SHD is designed to set young people up so they can progress as far as they want to go, whether into higher academic learning or employment.

Diplomas have been developed very carefully with employers who want to captivate the brightest talent. SHD has the academic rigour of other qualifications but also has occupational relevance, which means your son or daughter no longer has to choose between an academic or vocational route. This is blended learning at its best, giving young people real skills and a challenging academic curriculum.

Flexible learning

SHD has been designed to be flexible ensuring young people can refine and tailor their learning as they progress, whilst getting a good grasp of core academic skills and knowledge that will stretch them. If young people progress to Level 3, they will have a qualification that matches 3 A levels.

As part of the diploma they can choose to take additional learning in either an A level subject or specialised topics. For example they might choose A level Maths or Science to support entry into certain health or caring professions.