Our T Level learners work incredibly hard balancing their industry placements and classroom studies, but a few select students were nominated by their lecturers on Results Day for going above and beyond and exceeding expectations throughout their first year of their T Level. 

We caught up with one student, Katherine, regarding how she found her first year of Design, Surveying and Planning in Construction T Level, how she balanced her placement and studies, and what she enjoyed and found challenging. 

During her first year, Katherine learnt many important and transferrable skills in both her placement and in the classroom, including knowledge of legislations and regulations, science building technology and construction maths, design, how to use Revit, and the commercial side to construction. This broadens her knowledge and skillset and means she’s not limited to what she works on during her placement. 

Her industry placement for both first and second year is a company called VolkerLaser, where she works on the refurbishment of the Newport Transporter Bridge. Over the 2 years, Katherine will complete a total of 315 hours at her industry placement, with the remaining hours of the T Level spent in the classroom. 

Out of all the skills and knowledge she acquired during the classroom section of her first year, Katherine found the Science and Building Technology part the most interesting as she “liked being challenged by the calculations in science”. Overall, however, she found that getting hands-on experience from her industry placement was the most fulfilling and engaging part to the T Level. 

However, Katherine did find some areas more challenging than others, such as the core exams and the employer set projects as these were stressful and required a lot of revision. Not only this, she also found presenting difficult, however this task benefitted her as it allowed her to create a “slightly calmer looking exterior when presenting” and develop her confidence and public speaking skills. 

Any problems that Katherine faced, she felt comfortable enough to ask for help. “The staff last year were really encouraging and supportive, if I had a problem, they did their best to help”. She also found that they were very understanding of her commute from South Wales. 

Katherine’s lecturers also spoke very highly of her and her performance throughout her first year of her T Level, saying “Katherine has had an extremely brilliant first year at Weston College. 

She has always produced a high standard of work and has good attendance and time keeping, despite having to take two trains to get to college from South Wales.  

Her attention to detail is of a very high standard and she is not afraid to ask questions if she doesn't understand something.” 

Many students wonder how to juggle the industry placement and their classroom studies, but Katherine found it a good balance, saying “it's been interesting to see how the classroom work begins to line up with some things I've learned on site”. You get the perfect blend of practical, hands-on experience that will prepare you for work after college but also the additional knowledge and information in the classroom that you may not get taught on the job. 

The facilities available at Weston College are also excellent for Katherine’s Construction T Level, “it's one of the factors that made my family and I decide that Weston College would be the best place for me to study construction”. 

When asked what she would say to someone considering a T Level, she said “I'd advise someone considering a T-Level to look into it carefully, make sure the course covers what you're interested in doing in the future.” Katherine also advised learners to make sure they consider their next steps before applying for a T Level because the curriculum is still fairly new to Further Education. 

Once Katherine completes her T Level, she hopes to go onto studying civil engineering either at university or in an apprenticeship. 

Good luck in your final year Katherine! 

If you would like to study a T Level at Weston College in September, click here.