Trailblazing T Levels – La Retraite RC Girls’ School
November 18, 2025
La Retraite was one of the first schools in the country to introduce T Levels back in 2020. We now offer 6 T Levels and actively support other schools and colleges in implementing them.
Our journey began with the introduction of the Digital and the Education and Childcare T Levels – the first because there is a huge skills shortage in our area and the other because students were having to leave the school to study it.
To build our staff’s skills to deliver this highly technical course, we made use of the Education and Training Foundation’s industry insights offer. We were compensated for releasing our teachers to go on work experience in their area of expertise.
La Retraite pioneered a partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and Amazon, creating T Level industry placements that give students experience of work. Our students have now progressed onto apprenticeships at these companies. The success of this pilot programme was so significant that both companies have now rolled it out nationally.
One of our T Level Digital students now works for Amazon organising the T Level placements, which fast track successful students on to apprenticeships. You can read more about her journey here.
T Levels have dramatically improved our facilities too. For example, our Education students are taught in a simulated nursery funded by the DfE’s special equipment allocation (SEA) fund. Thanks to that, they’re able to go out to work in our feeder primary schools, which fits well with our Catholic ethos of serving others.
After our initial success with Digital and Education, we based our next wave of offer on the sectors that were popular with our students and where there were known local skills shortages. Health Midwifery was an ideal choice, so we invited all the local healthcare professionals for an open morning to see our mock hospital and meet our students. This led to a partnership for industry placements with Guys and St Thomas, which we were able to launch thanks to the DfE’s employer support fund.
In celebration of National Careers Week, Lambeth Council hosted an All Schools Careers Fair for Year 10 students with over 2000 students in attendance. La Retraite ran a T Level stall at this event, with T Level students subsequently moving into employment.
One inspiring example of student progression is Aaron, who began on a T Level Foundation course, advanced to the Construction T Level, and is now completing a degree apprenticeship with Overbury. Aaron, a student with SEND, shared his story at the T Level All-Party Parliamentary Group, demonstrating how T Levels can truly change lives.
T Levels provide a great opportunity for us to introduce students to employers and for them to gain important, sector-specific skills. After all, the first question asked at interview is often about experience.
