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Discover your future with our Adult Course Guide

If you’re an adult looking at your future career options then the Exeter College Adult Course Guide will give you the information and clarity you need to take your next steps in your chosen career. 

Whether you want to change jobs entirely or want to progress in your current sector, one of our part time adult courses could be the key you need to unlock your future.  

Adult courses with us are designed for direct application to the workplace and aim to give learners the confidence and qualifications to improve their prospects and achieve their professional goals.  

Inside the Adult Course Guide, you will find full information on the wide variety of courses available for adult learners, including entry requirements and eligibility for free GCSE courses in English and Maths if you haven’t achieved these qualifications before.  

Guidance is also available on funding and finance options – including information on Advanced Learner Loans that are only paid back when earning over a certain threshold (currently £26,575 per year). And Low-income concessions (anyone earning under £17,000 a year). Many adults are also eligible for Government-funded grants and bursaries to help with the costs of childcare or associated study costs; full eligibility information can be found inside the guide or on our finance page.  

What’s on offer for adults at Exeter College? 

  • Professional Courses. These are courses that provide training and skills-based knowledge in specific professional areas. These can be used to change career or improve prospects in a current role.  
  • English and Maths pre-GCSE and GCSE courses. These are free courses from Entry Level to Level 2, designed to help adults get these crucial qualifications for future career aspirations.  
  • Access to Higher Education. These courses help those without traditional formal qualifications or who might have been out of education for some time to have the skills and qualification to move on to degree level study. These are especially popular with adults who now want to progress on to study at university or are looking to retrain.  
  • Higher Education. Get degree-level qualifications with Exeter College with our Centre for University Level Studies. Students choose us for our smaller class sizes and commitment to helping you to achieve your personal goals throughout study. Our higher education provision is rated as ‘Gold’ in the Teaching Excellence Framework, putting us alongside some of the top universities in the country.  
  • Higher Apprenticeships. These courses involve part time study with us alongside a formal Apprenticeship with a company in industry.  

Request the Adult Course Guide today.  

Contact our specialist Adult Advisers on adultadvice@exe-coll.ac.uk or 01392 400170 for a chat about your options. They can also guide you through the application process for joining a course or getting your funding sorted.

Exceptional Results for Exeter College Access to Higher Education Students

Exeter College’s truly exceptional summer of results has continued with the stunning success of their Access to Higher Education (HE) students, who are celebrating a huge 96% achievement rate.

The results mean that the vast majority of students on an Access to HE course at Exeter College now have the skills and qualifications to move on to fully-fledged degree level studies at universities throughout the UK.  

“They truly deserve these incredible results, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll all go on to achieve next,”

Lucinda Sanders, Exeter College Director of Adult Learning

The outstanding results follow the news earlier this summer that the College’s International Baccalaureate students achieved a 100% pass rate. Over a third of students achieved more than 40 points, putting them in the top 5-10% of students in the entire world.  

For many adult learners, an Access to HE course is a route into a higher level of study for those who don’t hold many formal qualifications or don’t meet the current entry requirements for university level education. Having completed their Access course at Exeter College, this cohort of students can now go on to make applications to study at universities, safe in the knowledge they have the required qualifications to make a successful application.  

Exeter College Director of Adult Learning Lucinda Sanders said, “It’s hugely satisfying to see the success of our Access students, especially during what has been a unique academic year for their studies with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I’m thrilled that they’re celebrating their achievements in their courses. It will certainly unlock their future ambitions when it comes to university level study. 

“It was great seeing the way students and staff adapted to the pandemic to continue teaching and learning at an incredibly high level during difficult circumstances. I want to thank all our teaching staff and students for taking to the new way of working so well. They truly deserve these incredible results, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll all go on to achieve next.”  

Exeter College Access to Healthcare student Amy Mulvihill, 20, achieved an incredible 45 distinctions, giving her the grade profile to be accepted to study Midwifery at the University of Southampton.  

