As national T Levels Week gets under way, Reaseheath College and University Centre is celebrating four years of growth in technical education, with student numbers rising from 48 when T Levels were first introduced in 2022/23 to around 600 this academic year.
The college launched its first courses in Management and Administration and Construction – Onsite, and has since expanded its T Level offer across 10 subject areas.
Today, Reaseheath offers T Levels in Management and Administration, Design Surveying and Planning, Food Sciences, Land-based Engineering, Tree and Woodland Management and Maintenance, Livestock Production, Animal Management and Behaviour, Animal Management and Science, Marketing, and Ornamental Horticulture and Landscaping.
Around 400 learners collected their results this summer, one of the biggest cohorts in the country, with 100% pass rates recorded in Design, Surveying and Planning, Woodland Management and Maintenance, Business and Administration, and Land-based Engineering.
Running from October 19th to 23rd, T Levels Week celebrates the opportunities these qualifications offer, combining technical learning with industry placements that help students develop the skills and confidence they need for their future careers.
A key part of that developm
ent is the close connection between learning and the workplace. Every T Level includes an industry placement. More than 500 employers currently support Reaseheath students, and the college expects around 600 T Level students to have a placement secured by Christmas.
These placements, which account for 315 hours of a student’s learning time, give learners the chance to put their technical knowledge into practice, build confidence and experience what working in their chosen industry is really like.
For Agricultural Engineering student Lilly Birtles, that placement was in the workshop at Congleton-based machinery hire company Ashbrooks, where she gained experience as an engineer.
“Lilly has been a positive, enthusiastic and supportive member of our team,” the company said. “She has made a very positive contribution during the placement.”
A strong relationship with employers also helps Reaseheath ensure its courses prepare students for the workplace. Through its annual curriculum validation events, the college gathers feedback from employers across its subject areas to understand the skills and behaviours they value.
Feedback from the 2026 events is now helping shape Reaseheath’s Career Ready programme, which focuses on developing students’ communication, problem-solving and other workplace skills, alongside their technical knowledge.
For some students, the combination of technical learning and workplace experience also helps them decide where they want their careers to take them.
Alice Warmisham (pictured right) completed her Tree and Woodland Management and Maintenance T Level in 2025 and is now working with arboriculture companies across New Zealand’s North Island, having first worked for herself in Shropshire and Wales.
“The industry placement was a great way to put what I was learning at college into the real world of arb and made it certain it was what I wanted to do as a full-time career,” she said.
Helping students develop the skills and confidence to take their next steps is also important for the industries they are preparing to join.
Employers in construction, and in agriculture and land management, have reported skills shortages, and Reaseheath teaches T Levels in these areas. Nationally, more than 27,000 students started a T Level in 2025/26, and more than 90% of those who completed achieved a Pass or above.
Paul Spearritt, Vice Principal – Curriculum and Quality at Reaseheath, said: “T Levels Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our students and the range of opportunities their courses can open up.
“From the skills they develop in the classroom to the experience they gain with employers, these stories show the value of combining technical knowledge with real-world experience.
“For us, T Levels are about giving students the skills, confidence and experience they need to succeed in the workplace, while helping employers develop the skilled people they need for the future.”
