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This is a four-week course to prepare students for the Access to HE Diploma course. You will learn how to research, how to identify accurate and reliable sources, how to plan written assessed work and how to present a written assignment with suitable referencing to a standard required of an Access to HE student. Depending on time, application to university will also be discussed and students may have time to begin work on their personal statement for UCAS.
The Pre-Access course is designed to support students to prepare further before they begin the Access to HE course which is a condensed one year programme with a large amount of academic work required which requires students to develop a range of academic skills very quickly. Learning is based on a range of strategies including taught classes, tutorials, presentations, small-group and pair work, the use of digital technologies and research. Students will be taught how to use of the College’s VLEs (and library resources) and complete elements of independent study, supported by blended learning. The Pre-access course will give an extra four weeks for students to develop many of these skills at their own pace and without the pressure that comes with completing a graded assignments. Students completing the Pre-Access course are given the chance to develop their academic skills in a safe and supportive environment where they will be given feedback and feed-forward on all of their work to apply any areas for improvement and to build up their confidence before commencing the Access course.
GCSE grade 4/C or higher in English and Maths (or be waiting for the results). Functional skills level 2 in Maths is considered as an alternative but it will limit your choice of university and course.
Nearly all the assessment completed is in class; it is all ungraded. The assessments in the Access course include reports, essays, presentations, posters, practical write-ups and tests. Students on the Pre-Access course will develop research skills and will learn how to plan a piece of assessed work. While the Pre-Access course is not graded, students will be given guidance on how to achieve the higher grades in the Access course to follow. All work will be marked and feedback and feed-forward is given so that students have a chance to try out academic writing before beginning the Access course.
Apply using the online application form on the college website, on completion of the Pre-Access course you will progress to the Access to HE course (conditional on GCSE results).