Further Education

Further education (FE) in Britain means education after GCSE and GNVQ exams taken around the age of 16. It includes courses of study learning to A-levels which students take at their school or six-form college. Some students go straight to college of further education.

FE college such as Ealing Tertiary College (ETC) has two main attractions:

1. there is a wide choice of A-level subjects, including Law, Computing and Sociology;

2. there is a much freer, more adult atmosphere than at school.

Student who are not happy with the academic study involved in A-levels, and who want to do a vocational course which leads quickly to a job, may also go to FE college. FE colleges offer all sorts of work-related courses, from Car Mechanics to Dental Nursing, which give students NVQ (National Vocational Qualifications).

Then there are those who leave school at the age of 16 and go straight into a job, but later on realize the need for higher qualifications. Quite a lot of people in their mid-20s or older come back into education at an FE college and take a one-year Access course; this gets them into university, where they are often more successful than younger student because they are more serious and focused.

FE colleges like ETC also offer English-language courses for foreign visitors; in some way they are a better learning environment than specialist language schools, as the visitors mix with all British students around them.