Page 27 - StudyTravel Magazine August 2019 Issue

SECONDARY FOCUS STUDYTRAVEL MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019

BTEC to university

GILLIAN EVANS reviews demand for the more vocational BTEC as an alternative
to A-levels and the IB for university entrance.

While the most common route into UK universities with 10.1 per cent of university applicants holding a
for international students is through A-levels and IB, BTEC Level 3 for the 2018/2019 academic year, and
there is a slow growing trend towards BTEC Level 3, a further 7.2 per cent with a combination of BTECs
a more vocational qualifi cation that students can take and A-levels.
from aged 16. The advantage of BTECs is that they combine
According to UCAS’s End of Cycle Report 2018, practical learning with subject and theory content.
BTECs are the second most common single quali- There are over 2,000 BTEC qualifi cations across 16
fi cation type after A-levels for university entrance, vocational sectors, ranging from business studies
and information technology to travel and
PHOTO: OXFORD SIXTH FORM COLLEGE tourism, engineering and performing arts.

They are available at different levels, with
Level 1 and 2 equivalent to GCSE, Level
3 equivalent to A-level and Level 6 and 7,
university level.
“Vocational courses seem to suit some
students better than others due to the
frequency of assessments,” says Maria
HOW DO PROVIDERS MATCH STUDENTS? Smith, International Student Coordinator at
While BTEC may be little known on the international circuit, its reputation as
a qualifi cation for university entrance is slowly growing. Liz Hird at Shrews- Huish International, Richard Huish College
bury Sixth Form College reports that BTECs, which have been offered by the www.richuish.ac.uk in Somerset. At
college for a number of years, have now been included in their international
prospectus for the fi rst time because of growing interest reported by agents. A Huish International students can study the
similar picture is painted by Lucy Storey at Oxford Sixth Form College. This year, Level 3 Vocational Extended Certifi cate
34 per cent of their international student intake were enrolled on their BTEC
programme. “Uptake of this programme by international students is increasing and Diploma in a number of subjects
year on year as the course gains prominence,” she adds. including business, health & care, music
The success of BTEC students should go some way to convincing the
international market of their value. “Our BTEC graduates have joined a number productions and popular music, with the
of Russell Group Universities including Bristol, Liverpool, Nottingham and Shef- health & care course including a period of
fi eld,” reports Lilla Somogyi at Alpha Plus Group. “In 2018 our BTEC students
posted a 100 per cent success rate for a fi fth year in a row. The qualifi cations al- work experience.
low us to tailor the curriculum towards how our students best understand each As well as offering students a more
subject. We can choose assessment methods and we have a robust process
where we use feedback to review the qualifi cations each year. This ensures we vocational course of learning than A-lev-
create courses that students are excited about and motivated to learn.” els, BTECs also differ in the way students

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