A-LEVEL ALTERNATIVE AVAILABLE NOW

Posted 7 August 2003

A VOCATIONAL ALTERNATIVE to A-Levels, run at Harper Adams University College, near Newport, offering school-leavers a different route into Higher Education, still has vacancies for this year.

Harper Adams’ University Access Course, for entry into HE, is open to students aged 17+ and has been running, in various formats, since 1971. Over the last 32 years the course has proven to be a very successful first step towards hundreds of students obtaining an HND or Degree.

Now typically aimed at students with a minimum of five GCSE passes, who have completed a year of A or AS Level, BTEC or GNVQ study and decided it is not right for them, this one-year course bridges the gap between Further and Higher Education.

An extensive review of the course has recently been carried out and the range of modules on offer has been increased to reflect the greater diversity of Higher Education courses now being offered at Harper Adams.

As an alternative to the traditional A-Level route into Higher Education, the University Access Course is now geared up to prepare students for further study in areas such as IT, Business and Marketing, Engineering and Design, Land, Countryside and Environment, Agriculture, Applied Biology and Animal Health and Welfare.

Around 90 per cent of students who have completed the University Access Course have successfully progressed on to HE courses and more than half of those have gone on to study at degree level, either at Harper Adams or at other universities.

There are many additional benefits to studying locally at Shropshire’s University College. Harper Adams has a superb single-site campus, creating a close-knit community with its own bars, sports facilities, swimming pool and gym.

And with rising levels of student debt, it is well worth considering that by studying at your local university, you can also opt to reduce your living expenses by living at home and travelling into the campus on a daily basis.

Either way, you will meet new like-minded people in a friendly environment where people know who you are and take a genuine interest in you. Nobody at Harper Adams is ‘just a number.’

For further information on the unique features and benefits of the University Access Course, please contact the Admissions office at Harper Adams University College on 01 952 815 000 or E-mail: admissions@harper-adams.ac.uk and ask for a prospectus. Alternatively, log on to: www.harper-adams.ac.uk

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