At Routes for all, we are here to support pupils in S5 and S6 into the next stage of their educational journey. We work with pupils who will leave school with 1-3 Higher Qualifications, and are looking to progress to college as their first choice. 

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Routes for all is a two year programme, beginning in S5. We start by introducing the pupils to a range of information to help guide them in their choices for college progression.

It can be a confusing time for pupils as they navigate their way through all of the information that is out there. As a parent/guardian you will also have your own thoughts on what may be the best progression route for your young person.

Colleges and university courses have a set of minimum entry requirements. By exploring college websites, you too can become familiar on the entry requirements for courses, knowing what is needed early on, can be valuable. As young people may not have followed an options path which aligns to their college subject choice. By engaging in these types of activities and discussions you will add valuable support to the young person.You can help by encouraging a young person to use all the support networks that are available to them. Often this starts with careers advisers in school. Seeking careers guidance can be a great first step to help explore options, and will focus on careers and progression linked to grades and subjects achieved.

When Routes for all are working with a young person in either S5 or S6 we will work with the young person to support their exploration and help them to make choices about which course they would like to study. This will cumulate in them writing a personal statement in S6 and submitting application forms for courses of interest.

The process can be daunting for the young person and you can offer your support by reading over personal statements and offering suggestions for the content of the statement and application.

We often find that young people struggle to share their interests and hobbies on personal statements. Your support in reminding them of their interests may be just the encouragement they need to write about themselves with confidence.

 

college applications 

Once an application has been submitted to a college, it will be reviewed by an admissions team and they will notify the young person of the outcome of their application. They may then be invited to an interview, and you can help them to prepare for this. Offering encouraging and sharing your own interview experiences will help them to become more familiar with the process.

On the day, if you can help them arrive on time. After the interview be ready to discuss how it went if they want to talk over the experience. Not all college courses will have interviews and in either case if an application progresses, the young person will either be offered an unconditional or a conditional offer, if there application is progressing. A young person may also be rejected at this stage, for this reason we encourage young people to make more than one college application to more than one college. With an unconditional offer the college will confirm a college place for the young person, as they already meet the entry requirements for the course. With a conditional offer, there are entry requirements to be meet before a college place can be firmly offered.

                                      

For some young people this means that for conditional offers they will need to achieve certain subjects at certain grades to get the place on the course they wish to study. The exam results are announced in August each year, and places would be confirmed after this point.

If pupils are successful in gaining the conditional requirements then they will progress to college enrolment and introduction. For those who do not achieve the conditional requirements, they may not be able to commence the course they had chosen. There may be the option to study the same course at a lower entry level. For example a pupil wishing to start an HNC course may not meet their conditions but may be eligible to commence at the NC level.

It is important to know that the journey doesn’t end if grades are not achieved as expected, there will always be a way to get back on track to the desired level of study.