The Course

Principal Learning (learning you have to do)
This covers all you need to know about environmental and land-based subjects at the level you’re studying. You’ll learn to work with health and safety in mind, developing scientific, communication and management skills. You will also develop entrepreneurial and creative skills – such as running your own business in this area. You’ll also do fieldwork to study different habitats like woodland, moorland, rocky and sandy shores, ponds and streams.

Additional and specialist learning (options you can choose)
You can take specialist courses in environmental and land-based studies as part of your Diploma. It might be about plants, land use and recreation, working with animals, or food manufacture. You can take other qualifications in ecology, conservation, agriculture, horticulture, health and safety, food hygiene, or customer care. You could do a GCSE or an A level in subjects like biology, science and geography. You can also pick subjects that you might want to learn at university, like law, science, politics and a language; or a course to do with a hobby like art or history.

Functional Skills (curriculum subjects)
You’ll still do English, maths and ICT as part of your Diploma course. You’ll need them to get your Diploma qualification, and for whatever you go on to do next.

Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills
These are skills like team-working, creative thinking and self-management. You’ll need them for life, study and work, and they’ll help you to be a success whatever you do in the future.

Work Experience
On your Diploma course you’ll get to do at least 10 days’ work experience. It’s a great way to use the skills you’ve learnt in the classroom, and see what work is really like. For example, you could shadow someone who works as an environmental scientist, or spend time on a livestock farm, a garden centre, with a local gamekeeper or even at a zoo or museum.

Student Project
You can do your project about anything you like because you choose the topic, and how you’re going to present your work. You’ll need to show all the things you’ve learnt on your Diploma course, but what you do it on is up to you. It could be a written piece of work, like a report; an investigation or something practical. You might decide to look at climate change and investigate alternative energy. You could find out the arguments for and against nuclear power generation and with your results hold a debate with your classmates or present your findings with a video presentation.