Improved Bursary Support Announced at Exeter College

Bursary support

In response to the ongoing financial impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re extending our bursary support to make more students eligible to apply for financial help through the scheme.

Our Bursary Fund is used to provide financial support to 16-19-year-old students from low-income households, helping to cover some of the costs associated with their further education. Our funding can help to cover resource fees, travel costs and access to free school meals.

If you’re a school leaver who is due to start with us in September 2020 and you come from a household with a combined income below £24,000, you are now eligible to apply for support via the Bursary Fund which would include a free travel pass to get to and from College. Similarly, you would be eligible to receive a 50% contribution towards fees and, if required for your study, a DBS check and a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card.

On top of this, we’ve also expanded the scheme so that more learners can benefit. Those from households earning £17,000 or under are eligible to apply for free travel as well as 100% of costs covered for resource fees, DBS checks and the CSCS card. Those from households in receipt of certain means-tested welfare benefits are eligible for all of the above, plus free College meals.  

Director of Student Experience Kristyn Woodward said, “We’ve moved all of the boundaries to include more students to be eligible for this funding support.   

“As an organisation, we’ve worked to support the community through this challenging period with our supply of PPE to the NHS, our work with Food4Heroes to provide free meals to NHS staff and now this shift in bursary support moves to support our next generation of learners to get the exceptional education they deserve, no matter what the circumstances.”   

We allocate our Bursary Fund on a first-come, first-served basis, and students will need to provide evidence of household income when applying for support. Get the bursary application form now.   

We would also like to remind students that even if they’ve completed a year of study at different further education provider, they’re still eligible to join us at Exeter College to restart or continue their chosen courses. 

Wellbeing and Support

The changes to our Bursary Funding is just one of the many ways we look after our learners, inside and outside of College.

From application to graduation and beyond, we’re proud to support our students throughout their studies.

Here at Exeter College, we have specialist teams in place to guide, support and mentor students. Our College Advice Team is there to support applicants from the start of their college journey, helping them decide on their course choices and answering questions on study requirements and life at the College. If you’d like to speak to a member of our Advice Team, you can contact them on CAT@exe-coll.ac.uk.

When students join us, their first point of contact is their Personal Tutor. Our tutors are there to guide, monitor and support students’ progress, helping them to achieve their goals. Additionally, they also oversee the implementation of our Personal Development Programme, which is designed to help learners think about their long term goals and how best to achieve them.

We also have a fantastic Student Experience Department at our college. This team supports students with wellbeing, enrichment opportunities and financial support during their studies. Furthermore, we have a team of counsellors offering our learners a safe and confidential space to review anything that might be bothering them and to help them work out tangible steps to help support them and their student experience.

Our learners are similarly supported after college when they’re looking for their next steps. Our Progression and Employability Team provide expert advice on anything from how to ace that first job interview, to help with university applications.

We will be enrolling soon for the September 2020 start. To find out more information, check out our enrolment page.

If you’re a school leaver, there’s still time to apply online to study with us. Once all documents have been sent over and reviewed, applicants will receive a conditional offer.

Why it’s a Great Time to Apply to Exeter College

Choosing where you’re going to college is an exciting milestone in any teenager’s life. You want to make sure you make the right decision for you and your future.

Here are a few highlights of how our Ofsted Outstanding institution is continually improving; ensuring our place as an exceptional college in the heart of the South West, ready to welcome new students.

Applications are open now to study with us in 2020.

Results Day Success

This year Exeter College’s academic results have, once again, gone above and beyond national averages.

Our inspirational A Level learners achieved an overall pass rate of 99.7%, well above the national average of 97.6%, while well over 50% of students were awarded ‘high grades’ of A*, A or B.

On top of the impressive A Level results, our International Baccalaureate results are the best in the college’s history, with a 100% pass rate and almost a third of students achieving over 40 points out of a possible 45, putting them in the top 5% in the world.

T Levels

Last year we were announced as the only college in Devon to offer new T Level qualifications for 2020 delivery. This has helped cement our status as an education innovator and pushing new boundaries with technical education.

In addition to our school leaver offering of Apprenticeships, A Levels and BTECs, T Level courses last for two years and aim to give learners practical skills for the workplace following their studies.

You can apply now to study a T Level with us in Construction, Digital or Education and Childcare in September 2020.

Additional courses will be rolled out from 2021.

Personal Development Programme

This academic year has seen the launch of our new Personal Development Programme for learners. This initiative enables students to tackle issues around citizenship, the environment and employability skills.

