By Telford College principal and chief executive GRAHAM GUEST

It’s an anxious time for many students as they discover whether they have secured the exam results needed to progress onto their next chosen path.

This week the spotlight has been on A levels, AS levels, T Levels, and other vocational courses, and the attention switches next week to GCSEs.

In spite of well-publicised moves to downgrade the UK’s average exam grades to pre-Covid levels, it’s been great to see so many Telford students still surpassing expectations. Inevitably, though, there are always others who will have fallen short of what they’d hoped to achieve.

The important thing to remember if you haven’t quite got the grades you were hoping for is that there’s no need to panic – because there’s never been a wider choice of options, right here on your doorstep.

As the largest further education centre in Shropshire, we have a vast mix of academic, vocational and technical courses, as well as apprenticeships, developed in consultation with local employers, and brand new T Levels which launch next month.

So shop around, explore all of your options . . . and remember that our experienced and friendly team is here if you want to drop in, or call us for some words of advice.

Exam grades inevitably grab media attention at this time of the year, but there’s no doubting the fact that trends and priorities are changing. The numbers and letters on your post-exam piece of paper are not the be-all and end-all.

Not every employer is looking for people with degrees. Higher level apprenticeships, programmes in our expanding NHS training academy at our Wellington campus which are geared first and foremost around skills, are just as relevant to many companies these days.

Qualifications are important – of course they are. But we firmly believe the future of education is about the development of well-rounded individuals with useable, transferable skills in keeping with the modern working world.

We work more closely than ever with business to ensure our students are viewed are employable. Our employer hubs give them chance to help shape the curriculum.

Having said all of that, we are delighted to see 100% pass rates in many of our subject areas again this year, with increased high grades in a raft of subject areas from physics and chemistry to history and business.

Our students’ achievements are a testament to their resilience, dedication, and the supportive environment we’ve cultivated here at Telford College.

Listen here to Graham, and deputy chief executive Janet Stephens, talking on Shropshire Live Radio