Level up your career with brand-new T Level facilities at RNN Group

In a significant leap to help create the next generation of skilled employees, RNN Group has invested millions of pounds into overhauling college facilities for T Level students.

Bolstered by government-backed capital funding, cutting-edge T Level centres have been created at both our Rotherham and North Notts campuses.

The latest renovations have breathed new life into the colleges’ existing spaces. These new-look learning environments have been modernised to the unique demands of the technical qualifications, featuring bespoke classrooms and hands-on learning areas.

Students need a space that gives a seamless transition to working out in the field on placement. Specialist facilities, such as a simulation clinical ward, virtual reality digital suite, high-tech hair and beauty salon, and ground-breaking construction centre, are poised to redefine the T Level learning experience.

Keith Sanderson is director of campus at Rotherham College. He says the T Level projects have been all about improving the student experience.

“Whenever we do any work on campus, it’s always with the mindset of ‘will it enhance learning?’ Our vision is to ensure our learners leave college as fully skilled and well-rounded tradespeople.

In return we want our learners to take ownership and responsibility for their new spaces, creating those positive behaviours that make students more employable when they leave college like time management, communication and being proactive.”

What are T Levels?

T Levels are the new era of post-GCSE learning. The two-year technical qualifications are a popular alternative to A-Levels that combine classroom learning with 45 days of work placements. One T Level is the equivalent of three A-Levels and they are assessed using a mixture of practical tasks, projects and exams.

They’re a great option for young people who have done well at GCSE level and want to go onto a career-focused course rather than an academic one. T Levels aim to ignite aspiration and upskill young people from all backgrounds at a much earlier age.

They also give students an employability boost due to the length of placement required. T Levels at RNN Group have been developed in collaboration with regional employers and businesses to prepare students for work in their chosen industry.

There is also the option to progress to higher education after completing a T Level, so ideal for those who aren’t fully set on a career direction just yet.

RNN Group is diversifying its educational landscape by introducing a wide range of T Levels across its three further education colleges. T Levels are now available in areas like construction, digital, education and childcare, engineering, health, and business administration.

Find out more about T Levels here

New construction centre at Rotherham College

Young people looking to lay the foundations of a career in construction now have access to a £4 million centre of excellence at Rotherham College.

The 12-month renovation project at the town centre campus’s Clifton Building has been the biggest project undertaken here in recent years. It has meant we can bring all four sub-specialisms of bricklaying, joinery, plumbing and electrical installation under one roof. Previously, the department had been split over two sites: Rawmarsh Road and the Clifton Building.

An old library has been renovated to create a two-storey multi-purpose workshop that is flexible and future-proof.

Each floor houses practical multi-use bays, with workings for bricklaying, joinery, plumbing and electrics so that our construction students can get a flavour of all areas of construction.

There are breakout areas with IT resources for planning and theory work along with health, safety and welfare lessons. It has a CAD and VR suite with computer-aided design software and virtual reality technology for students interested in site surveying and construction specific drawing techniques.

There are also showers and changing facilities to ensure students change into the correct uniform required for a construction site.

Perhaps the most exciting and innovative part of the build is a brand-new lift to transport building materials up to the relevant floors. 

Rotherham College now offers T Levels in site construction or building services engineering. There is also the option to do a T Level foundation year in either bricklaying, joinery, electrical installation, or plumbing, to prepare learners for advancing to the full T Level.

After completion, T Level construction students can progress to higher technical qualifications (HTQ) in construction management, aimed at those looking to progress to site supervisor roles.

The construction centre will also be used to teach our full-time vocational study programmes from levels 1 to 3, as well as our adult learners who are training in areas like electrical installation, plumbing, and retrofit.

If you or someone you know is interested in doing a construction course, book a place on our next open event on Saturday 25th January for a tour of the new construction centre.

New digital suite at Rotherham College

Within the same building is our new digital suite which houses state of the art equipment for our computing and digital students.

There is a virtual reality suite, gaming room, animation studio, a green room for podcasting. The new digital suite will be used by our future web developers and software engineers who are studying T Levels in digital and digital design and production. It will also be used by students who are studying games design and development.

It also has new cyber labs for use by our cyber security HTQ students when they’re doing hands-on tasks like pentesting and digital forensics.

In the future, other departments from the Rotherham campus will be able to use the VR facilities for their courses, too.

New T Level building at North Notts College

Over the last 12 months, contractors have been renovating parts of our Worksop campus to create a new space specifically for T Level students at North Notts.

There is a new construction area to support the T Level in Design, Surveying & Planning for Construction and foundation T Levels in brickwork and joinery. Similar to the new centre at Rotherham, the North Notts construction area has multi-use bays for hands-on practical work across all aspects of construction trades.

For the T Level in adult nursing and foundation in health and science, the new centre has its own simulation ward so our students can practice their person-centred care skills.

There is also a new-look salon for use by the whole hair and beauty department. The new T Level in Hair, Barbering, and Beauty Therapy has started this September, and the salon now has tanning rooms, a makeup room, and a state-of-the-art clinical suite for our non-medical aesthetics courses.

At North Notts College, we also offer T Levels in digital production, design and development, engineering and manufacturing, and management and administration.

If you’re interested in doing a T Level from September 2025, book a place on our next open event on Saturday 1st February 2025 to see the new facilities.

Find out more about T Levels at North Notts College here