Principal’s Welcome
Published on 08.09.2020The new academic year started on Monday 7th September and we are very pleased to see students back on the campus and engaging in their programmes.
Our campuses one at Weybridge and the other at Ashford, provide an ideal environment to study a qualification and develop the skills and technical knowledge to progress either onto the next level of study, an apprenticeship programme or university and/ or for career development. The College is a Good college and following Ofsted inspection in January 2020, our achievement rates increased further in the summer, and many of our full time students were able to progress to their first choice of university, the next level of study, apprenticeship programme or employment.
Our students experience a welcoming environment, that is supportive and caring. We have high aspirations for all our students and the guidance and encouragement of our teachers, fosters a close community between students and teachers. As we welcome all of our students back onto the campus, we are aware that it is a very different experience for everyone this year. The vast majority of our students have been working remotely since March and as they return or start college for the first time, they are experiencing new ways of working and different expectations on how to access the site and our specialist facilities.
For full time students, timetables are slightly different this year as we need to ensure that all our staff and students are safe and that new Health & Safety practices are implemented in response to the pandemic. This includes for example, some face to face teaching combined with remote learning, wearing masks in communal areas and students working in bubbles to minimise any risk. This will be reviewed as we progress throughout the year and respond to government guidance.
Our students are engaging well and before starting college on the 7th September, our full time students completed a Health & Safety Induction programme so that they could familiarise themselves with expectations whilst on site, and also to give students the opportunity to share with us any anxieties that they may be feeling about returning to education after such a long break. The team of Progression Mentors made a short film to share with our new students and you can access this here.
Many of our adult students continue to access our online courses and training combined with online learning. We have seen increased levels of interest and if you are an adult looking for a new course please contact us admissions@brooklands.ac.uk or visit the section on our website here… If you are an employer, we are keen to hear from you and to work in partnership to deliver employer training and for traineeship and apprenticeship programmes. Again ,we have seen an increased level of interest from employers and it is essential that we work together for the recovery of the community in response to the pandemic.
As we progress through the year we will be hosting a number of virtual and face to face events, to include celebrating student achievement and experiences, showcasing our specialist facilities and a number of open events to welcome new applicants for part time and full time students and also for employers.
I look forward to meeting you all over the next year and I hope that you are able to join us for some of these events. If you would like to join our mailing list, subscribe here.
Kind regards,
Christine Ricketts
Principal
