Further Education (16 to 18-year-olds)
Last updated on: 22 February 2024
Young people aged 16 to 18 must stay in education or training. This is compulsory and could include:
- full-time education
- starting an apprenticeship or traineeship
- spending at least 20 hours per week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training.
Further Education courses for 16–18-year-olds are generally funded by the government for students in England. These courses normally take place in a sixth form or college.
Access to free Further Education depends on the parent or child’s immigration status. However, most young people aged 16 to 19 years old can access further education for free, even if they do not have documents to prove their immigration status. This is possible under ‘exceptional circumstances’.
If you need help with the cost of travel or other expenses, you may be able to access the 16-19 Bursary. If you are being looked after by Children’s Services, they will be able to help you with any additional educational costs.
You can get more information about access to further education from Coram Children's Legal Centre or from the UK Council for International Student Affairs, which also provides advice for students via a telephone advice line: 020 7788 9214 (open from Monday to Friday between 1pm and 4pm).
Students will usually complete a Level 3 qualification at the end of their course. This might be an A level, diploma or National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).
Further Education includes all courses up to undergraduate level. For students aged between 16 and 18, further education courses also include 3 types of technical and applied qualifications:
- Level 3 tech levels to specialise in a specific technical job
- Level 2 technical certificates help get employment, or progress to another tech level
- Applied general qualifications to continue general education at advanced level through applied learning.
Some colleges and sixth forms also offer Level 3 courses (such as A levels) while others also offer Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications such as Higher National Certificate (HNC) Higher National Diploma (HND) and foundation degrees.
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