Dylan Palmer student spotlight: My T Level experience

13 October 2025

Hear Dylan's personal experience studying the T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development, from hands-on work experience to project-based learning and support from lecturers.

My name is Dylan Palmer, and I’m currently studying the T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development.

When I was in Year 10, I started studying Computing at GCSE and it just clicked for me. I was drawn to how many different things you can do with it, and how you can help people by creating things that actually make a difference. That’s what really sparked my interest and what led me to choose this course.

Choosing a T Level over A Levels

A big reason I chose the T Level route was because it lets you focus on one subject, instead of three different A Levels. For me, that was more appealing because it’s a more direct path into the area I want to work in. The T Level is equivalent to three A Levels, so you’ll essentially leave with the same amount of qualifications, but you’re learning what you actually want to do, every day.

It also offers something that stood out to me from the start — industry work experience. You get 45 days on placement, which is a massive opportunity to learn outside the classroom.

Real industry experience

I have secured a placement with the Vikings Academy Trust as an IT technician. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the industry works, getting involved in big projects, and learning what the day-to-day is really like in an IT role.

The hands-on learning is what makes the T Level so valuable, it’s not just exams and theory it’s about gaining real-world skills.

Learning through projects

One of the best parts of the course has been the project-based learning. For example, we did something called the ESP, which is a two-week project where we planned, coded, debugged, and tested a program using Python.

I also really enjoyed learning about HTML and I’m looking forward continuing to use that knowledge during our OSP project in second year. That’s what made me realise I want to go into web development in the future.

Growth and independence

Looking back to where I was a year ago, one of the biggest changes in me is definitely my independence and time management.

College is quite different to being at school. It’s your responsibility to get work done, and the lecturers aren’t constantly chasing you like they do in school. It is a big transition, but you get used to it and it helps you grow up. It’s good preparation for life after college.

College in general feels very different from school or sixth form. It’s more like the real world. You’re treated more like an adult, and you have to take responsibility for your own learning. That’s helped me mature a lot.

Support and advice

The support from lecturers has been amazing. They’re always there if you need help, and they guide you in the right direction. You just have to ask, they’ll always support you with what you need to learn.

If I had one piece of advice for someone starting this T Level, it would be: take good notes. There’s a lot of content, so staying organised helps a lot. Whether you write things down or use something like OneNote (which the college provides), just find what works best for you.

Final thoughts

Before you start a T Level, you really need to be sure it’s what you want to do. You’re committing to one subject, so if you’re not 100% certain, either A Levels or a shorter course might give you more options to consider.

But if you’re confident this is the industry for you, then a T Level is definitely the way to go.