With A Level results being released and students making big decisions about their futures, it is becoming more apparent that university is not the best way forward for everyone and will not necessarily guarantee a job post-degree.

The country is heading for change with uncertainty about the skills that will be valued most. Making the step to spend a significant amount of funds to study over three years is a major decision. The cost of living is high, with rents soaring, travel costs inching up and the decrease of student loans and bursaries available.

It is reported that university tuition fees in England are now the highest in the world. The average annual cost of £9188 makes it significantly more than higher education in the US, where the average student pays $9410 (£7518) per annum, according to the Student Loan Calculator website. This is prompting some students to seek different and more practical alternatives.

The Leiths Diploma is an opportunity for students to study a world class culinary education that can bring opportunities around the globe, straight after A-Levels.

Described as 'the Oxbridge of the food world', Leiths is considered to be the leading UK cookery school. Offering a globally recognised professional chefs' diploma, alongside the widest selection of amateur cooking classes of any cookery school in the UK; the Diploma runs for nine months, providing students with the skills needed for a lifetime of highly skilled roles in the food industry.

Elouise Daniel, who has dyslexia successfully graduated from Leiths in 2017 as Student of the Year. She has gone on to work in the kitchens of Soho House and cooks for wellness retreats in Ibiza.

Elouise says of her time at Leiths, “I could speak for days about what a special experience it was to finally find the form of education that made me want to study, learn and absorb everything I possibly could. I never really felt that in any way in secondary school. I would love to encourage people that may be in a similar situation to me to get involved.”

A fee of £24,425 for the nine month Leiths Diploma course can feel expensive. If you look at it in another way, young students spend a year honing their skills, avoid another two years of living costs, and start earning two years earlier. The high chance of finding a job straight out of one year of culinary training can be weighed against the period of job hunting that can be required after a more traditional, theoretical degree. It is also an opportunity for students with SEN and learning disabilities to shine within a supportive environment where students with dyslexia, for example, have thrived in the course going on to successful food careers.

Camilla Schneideman, Leiths Managing Director, said: “There are an abundance of fulfilling, creative roles to be found in food, and a respected qualification from Leiths will set your CV apart.

“Leiths students go onto high profile positions in food writing, recipe development and food photography. They are entrepreneurial; starting their own catering companies and pop-ups, authoring cookbooks and launching food businesses. Many work on food series for television, and others act as thought leaders in the future of food and technology in governance and policy. The opportunities are endless and highly motivating,” she adds.

With the job landscape becoming more vast and competitive, students are increasingly concerned about employment when they graduate. Leiths graduates are finding jobs via the placements and internships completed during their time on the course at top establishments and respected food businesses.

An illustrious list of alumni has graced Leiths' west London kitchens. Here is a snapshot of some:

Jodie Cox, enrolled in the Leiths diploma just after A-Levels. Her school had a strong focus on University but Jodie knew she wanted to study on a short and intensive course. She admits Leiths was a challenge, but her skills have already led her to private chef gigs for some well-known personalities and she has clients jetting her off to work in Australia and Catalonia to cook.

“The Leiths Diploma enabled me to get started on my chosen career quickly and the Leiths name opened doors to top restaurants where I had work experience with some of the leading chefs in London.” says Jodie.

Catalin Andrei worked in restaurants straight out of school. He knew he wanted to further his knowledge so he decided to enrol at Leiths. Catalin graduated as 'Student of the Year' this July, and after a stage at The Ledbury has been offered a position as chef de partie at the renowned 2 Michelin starred restaurant straight out of graduation.

“Leiths was my first choice in education. The curriculum felt like it had an open minded world view to train my palette alongside the foundation of traditional French cookery skills.” said Catalin.

Gizzie Erskine, chef and television presenter: “Leiths really does run the best cookery courses. If you want to take your cooking more seriously, I highly recommend it.”

Chef Rupert Holden: “I joined La Trompette a few weeks after graduating. The diploma allowed me to go into the kitchen at chef de partie level, skipping years of menial jobs.”

Meghan Chambers enrolled after graduating uni: “I had bagged a first and got the highest mark in my year for my dissertation but felt totally uninspired by my career prospects. Now, a year later, I've started my own catering business, gaining private and corporate clients, cooking both in London and abroad.”

Esther Clarke took the diploma at 23: “I was offered the job of Deputy Food Editor on BBC Good Food and feel like I'm on solid foundations now, and still want to push it more and more.”

Rose Ashby become head chef of Spring at 26 years old: “Without studying and immersing myself in Leiths, it would have been a lot more challenging and progression through the ranks potentially much slower.”

“Everybody looks up to Leiths to produce the best graduates.” – Yotam Ottolenghi

“If ever anybody comes to me for a job and I hear they've trained at Leiths, I want them.” - Rick Stein

The Leiths Diploma in Food and Wine nine-month course starts on 23 September 2019.

For further details on the Diploma ring 0208 749 6400 to speak to one of the Leiths team to explore your personal options and search leiths.com to browse our range of professional courses and enthusiast classes.

Get in touch with Pamela on pamela.daniels@leiths.com, or 07904974794 for interviews, imagery or commentary from Leiths managing director Camilla Schneideman.

Notes to Editors:

*Leiths School of Food and Wine school was founded by Caroline Waldegrave OBE and Prue Leith CBE in 1975, and more than 4500 chefs have trained at Leiths over the past 40 years. The school welcomes students from around the world, who are united by their love of food and passion for the industry.

*This year Leiths has run a blog and Instagram series, #MadeAtLeiths, which shares the success stories of many Leiths diploma alumni. Follow the visual journey of the 2018-19 diploma year on #leithsdiplomalife

*UK hospitality.org.uk say that we need to upskill our domestic workforce by improving skills levels. With hospitality leading the way on apprenticeship training and support of new T-levels.

* Labour Insights analysis suggest that the demand for chefs rose by 11% between 2012 and 2016

* Across the rest of Europe, there is evidence of chef shortages in The Netherlands, Germany and France. In France, despite the fact that unemployment is at 9.6%, chefs were considered to be the third most difficult position to fill says Peopel1st.co.uk

* The British Hospitality Association, with help from accountancy firm KPMG, published a report last year which suggests that the sector is staring into a recruitment black hole. The industry will need to find at least another 60,000 workers per year on top of the 200,000 required “to replace churn and to power growth”