Principal Sheila Paige is proud of the new block and the opportunities it presents for students.

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Mrs Paige said: “There are loads of options available and each work placement allows the students to gain experience in companies and serious employment. The school caters for every level and it doesn't matter what your ability is.

“We are very proud of the offer we have at the school and our ability to meet the needs of all learners Post 16, be it through vocational and technical courses at Levels 1, 2 and 3 or through our T-Levels and A-Levels.”

The T-level qualification allows young people aged between 16 and 19 to develop skills and knowledge that will help them thrive in a workplace environment.

Some of the options on offer at the school include: health, management and administration, science, digital support services, education in childcare, construction and more.

All of the courses include 45 days requirement to be spent on work experience over two years. Some of the workplaces include: Taylors Bulbs and Small Saints Pre-School in Holbeach, Beechfield Medical Centre, Ark ICT, Duncan and Toplis in Spalding and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn.

The construction site for electrical, gas and plumbing students has a multi-functional building for brickwork, joinery and carpentry. Here trainees practice their skills with the gas pipework, water systems and electrical wiring sections.

Electrician and course lecturer Will Gibbs said: “T-levels are a different challenge for teachers as well as the students. We’ve been used to teaching electricals and obviously we’re needing to build in new things that we wouldn't normally do, so it’s upskilling us as well – it’s all working out really well.

“It gives the students skills that they can use in other areas as well as a head start into future courses or apprenticeships. An example of this would be, an electrical apprenticeship is often four years long. If a student was to complete their T-levels in two years, by the time they come to start the higher education, they would only need to do two years of the apprenticeship because their T-level gives them a head start.

“Additionally, if they decide they don’t want to take their qualification any further, they are good to go after their T-levels to go into any workplace environment.”

Zack Low who is in his first year of the electrical course, said: “I think due to all of the options you can get with T-levels, it’s better than an apprenticeship. The work placement really helps me because you get to see for real how it is all done. I want to go on to do electrical engineering after I have completed my course.”

Year 12 Mechanics student, Lucy Bolton said: “I’d really like to be a Formula One mechanic as that would be really cool, but any sort of motor sports would be fine. I’m not fussy but Formula one is the dream. I’m so happy I’ve got to do this here and I can’t see myself doing anything different.”

Health students get the chance to work on a hospital wing whilst remaining on the school site. It includes several beds with electronically controlled life sized dummies, a sluice room, reception desk and living area which allows individuals to practice medical procedures and develop a range of skills.

Some of the students described their experiences on work placement as ‘brilliant’ – with many of them hoping to pursue similar jobs in the future such as a midwife, district nurse, systemic therapists and baby sonographer.

They explained some of the work placement sites which have taken students have expressed an desire to offer them jobs. This could see a student becoming a healthcare assistant at the age of 17 and then going on to become a trained midwife.

All of the students who choose to go onto the management and administration course are provided with a laptop for the duration of the T-level qualification.

Business teacher, Poppy Dover said: “We offer our students a project based course where they can learn how to do presentations which many people who haven’t been through T-levels would have acquired.

“T-levels make our students a ready made package for businesses and workplaces and through doing the course, they can go into finance, accounting, law and business administration. It’s quite a broad scope of a subject and we cover different aspects of a growing sector.”

The digital suite also gives each student the chance to learn how to build small networks and model replicas, cyber work, engineering, ICT, testing software, hardware and data.

Year 12 digital support services student, Veer Odedla said: “I think digital work and IT is the future of the world as it is constantly changing. T-levels are really great as you get to learn and gain new experiences and the teachers here are supportive.”

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