After school · 5 min read
What can I do after GCSEs?
Your options after GCSEs in England: sixth form, college, T levels, apprenticeships, or a job with part-time study. What each involves and how to choose.
The short answer
After GCSEs in England you must stay in education or training until 18, but you don't have to stay at school. The options are A levels or an International Baccalaureate at sixth form or college, a T level or a BTEC at college, an apprenticeship, or a job or volunteering of 20 hours a week or more alongside part-time study. If you got a grade 3 in English or maths you'll continue those alongside whichever route you pick.
Key takeaways
- Five routes: A levels, T levels, BTECs and other college courses, apprenticeships, or work plus part-time study.
- You can leave school on the last Friday in June of Year 11, but must be in one of those routes until your 18th birthday.
- A grade 3 in English or maths means resitting the GCSE; grade 2 or below usually means a stepping-stone qualification first.
- Choose by how you learn and how sure you are of a field, not by what your friends are doing.
On this pageThe five routes
The five routes
| Route | What it is | Suits you if | Leads to |
|---|---|---|---|
| A levels or IB | Three or four academic subjects over two years | You want breadth or an academic degree | University, higher and degree apprenticeships |
| T level | One technical course worth three A levels, with a 45-day placement | You've found a field you like | Skilled work, apprenticeships, related degrees |
| BTEC or other college course | Vocational study, mostly coursework, Level 2 or 3 | You learn by doing and want options | Work, apprenticeships, university |
| Apprenticeship | A paid job with training, Level 2 upwards | You want to earn and learn in a workplace | Higher levels, a trade or profession |
| Work plus part-time study | A job of 20+ hours with regulated training alongside | You need to work now | Experience, then any of the above |
What the law requires until 18
Raising the participation age means you keep learning until your 18th birthday, in a school, a college, a workplace or a mix. A 17 year old in a kitchen 30 hours a week with one day at college is meeting it. A 17 year old at home is not, and the council's participation team will get in touch. The rule exists because the routes exist; use it as a prompt to pick one.
How to choose
- Write down how sure you are of a field, from 'no idea' to 'I've spent time near it and liked it'. The less sure, the broader the route.
- Write down how you learn best: reading and exams, making and coursework, or doing the real thing at work.
- Check what your grades allow. Level 3 courses usually want four or five grade 4s; Level 2 and apprenticeships are open with less.
- Visit two options in person. An hour at a college open evening and an hour with an apprentice beat a month of worrying.
If your grades weren't what you hoped
A grade 3 in English or maths puts a resit on your timetable, not a block on your route. Colleges run Level 2 courses that lead into Level 3 a year later, and Level 2 apprenticeships take you with Functional Skills alongside. The students who lose a year are the ones who do nothing in September, not the ones who start at a lower level.
Illustrative example: three friends, three Septembers
Three friends leave Year 11 with similar grades. One takes A levels because she likes four subjects and hasn't found a field. One takes a T level in construction after two summers labouring with his uncle. One starts a Level 2 hairdressing apprenticeship and resits maths in November. Two years later all three have options; none regrets choosing for herself.
Questions people ask
- Can you leave school at 16 in England?
- You can leave school on the last Friday in June of the school year you turn 16, but you must then stay in some form of education or training until you're 18: full-time study, an apprenticeship or traineeship, or a job or volunteering of 20 hours or more a week with part-time study alongside. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules.
- What can I do after GCSEs if I don't want to do A levels?
- A T level in a field you're drawn to, a BTEC or other vocational course at college, an apprenticeship with an employer, or a job with part-time training. Colleges also run Level 2 courses for people whose grades don't yet reach Level 3, with a route up the following year. None of these closes university off later.
- Do I have to resit English or maths after GCSEs?
- If you got a grade 3 and you're in education or training aged 16 to 18 in England, yes, you'll resit the GCSE alongside your course until you pass or turn 19. With a grade 2 or below you usually take a stepping-stone or Functional Skills qualification first. It's part of your timetable, not an extra course you have to arrange.
- Is it too late to apply for sixth form or college after results day?
- Usually not. Most colleges and many sixth forms enrol in the days after results, and places change hands as people get higher or lower grades than expected. Ring or turn up with your results slip. Apprenticeship vacancies also re-open in late August when employers lose candidates to university.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- School leaving age · GOV.UK
- 16 to 19 funding: maths and English condition of funding · Education and Skills Funding Agency, GOV.UK
- About the National Careers Service · National Careers Service
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.