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Information for parents and carers

Parents or carers play a key role in helping young people make informed decisions about their future.

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Everyone wants the best for their child. We do too!

It’s our mission to transform lives through learning. We want to inspire, support and encourage your child to achieve their best and to enjoy their time as students on campus.

“Teachers are well-qualified subject specialists, who use their knowledge skilfully to explain concepts clearly and successfully stimulate learners’ interest so that they are enquiring learners.” Ofsted 2022

We recognise there are many different options, and the learning landscape is continuing to grow and become more confusing for career fledglings. It can be just as confusing for those trying to help them along the way!

We’ve tried to put everything you would want to know on this page so you don’t have to search around to find the information you need.

Apprenticeships are between one- and four-year training programmes, which anyone living in England over the age of 16 who isn’t in full-time education can apply for. They usually spend four days a week in employment and one day a week at college working-towards full qualifications.

There are many benefits to being an apprentice including:

  • earning a salary (currently at least £3.70 an hour)
  • no student loans or debt
  • paid holidays
  • training
  • qualifications
  • learning job and industry-specific skills

We appreciate that not many young people have their whole career planned out ahead of them. Our career pathway pages are the best place to go if you or your child want to see the best routes through college, higher education and employment and into the most popular industries.

Our aim is to offer every student a direct line of sight to employment, equipping them with the skills, attributes and knowledge employers want, giving them a greater chance to succeed in their chosen carers.

Each of our courses has different entry requirements that can be viewed on their respective course pages.

There are also full pathways mapped out on our career pathways pages, which go into more detail based on levels in each career.

If interested in joining one of our full-time programmes or apprenticeships, visit our how to apply page for all the details on what to do.

If you still have questions, please contact us.

Our campuses offer you dedicated learning spaces, industry standard facilities and the support of industry experienced teachers. Each of our campuses are centrally located in their respective towns and have undergone recent renovations to provide the best learning environment.

See here for more information and where to find our Merrist Wood campus.

We are proud of the progress and achievements our students make in their time they spend learning with us. We take great pride in the fact that most of our learners successfully progress further with their education, training or employment.

More 16-to-19-year olds who study with Activate Learning have higher achievements than those studying with similar providers, with an increasing number of our students gaining places at prestigious universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and University College London.

We are keen to encourage our students to progress internally at our colleges and better develop their knowledge, skills and make them more employable. A high number of our learners on entry level, level 1 and level 2 programmes, progress internally to higher-level programmes, and most of our apprentices who complete and achieve their qualification move into full-time employment or onto a higher-level apprenticeship.

In 2016/17, a higher proportion of our learners achieved grades A* to C in GCSE English than comparable grades in the previous year and almost all our Access to HE students successfully progressed onto university study in subjects such as adult nursing, furniture design, air transport with commercial pilot training, biochemistry and animation.

For performance table information, visit the GOV.UK website here.

We work hard to create a supportive learning experience for all our students.

Student support: The team works with students who might find starting a new course at college a challenge. Whether it's helping make new friends or adjusting to college life and emotional support services, we can help.

Learning support: We offer personalised support to every student, including dyslexia support, assistance with exam arrangements or 1:1 support, if required.

Careers: Unsure what to do next? The Activate Careers team can help students to understand the options available. Our support includes CV writing workshops, help with filling UCAS application forms and one-to-one guidance on seeking employment.

Finance: Many Activate Learning students access financial support every year. If you need support, we may be able to help fund travel expenses to and from college, educational course costs and meals while on campus, for example. See our Cost of Living page for more information.

With all the different options available to our students it can be difficult to know what each qualification means and how it can help. We offer further and higher education programmes at a range of levels, helping progress towards chosen career goals. These include GCSEs, A-levels and BTECs. We go into more detail on our qualifications pages, which breaks down each type of qualification and who they are for.