Weymouth College is looking forward to its biggest–ever intake of Higher Education students this autumn. The latest data on applications confirms that the College is on course to achieve a 50% increase in students taking University-level courses in the town. Programmes recruiting particularly well include Sport; Coaching, Health & Fitness, Health & Social Care, Fine Art and Actor Training. Nigel Evans, Acting Principal is heartened by the growth in demand for places: “We have built an excellent relationship with Plymouth University who validate the majority of our higher education courses. It is really important for our local community to have access to high quality, locally delivered higher education programmes.
These programmes offer fantastic progression opportunities for existing students who want to stay in their locality. They also play a vital role in meeting the needs of employers for higher level skills. This autumn we look set to hit our target of over 180 higher education students based here at the College. That is a sound achievement which will further strengthen the academic credentials of the College.” As part of its expansion plans, the College has launched a range of new Foundation Degrees including Contemporary Photography and Creative Media Production, along with an HND in Arts Management. Sarah Drew, the College’s lead Director for Higher Education is excited to see new courses coming on-stream: “These new programmes are intended to diversify our higher education programmes and widen progression opportunities. Our aim is to build a similar reputation for these new programmes as we already enjoy for our more established courses, such s the award-winning Foundation Degree in Architectural Stonework which we deliver at the Dorset Skills Centre in Poundbury.” Roz Osborne, Higher Education Co-ordinator at the College is busy working with applicants sorting out student loan applications, UCAS queries and entry requirements. With many of the more mature students applying outside the typical time frame for University entrance, her advice is to act now if you still haven’t finalised your application for the autumn: “Whilst we will always do our best to accommodate late applications, my advice is not to leave things too the last minute. Several of our programmes are reaching capacity and if we do find we need to put on additional classes, the earlier we can plan this, the better.”
Weymouth College offers over twelve different course options for higher education, with fulltime fees ranging from £5250- £6,000 a year and part-time fees for Higher National Certificate day-release courses at £3000 per year. They have a Higher Education Open Evening on Wednesday 20th May and encourage anyone who is considering Higher Education to attend. To register visit www.weymouth.ac.uk/book-open-day