This programme aims to boost the long-term progression and wellbeing our students and gives tutors extended time to tackle any individual issues our students want to raise about their studies.

Gym and Dance Studio

Our brand new Gym and Dance Studio opened its doors for the first time in 2019, giving our learners the opportunity to access industry-standard fitness equipment and a spacious dance studio.

Students on sports-related courses use the equipment as part of their studies, while other learners can get student memberships to use the inspirational facilities.

Mini Data Hub

2019 also saw us open our brand new Mini Data Hub; a state-of-the-art facility complete with IT suites with industry-standard analytics software and specialist wide-screen display screens.

Our Mini Data Hub is on the cutting edge of the digital world, helping our students to learn the IT skills required to thrive in data and analytics.

Learner Voice and Student Representation

It is important to us that we listen to our students.

The Learner Voice programme gives students a say in the way that they learn and the experiences they have here at Exeter College.

We use surveys and the Exeter College Students’ Union (ECSU) to hear your ideas, comments and concerns to inform how we do things around the college.

The ECSU is and the Learner Voice programme is your chance to tell us how we can be the best college for you, so we can continue developing in line with the needs of our learners.

Next Steps

If you would like to find out more about what Exeter College has to offer, pre-register and join us at our next Open Event on 15th January 2020.

If you already know Exeter College is the right place for your future, apply online now.

Exeter College Launches Personal Development Programme for Students

Exeter College has celebrated the new academic year by enhancing their tutorial system with a Personal Development Programme designed to further develop a whole person approach to learning with the College.

At a time when tutorial sessions are increasingly under pressure at many schools and colleges throughout the country, Exeter College has made a commitment to further improve the provision available for the individual progress of each student studying with the Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ education provider.

“The rationale behind the Personal Development Programme is that we provide a real focus on the holistic nature of education and get students thinking about their own long term progression,”
Dee Rowett, Project Manager for Teaching, Learning and Performance

The new Personal Development Programme has been launched for students at the College at the start of this academic year and the scheme aims to look more deeply in to the long term progression and wellbeing of all those studying at the College as well as help students engage with activities around citizenship, equality and the environment, among others.

The Project Manager for Teaching, Learning and Performance at Exeter College Dee Rowett is delighted with how the new programme has been taking shape for the benefit of students.

“It’s great for us to be able to enhance our tutorial system in this way,” said Dee.

“The rationale behind the Personal Development Programme is that we provide a real focus on the holistic nature of education and get students thinking about their own long term progression and destination as well as helping to engage students in key themes throughout the year.”

In addition to building skills to help students’ engagement with learning, pupils at Exeter College will also learn about different topics throughout the academic calendar.

Dee said, “The really nice thing about the Personal Development Programme is that it’s precisely that – personal. Students get something that is quite bespoke to them. Of course, there will be whole group sessions that are led by their tutor but students also get access to one-on-one sessions and they are encouraged to monitor and track their progress via their Personal Development Log.

“It’s about creating an environment where students participate in the creation of learning. These sessions won’t be teachers dictating the content; they will be interacting with students and working together on how the themes they’re looking at can apply to work they’re putting in.”

Despite having a large focus on the personal development and wellbeing of students, Dee is confident that the sessions will also positively impact academic performance.

“Getting this time with tutors is also about making sure everyone is on track with their studies. In many ways this programme is about underpinning the fundamentals around teaching and learning while also making sure there’s a space for students to have good conversations with their teacher about their wider college experience.”

Your College, Your Citizenship

As part of the Personal Development Programme, Exeter College students have been exploring the idea of citizenship, sustainability and the environment over the last few weeks. Students have been learning about the values and ideas that underpin society and have even been raising money for charities and volunteering for local initiatives.

Students have been exploring their own ways of interacting with citizenship, with music students using citizenship as a launch point to write their own songs as well as perform some jazz improvisation.

Travel and tourism students used the opportunity of exploring citizenship to volunteer with Farmwise Devon, an organisation that helps educate children on where their food comes from and how the farming industry works.

Performing arts students decided to perform monologues, songs and dance pieces that centred around the idea of citizenship.

A particular focus for many students across the College has been the relationship between citizenship and the environment. Students have been reviewing the College’s sustainability priorities and will be sharing their thoughts on what they consider to be their priorities in the next ‘Learner Voice Conference’ with Principal John Laramy.

The next topic Exeter College students will be exploring as part of the Personal Development Programme will be equality, diversity and British values.