“I’m so happy that I’ve got the results to go on to study at university. When I last studied, I just missed out on what I needed to get in, so I’m really pleased that I’ve got what I wanted.” 

The student from Exmouth wanted to pay tribute to the Exeter College lecturers that supported her during her year-long programme of study.  

“From the start, they found out about our entry requirements for where we all wanted to study and what we wanted to do at university. This meant they could support each of us in the right way for what we wanted to go on to study in the future, and that definitely made it all easier to understand and relevant to our interests.  

“It has been an enjoyable and sometimes intense year, but everyone is really supportive. Someone is always there to help you if you need them.” 

Find out about former Access to Higher Education student Anna Grayson, who used her Art and Design course to become a fully-fledged artist.  

Find out about Access to Higher Education with Exeter College.  

Discover Exeter College’s wide range of courses for adult learners.

How Exeter College is helping adults back in to education

Adult Advice Hotline launched on 01392 400170 to help guide the way

Getting back in to education can feel like a challenge for any adult who is looking for a career change, or simply looking for ways to develop themselves professionally or personally.   

In order to help adult learners overcome that barrier, Exeter College have recruited two dedicated experts to provide impartial advice for people looking to return to education and achieve their full potential, whether that be on a full or part time basis, to support career or study progression, or as a hobby.  

“One of the biggest barriers for adults looking to develop their skills is that they don’t feel as if they understand all the options available to them,” said Lucinda Sanders, Director of Adult Learning at Exeter College.  

“We wanted to create these Adult Adviser roles as a way of breaking down that barrier in a way that’s completely impartial and simply lays out which direction an adult learner could go in. 

“We don’t want a lack of information to be a barrier to anyone looking at different study and funding options. Our Adult Advisers are experts across the spectrum of education and can give professional, thoughtful advice to anyone; whether that’s someone who knows exactly what they want to do, or someone who is just thinking about where they could go in the future.” 

With a wealth of options at Exeter College for adults to consider, the new Adult Advisers will act as a signpost to important information and can also discuss the individual circumstances of the adult learner and advise on which entry routes to consider.  

The college itself offers a wide variety of full and part time courses for people of any age, from introductory industry courses, to full degree level studies. Free courses are also available in GCSE English and Maths for eligible learners that run at times convenient to those who work with classes running 4 days a week and 2 evenings a week.  

For those wishing to study at degree level, the college offers routes for students with no formal qualifications – with hugely popular Access to Higher Education Diplomas – which are designed to prepare any learner for higher level study either at Exeter College or with other universities across the UK. 

Financial concerns were previously some of the biggest barriers to come back into education, not just those surrounding course availability and eligibility. The Adult Advisers will also be able to help with concerns over finance, loans and course fees.  

“We have found that a lot of adults who come to study with us are surprised at the amount of financial support they can receive,” said Lucinda. 

“There is financial support available for adults for help with childcare, low income families and those receiving Job Seeker’s Allowance. Advanced Learner Loans are also available for those studying eligible courses and meeting certain criteria. Finance can be one of the biggest reasons adults feel like they can’t achieve their education goals. The Adult Learning Advisers are here to show that in most cases that just isn’t the case anymore. 

“Our Adult Advisers will be available to let people know their rights when it comes to financing education in adult life. We want the whole process to be as non-threatening and transparent as possible. That’s why our Advisers are given the remit to be completely impartial in their advice and simply work out solutions that best suit the learner.”  

In addition to formal full and part time courses with the aim of up-skilling in a job or career, Exeter College also offers a range of leisure courses in the local community from Art to Yoga, and the new Adults Advisers will also be a point-of-contact for those wishing to learn more about these more informal short term courses.  

If you want to call the Adult Advisers at Exeter College for an informal chat about your future options in education then call 01392 400170, they’re available from 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. They can also be contacted by email on adultadvice@exe-coll.ac.uk.  

Find out more about the range of courses available for adult learners at Exeter College in the course search.

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