Full time courses for school leavers (16-18)

Kick-start your future career with a full-time course from Northumberland Skills.

 

Find a full-time course and get the qualification you need to stand out when looking for a job or progressing to further and higher study with us or at university. If you are looking for our part time courses, click here.
 

• Find your perfect full time course
• Courses suited to your ability
• Why should you learn with us?
• Where can you study?
• How to enrol
• How to contact us
• Would you like our guide in other formats?
• Policies and Learner handbook

Studying with us means you’ll gain more than just a qualification, you’ll adopt skills for life and work as well as the confidence to succeed.

We offer eight vocational study programmes which have a mix of online study, classroom based learning and work placement or experiences:

• Business & Digital Skills
• Childcare & education
• Construction
• Engineering
• Hair & Beauty
• Health & Social Care
• Professional Cookery
• Students with additional needs and/ or disabilities (SEND)

Browse our course guide:

Flick through our course information in our magazine reader below.

Download our course guide: 

Grab a copy of our course guide below.  

Click here to view a PDF version of our course guide

We offer courses at a range of entry points to ensure that your level of study is best suited to your abilities.

• SEND - ​Bespoke courses to develop communication, confidence and study skills for learners who need extra help to progress to Level 1
• LEVEL 1 - GCSEs Grade 1-3 or vocational competency qualifications at Level 1
• LEVEL 2 - GCSEs Grade 4-9 or vocational competency qualifications at Level 2 and Apprenticeships at Level 2 
• LEVEL 3 - A Levels or vocational competency qualifications at Level 3, as well as Apprenticeships at Level 3

Need some extra help to decide which is the best level for you?

Our dedicated team of curriculum leaders and lecturers are ready to help. They can advise which level to start at, as well as helping you choose the route that will best suit your interests and aspirations. Call your local team or email learn@northumberland.gov.uk. 

Providing exciting opportunities for young people and adults locally is at the core of all that we do here at Northumberland Skills.

We understand that learning stretches beyond the classroom and that’s why studying with us brings you so much more than just a qualification. 

Confident and ready

Boosting your skills and self-confidence is our priority – by the time you complete your qualification with us, we want you to feel confident and ready to progress to a job or further study. No matter which subject you choose to specialise in, we ensure that you feel inspired and empowered to achieve your best, accessing support along the way to keep you on track to reach your goal. 

Skills for work

We recognise that functional skills including English, Maths and development of digital skills are critical to your future success and expected by an employer when you enter the world of work. We will support you to achieve nationally recognised qualifications or GCSEs as part of your course and ensure that you build essential skills to make you more employable.

Blended learning

Through an engaging mixture of classroom-based learning and practical skills, digital mentoring and e-learning, plus independent study and work placements; learning with us offers you the perfect blend of academic and life skills to help you succeed. 

When you finish your initial course, we can recommend your next steps, like a higher-level course, or help you to apply for jobs and apprenticeships.

Work experience and employer connections

Experience of the world of work is an important part of your learning and work placements form an integral part of your study programme with us. Our business networks and strong employer partnerships offer you a competitive edge upon completion of your studies. We also have a range of employers endorsing each of our education programmes, so that you can feel assured that you’re working towards an industry standard qualification. 

Not only can work experience help you to make sure you’ve made the right career choice, it gives you the valuable experience that every employer is looking for, showing that you can handle the world of work, an environment totally different to studying at school. 

We have a range of campuses across the county, so there's somewhere to learn close to where you live. We also have a range of specialist teams to help you find, enrol on and enjoy your studies.

We’ve developed a fresh approach to learning - one that blends face-to-face class work with digital mentoring to ensure your safety is paramount and underpinned by ongoing support to keep you motivated and on-track.

If you’re looking to approach learning in a new way, you’ve come to the right place. 

Our portfolio of courses for school leavers have been designed with your future in mind. Our curriculum leads have a wealth of experience and employer contacts to ensure that the course content is tailored to suit the needs of industry, and that you gain the skills employers are looking for. 

Courses avaliable at each campus:

Business & Digital Skills, Level 1 & Level 2
Alnwick, Morpeth and Prudhoe 

Childcare & Education, Level 1 & Level 2
Alnwick, Berwick, Blyth and Prudhoe

Construction (various trades), Level 1 & Level 2
Alnwick and Haydon Bridge

Engineering, Level 1 & Level 2
Blyth

Hairdressing and Beauty, Level 1
Haydon Bridge

Health and Social Care, Level 1
Alnwick and Berwick

Professional Cookery, Level 1
Haydon Bridge

SEND, Bespoke level of study
Alnwick and Prudhoe

It's easy as 1-2-3 to enrol on one of our courses.

STEP 1: Choose a Course

 

If you need guidance call your local campus or email: learn@northumberland.gov.uk​

STEP 2: Enrol with us

Online - Complete an online enquiry form here
In person - You can enrol in person at any of the local campuses during opening hours.
Call - You can enrol over the phone for our courses 

Please note that if you call us you may experience a delay at busy times. Please leave us a message with your contact details and we'll call you back as quickly as we can. Our telephone lines are open: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Out of hours, leave a message and we'll call you back.

STEP 3: We'll confirm your place 

Your place will be confirmed by the campus enrolment team. You will be sent an email and contacted before your start date. You will only hear from us again prior to your class if we have not gained sufficient numbers for the class to run. 

We have a range of specialist teams to help you find, enrol on and enjoy your studies.

ALNWICK, Lindisfarne Road, Alnwick, NE66 1AX, Tel: 01670 623 691

BERWICK, Walkergate Building, Walkergate, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1DB, Tel: 01670 626 107

BLYTH, Sports Centre, Blyth, NE24 5BT, Tel: 01670 622 099

HEXHAM, Wentworth Leisure Centre, Wentworth Place, Hexham, NE46 3PD, Tel: 01670 623 701

HAYDON BRIDGE, Haydon Bridge High School, NE47 6LR, Tel: 01670 622 258

MORPETH, Cottingwood Lane, Morpeth, NE61 1DN, Tel: 01670 622 257

PRUDHOE, Fuse Media Centre, Moor Road, Prudhoe, NE42 5LJ, Tel: 01670 623 689

WANSBECK WORKSPACE (Ashington), Rotary Parkway, Ashington, NE63 8QZ, Tel: 01670 623 894

If you need our guide or other information in any other format including large print, braille, audio, or another language, please contact us:

• Telephone: 01670 622 099                  
• Type talk: 01800 10845 600 6400 
• Relay number: 018001 01670 623515                            
• Email: learn@northumberland.gov.uk 

If you are Deaf or can’t speak on the phone, contact us using Relay UK. Download the Relay UK app or using your existing text phone prefix our dedicated text Relay number: 018001 01670 623515. 

British Sign Language users can contact us using an online sign language interpreting service. You can find out more about Signvideo here.

This section contains relevant policies and the learner handbook.

• Click here to view the Learner's Handbook
• Click here to view the Learner Fees and Charges policy
• Click here to view the Bursary policy
• Click here to view the Sub-contracting Fees and Charges policy.