Last summer we asked what’s next for year 11s? A Levels? T Levels? An apprenticeship? College? There are plenty of choices at post sixteen. We asked some of our friends and colleagues, all experts in their fields, to give us their tips and advice and published a series of blogs – which you can see below. But this summer we decided to find out what actually happened to five young people in Manchester when school was over. Some faced difficult challenges and obstacles. Some had no idea what they wanted to do. We asked them “And then what happened?” and this is what they said, in five short films which will be published weekly over the summer.
In the last film in our summer series, Josh talks about how he didn't really have any idea what he wanted to do at 16 and would have been quite happy doing nothing. But then, with some input from his mum, he discovered a hands-on apprenticeship where he's now thriving...
Our fourth film features Niamh, who's now in a senior associate position at PwC in Manchester. She struggled initially in her apprenticeship because of her dyslexia and undiagnosed ADHD, but found support and encouragement at work and with her tuition provider. It can feel like the end of the world when things go wrong, she says, but there are always options, there's always a pathway.
In our third film, Brad takes us through his post-16 journey, which began with him not knowing what his future might look like, except that it should involve computers. Then he found a T Level that worked for him...
Our second film features Zafeerah, who discovered an amazing vocation for engineering at school and went on to an apprenticeship that set her on an absorbing career path.
First up is Nicole, who had a hard time at school and didn't really know what she wanted to, or could, do next...
