16-18 Year Olds

Get Work Ready, Get Future Ready, Get Life Ready

At Wigan & Leigh College, we provide courses tailored to suit your career ambition. That’s why you can choose from a range of academic, technical and vocational courses, as well as apprenticeships to develop skills necessary for employment or further study when you leave school.

We have links with the top employers in the North-West and have the best tech teaching facilities at any college in the region. Our tutors come from the industries you want to work in. So, we’ll help you get clear about what you want to study and where that could lead to.

Moving from school to college

We’ll support you whilst you’re still at school and making your decisions of what to do after you finish. We provide a transition service through the School Liaison team, which provides careers advice, support and sampling opportunities for students in Years 9 to 11.

We work with our partner schools to organise Sampling days for students in Year 10, giving you a chance to visit the college and take part in different taster sessions to help you decide on what to do after school.

In Year 10 and 11, you’ll also have the chance to visit us at one of our Open Evenings, where you can have a look around our campuses and speak to our expert tutors about our courses and apprenticeships.

The School Liaison team can be contacted at SchoolLiaison@wigan-leigh.ac.uk

If you’ve left school, then please contact our admissions team at applications@wigan-leigh.ac.uk

Find the right

Course for you

A LevelsView Courses

AccountancyView Courses

Animal ManagementView Courses

Art & DesignView Courses

Bakery SchoolView Courses

Beauty TherapiesView Courses

BricklayingView Courses

BusinessView Courses

Carpentry & JoineryView Courses

Catering & HospitalityView Courses

Child Care & Early Years EducationView Courses

Civil Engineering / Construction & the Built EnvironmentView Courses

Computer Science and Digital SkillsView Courses

Construction TradesView Courses

Electrical & Electronic EngineeringView Courses

Electrical InstallationView Courses

Fashion & ClothingView Courses

Floristry, Horticulture & Landscaping StudiesView Courses

Foundation StudiesView Courses

Graphic DesignView Courses

HairdressingView Courses

Health & Social CareView Courses

Mechanical EngineeringView Courses

MediaView Courses

Motor Vehicle EngineeringView Courses

MusicView Courses

Painting & DecoratingView Courses

Performing ArtsView Courses

PhotographyView Courses

PlasteringView Courses

PlumbingView Courses

Public ServicesView Courses

ScienceView Courses

SportView Courses

Supported InternshipView Courses

T LevelsView Courses

Travel & TourismView Courses

What our

Students Say

Maynara

“This course includes lots of different aspects of healthcare, which helped me decide what I want to do as we learn about different career options. I’m interested in psychology and neuroscience because I want to help people, particularly teenagers, open up and deal with their problems.”

Maynara Baptista

Yasmin

"I've enjoyed the radio and podcasting module on the course and I love thinking of ideas and presenting them out loud."

Yasmin Wandera

Harry

“I’ve really enjoyed the course. There are lots of performance opportunities in college and outside. We’ve entered Greater Manchester Skills Competitions and the Dance Festival and we put on three performances a year, so it’s a really busy schedule. It helps you build your confidence to move on to the next steps after college. I am now training at a top dance school.”

Harry Cunliffe

Tyler

“I loved my time at college. Tutors are great and go out of their way to help you achieve, helping you set personal goals and targets for the year. And the facilities are amazing.”

Tyler Topping-Higson

Alisha

“I enjoyed learning about the anatomy of the body and find investigating sports injuries really interesting.”

Alisha Linney

Lois

"Through the Supported Internship I now have a job working for Premier Inn. My communication skills, including eye contact have improved a lot. My confidence has also grown.”

Lois Withington

Millie

“I like learning about all the different roles and knowing that there isn’t just one route I can take. There’s so many different doors that I can open from doing this course. The course has helped my confidence grow and it’s made me a lot more motivated because I’ve always been passionate about anything to do with travel since being a kid.”

Millie Watson

Lucien

"I wanted to explore a creative subject that was hands-on, fun and more career orientated. We don't all do the exact same thing in class so we get a lot of creative freedom which I liked. The class sizes are also quite small which I found was more focused and supportive."

Lucien McCoy

Imogen

"My apprenticeship has helped me to find my calling. It has taught me that I prefer the practical side of education and it suits my personality. I love being able to have a conversation with people from different walks of life. Learning the skills allows me to really help people to feel good about themselves and I feel gratified by that. It’s a rewarding career path."

Imogen Jones

Corey

"“Work experience has been great and the college helped me find the placement. I’ve seen lots of different aspects to the construction industry as you get to see what it’s like on site. It’s a good
qualification to have and it’s also helped me with job interviews too. Not many job applicants my age have the work experience I have from doing this course, and it’s equivalent to 3 A levels.”

Corey Kelly

Lewis

"I've developed my knowledge in colour theory and that's an essential thing you need to learn. Working on the community mural in Wigan Grand Aracde was a fantastic opportunity as it was the first time we had done something on that scale."

Lewis Gormally

Brandon

"My skills in butchery and filleting fish have improved significantly on this course. The staff are nice and are always there for you to offer help. They've taken me from a cook to a chef!"

Brandon Alker

Crystal

"I enjoyed every minute of the Worldskills UK National Finals. It was an amazing experience and a great achievement (getting a bronze medal) to include on my CV."

Crystal Palmer

Skala

"We get to do a lot of presentations on this course and that has really helped improve my confidence speaking in front of people."

Skala Karwan

Elyss

"The range of animals we have here are amazing and we get lots of career pathway options opened to us."

Elyss Gonzalez

Carter

"I want to follow in the footsteps of the teachers I have now. The college has fostered an environment that is friendly, and the staff are so supportive."

Carter Bate

Esther

"It was great to be able to combine sciences with art. I really enjoyed the Extended Project Qualification – Inspired by my Art A Level, I made a Regency dress inspired by Jane Austin. All of my tutors were the best, they really made my college experience"

Esther Ndongala

Connor

"The full-time course definitely helped me to get to where I needed to be and made sure I had the right mind-set before becoming an apprentice. When I’m at work, my boss knows that he can trust me and that I’ll get the job done. The first time I finished a wall on my own stands out as a highlight. I really felt like I had accomplished something."

Connor Wilding

Connor completed a full-time plastering course before progressing onto an apprenticeship.

Dominic

“College has helped to prepare me for work. Even the interview process is something I would have struggled with if college had not prepared me. I think the college has given me a good overview of the industry.”

Dominic Gregory

Level 3 Electrical Installation

Harry

"I like that it shows you the different aspects and practices in different situations and that its hands-on. I learn better when I am doing the job as it makes the information stick better."

Harry Collins

T Level (Teaching & Education)

Ffion

“I enjoy the variety on the course, every project is different. I applied to the college because of the great facilities such as the graphic design tablets and free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud.”

Ffion Williams

Level 3 Graphic Design

Ella

I chose to come to this college as I wanted to push myself and I wanted a new start. It's given me more confidence and I have met lots of new people. The versatility of the course has made me realise I wanted to specialise in graphic design.

Ella Casey

Level 3 Art & Design

Ann-Marie

“My highlight of college is being encouraged to be the best that I can be by the caring staff and my friends who I made through college. All the support got me to where I am today.”

Ann-Marie Graham

Level 3 Health & Social Care

Caiden

"Studying A levels here has been particularly good as you get lots more 1-1 support as the class sizes are smaller. There's also a focus on making students good members of society."

Caiden Bate

A Levels