By registering with Routes Ahead you can save courses and searches you are interested in and come back to them later. You can add and remove courses and searches as you wish, it's really easy!

To register follow the steps below...

• click on Register and login
• scroll down the page to Not registered yet? Enter your details here:
• enter your details as requested, and
• click submit

Once you have registered you will be able to log in using your email address and your password

• click on Register and login
• enter your email address and your chosen password, and
• click submit

Forgotten your password? Click on the link provided where you will be asked to enter your email address again. You will then be sent a password reminder to your email address.

There are two main searches you can use in Routes Ahead.

• Main search - Use this search to find suitable courses that match what you are looking for
• Provider search - Use this search to find a course that is offered by a certain school, college or training provider

Short of time? Why not use the Quick search on the front page? It's quick and easy. Simply type in the course subject you want to study and click on the Quick search button.

There are also other searches available...

Out of county

Use this search if you live close to the county border. This will then take you to a list of websites for the surrounding counties' online prospectuses.

Special schools

Use this search if you want to find out what schools there are for young people with special educational needs in Derbyshire.

National providers

Use this search to find companies who offer national training schemes.

Independent schools

Use this function to find schools which offer private education in Derbyshire and the surrounding areas.

Job vacancies

Use this function if you want to search for job vacancies or Apprenticeship vacancies. It will take you directly to Purple Pages on the Connexions Derbyshire website.

Other activities

Use this function if you would like to look for opportunities such as volunteering, joining a society or getting involved in sport and leisure activities in your local aread.

If you want to see what you can study in years 10 and 11...

• click on Ready to search
• click on Main search
• select Up to 16 (Key Stage 4)
• choose your school from the drop down menu
• if you know what course you want to study, type in a key word where it asks Do you know what course you are interested in? or you can select a subject group then a subject from the drop down menus
  • you can click on search or carry on filtering!
• if you know what type of qualification you want to study select an option from that drop down menu where it asks Do you know what qualification you want?
• click search to view your results

No results? Try using less search criteria. For example, just choose a subject.

Too many courses? Try refining your search by changing some of the criteria you have used for making your selections.

• click on Ready to search
• click on Main Search
• select 16 and over
• if you know what course you want to study, type in a key word where it asks Do you know what course you are interested in? or you can select a subject group then a subject from the drop down menus
  • You can click on search or carry on filtering
• If you know how you want to study, select an option from the drop down menu where it asks Do you know how you want to study? You can also select what type of qualification or level you want to study, but don't worry if you're not sure
  • You can click on search or carry on filtering
• if you know where you want to study, select an option where it ask Do you know where you want to study? from either a name of a school, college or training provider, a town or city, search by distance from your home or the town or city you have selected, and
• click search to view your results

No results? Try using less search criteria. For example, just choose a subject.

Too many courses? Try refining your search by changing some of the criteria you have used or making more selections.

• click on Ready to search
• click on Provider Search
• select a school, sixth form, college or training provider from the drop down menu, and
• click Search to see what courses they are offering.

Please note that by using the provider search, your results will include courses that you can take at 14 to 16 and courses at 16 and over.

There are different ways you can display your results in Routes Ahead.

List format

When you have carried out a search it will automatically display results in list format. This will tell you the name of the course, type of course, type of qualification, level of qualification, age range and the provider of the course. Click on the course title to view the course details page for that course or click on the provider name to view the provider details page for that provider.

Grid format

You can also view the results in a grid. To do this, click on the grid button at the bottom of the results page. This will display your results in a matrix on a separate page and will display the courses in order of type of course with the provider of the course along the top of the grid. It will also tell you the type and level of qualification. Click on the dots in the grid to open up the course details page for that course. You can also click on the provider along the top to open up the provider details page for that provider.

You can print your results or course details at any time by clicking on the print button at the bottom of the results page or course details page.

My account is a facility that allows you to build up a personalised list of searches and courses for as long as you need them so that you can go back to them at any time.

Saving your searches is useful as other courses may have been added to the website or you may not have time to go through the results at the moment.

Saving courses is useful because you can build a personal list of your favourite courses which you can look at each time you visit the website. You can also print off the list, to add to your progress file or individual learning plan.

Remember you need to log in, in order to save searches and courses!

• carry out a search
• if you want to save the search, click on the Save icon at the bottom of the results page
• you can now click on click on My account and it will display all the searches that you have saved
• if you want to save a course, click on the course you are interested in
• click on the Save icon at the bottom of the course details page
• you can now click on the My account icon in top right hand corner of the page and it will display all the courses you have saved, and
• you can add, view or delete searches or courses at any time when you are logged in

You can also use My account to view or amend your personal details.

Click on My account details

There are useful links you can use when viewing course details.

Provider's other courses

Shows you a list of all courses provided by that school, college or training provider.

Provider's details

Links to the provider's details including their website, details of how to apply and the facilities they offer.

Qualifications explained

Links to the Connexions Derbyshire website where qualifications are explained.

Qualifications table

Opens up a simple grid of qualifications, what level they are at and at what age you can study them.

What can I do next

Shows you a list of qualifications that you may be able to study after the course you are interested.

There are useful links you can use when viewing the courses provider details.

View courses

Shows you a list of all the courses provider by that school, college or training provider.

View events

Shows you a list of events that are happening in that school, college or training provider. This could include open evenings or taster days.

View map

Opens up a map showing you were the provider is based.

View bus maps

Where available, tells you about any organised bus routes for the school, college or training provider.

View Ofsted report

Links to the latest Ofsted inspection report which tells you what the government thinks about the education and training provided at this school, college or training provider.

View video

Where available, shows a video of that school, college or training provider. See JTL for example.

DCSF Attainment tables

Links to the government website which tells you about the achievement rates in this school, college or training provider. You can also use this website to compare rates with other providers. There is a user guide available on this site which will help you to understand what these rates mean.

You may need more help and advice about making choices for your future, especially when there are so many courses to choose from.

• click on Need help with your choice
• click on the links on this page to go to the Connexions Derbyshire website for information on learning and personal stuff.

About us

Tells you about the organisations that develop and maintain Routs Ahead

Contact us

Tells you how to contact people involved in Routes Ahead and the Connexions Derbyshire helpline.

Site map

Shows you a diagram of all the different pages available.

Links

Lists useful links to other websites

Glossary

Lists some of the key words used on Routes Ahead and what they mean.

Feedback

Displays a form that you can complete and send to us to let us know what you think about Routes Ahead.

What's Routes Ahead

Explains what the website is for and how you can get extra help.

Practitioners

If you are and adviser or tutor here you can access information and support on how to use Routes Ahead with young people.

Parents and carers

If you are the parent or carer of a young person, here you can access information and advice on how to use Routes Ahead, links to other websites and frequently asked questions.

Employers

If you are an employer, here you can access information on how to use Routes Ahead.