A new student results-day survival pack produced with input from Employment Minister Jim Knight, The Department for Working Pensions and the newly formed National Apprenticeship Service aims to show teens just what is out there for them if they fail to get the grades they needed, or never intended on going to university in the first place.

Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life is a downloadable pack created by www.notgoingtouni.co.uk, in a bid to help school leavers make informed choices about a future with or without university, released just in time for this year’s A Level results.

Figures state that more than 130,000 students face being rejected from university this summer amid unprecedented demand for higher education, but 19-year-old Tom Mursell, founder of notgoingtouni.co.uk is keen to stress to them and the A Level students who never initially applied for university that there are many alternatives open to them that they were probably unaware of.

Tom says: “Our pack aims to inform worried A Level and GCSE students that there are many alternatives to higher education, including apprenticeships through some of the UK’s leading employers, employer-funded study, gap years and more.

“With the huge rise in university applications, rejection is unfortunately a possibility for many. The key message we want to convey is ‘don’t panic’, as there are many avenues open to students.”

The pack covers key issues for school-leavers such as apprenticeships, gap years, distance learning, debt-free degrees, finding a job, starting your own business and more. Contact information for specific advice related to each career route is given, as well as case studies detailing individuals who decided to follow each path.

Tom, who was featured on Channel 4’s Year Dot started notgoingtouni.co.uk as a small blog to help school leavers make key decisions about their future, before the site received investment and was able to expand to offer a fuller service for users, including apprenticeships through some of the UK’s best known retailers.

Tom concludes: “Many successful business people never went to university, including Sir Alan Sugar, Bill Gates, Sir Philip Green and Sir Richard Branson, although we’re led to believe that university is the only route to success. Not going to university doesn’t mean your life is over, nor does it mean you can’t be successful. notgoingtouni.co.uk hopes to inspire, advise, give young people opportunities and help them to succeed in their chosen path.”