Your Future Your Choice – Primary

Higher education (sometimes shortened to HE) is the continuation of study after the age of 18 and completion of year 13 (or equivalent).     You can study higher education courses at a university, some colleges, and in some businesses too.

Higher education qualifications include a Degree, a Higher Apprenticeship or a Higher National Diploma (HND).

These different ways of learning help individuals select the type of qualification that suits their learning style. We are all unique.  Some people enjoy working and studying at the same time (doing an Apprenticeship or HND) and some people want to continue studying a subject in more depth (a degree) at a university, which may also help with their career choices in the future.   All of these different pathways also take different amounts of time to complete, anything from 2 to 5 years.

A lot of people decide to study a qualification called a degree at university because they want to get a certain job or want to learn more about a specific area.  There are lots of different subjects and courses to choose from – over 50,000! It’s your choice where you study – you may choose to study in a different town or city, or you may choose to stay near to your home. You can choose from over 400 different universities and higher education providers across the UK, or even study at a university in another country!

The average degree takes 3 years to study.  However, the route through education is your choice.

Other benefits of going to university include:

• You may get the opportunity to get real work experience (a work placement), volunteering or take part in an educational trip anywhere across the world.
• You could earn more money over your lifetime than people who have not achieved a higher education qualification.
• You will meet like-minded people from all over the world, possibly move away from home, experience new cultures and try new experiences.
• You will have more career opportunities available to you after finishing university.
• As well as gaining a deeper level of subject knowledge, you will also develop your ‘life’ skills –  communication, resilience, problem solving, digital literacy, money management, organisational skills, using your initiative and the ability to learn and adapt.

Did you know?

The subjects you study at university can be related to your hobbies and interests, not just subjects you study at school! The brilliant thing about university is that you choose a subject that interests you!

What does the University of Northampton look like?

Jamilla and Jack guide you around the University of Northampton! Have a look at our short University of Northampton campus tour video to see what a university looks like!

Consider, how similar is it to your school? What differences did you spot?

You can also explore our campus using our UON Virtual tour! Using this link, you can explore the different buildings, explore inside the buildings and learn a lot about the university from our virtual tour guides.

Take a look at the list of subjects you can study at the University of Northampton. These range from undergraduate, postgraduate, top-ups, and foundation study.

You may also want to consider visiting our campus for a University Experience Day, participating in one of our virtual higher education workshops, or attending one of careers events, such as STEAM Northants.  Have a look at our Events and Opportunities page to find out more.

You might also want to find out more about what other courses you can study after the age of 16. Have a look at the National Apprenticeships website or the UCAS website also has a good explanation of Apprenticeships and other pathways to other higher education qualifications.

As you go through school and make decisions on your future career, it is important to develop your employability (or ‘transferable’) skills. These are the skills that you are developing all the time, to make you a better learner, a more empathetic human and ultimately, will help get you a better job.
Employability skills include:

• Empathy
• Organisation skills
• Time management – planning your time well
• Leadership skills
• Team skills
• Communication (verbal and non verbal)
• Problem solving
• Creativity and innovation
• Negotiation and persuasion
• Positive attitude
• Resilience

You are already developing all of these skills – at school, at home, doing your hobbies, being in clubs and having a role in school – such as the school council or play leader. Consider which if the above skills you need to develop more, as you go through school?

If you’re a teacher, you may find our resources called ‘The Future is You’ useful. There are suggested lesson plans for you to use in your school.

You may also want to consider visiting our campus for a University Experience Day, participating in one of our virtual higher education workshops, or attending one of careers events, such as STEAM Northants.  Have a look at our Events and Opportunities page to find out more.