Has your young person already applied for a course to start in September or are they unsure of what they want to study? Catch up with the recording of our Virtual Parent/Carer Information Evening to get the information you need.
At our Virtual Parent/Carer Information Evening, we presented a short webinar to provide further information about college life and expectations, the support available and how you will be kept informed about your young person’s progress at college.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Student Recruitment Team on 01484 437092 or email sturec@kirkleescollege.ac.uk
A: For the majority of students, it will be online via an enrolment link on GCSE results day (Thursday 21 August).
Letters on how to complete the enrolment link will be sent home at the end of July which will include confirming we have the correct email address to send your enrolment link to.
All applicants will receive an allocated time to complete their enrolment link. If you are on holiday with no access to Wi-Fi then please ensure you contact the Applications Team so they can reserve your place. Foundation Learning students, students with an EHCP and ESOL students will be given the option to come in and enrol in-person if this is better suited to their learning needs.
A: Their letter will give them instructions on what to do. We have an Enrolment Call Centre that they can call for help 01484 437100. This line will be open from 11 August to deal with enrolment enquiries.
In most instances, it isn’t a problem to drop a student down to the level below. Equally, if their grades come in higher than anticipated, we can look to move them to a higher level. The main thing is don’t worry, contact the number on your enrolment letter. It will also be on our enrolment page on the website www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk
A: When you get your enrolment letter from the Applications Team, it will provide you with instructions on how to contact them to arrange for your place to be reserved if you are not able to complete your enrolment at the allocated time. If you don’t contact us, we can’t guarantee that we can reserve your place.
A: Term starts the week commencing Monday 8 September but not all students will be in on that day. It will depend on their individual timetables.
A: Timetables for full-time students will be made available on Thursday 4 September. Students will receive a text message when their timetable is available to view online. They can access their timetable via the VLE. Instructions on how to see their timetable will be emailed to them as part of their enrolment confirmation email.
A: Students who don’t have grade 4 or above will continue to resit their GCSE English and/or maths. If a student has an EHCP then bespoke arrangements can be put in place to consider an alternative qualification but all other students will need to re-sit. This is government legislation but also puts students in a better position to secure employment as we know employers are looking for these grades as well.
A: If you qualify for free school meals then you will probably qualify for free college meals via the bursary scheme. You can apply via the college website on the student support page HERE or there will be a link to student finance when you complete your enrolment link. We really recommend you apply before college starts due to the high volume of students who apply for support.
A: Students can pay by card or cash. Bursary students have their daily allowance linked to their ID card and use that to pay. We don’t offer a traditional cashless vending system like schools do where you can put money on their account.
A: No, we don’t provide college buses to transport students. We recommend that you check local transport routes in advance of the start of college. All college students are eligible for a bus pass and bursary students can apply for help with the cost of travel to college. More information is available on our website.
A: All parents can access Parent Portal. Instructions on how to join this will be emailed to the parental email provided at enrolment. This shows your young person’s attendance and their progress on their course. We send reports home and will have parents’ evenings. If you have any concerns, you will also be provided with contact details for your young person’s allocated Tutor and Personal Development Coach who will be your first point of contact for any concerns.
A: We don’t have a college uniform but for some courses, students may be expected to wear industry appropriate outfits. For example, in Hair and Beauty, Hospitality and Catering, Sport and Uniformed Protective Services and Travel and Tourism, you have to wear a uniform. Our Admissions Team are in the process of sending out information about these and how to buy them. If you have concerns about the cost of this then our Student Finance Team may be able to help. For other courses, you may need safety boots and overalls. Again, this information will be sent out by the Admissions team. For all other students, we ask that they dress respectfully and appropriately for college (no offensive slogans or logos) and that coats, hats and hoods are not worn in class.
A: Some but not all curriculum areas have lockers. Lockers are for students who may need to bring specific kit for their course (e.g. Catering students to store their knife sets) or who may have to change for some classes (Sport students)
A: If a student has an EHCP then we will be involved in the process and agree what support we will provide. For all other students, you will have the opportunity to declare support needs and we will do our best, where possible, to accommodate these. A letter will be going out to applicants’ parents with a link to an online form to declare any support needs.
A: If they have a copy of their Form 8 and/or Form 9 from school, please ask your young person to bring it to their first class. The deadline for registering for exam concessions is early October 2025. You can also apply for exam concessions using our online form HERE.
A: We have an Apprenticeships Team who can help you find an employer. They also have lists of employers looking for potential apprentices and can share CV’s on your behalf. Their email is apprenticeships@kirkleescollege.ac.uk. In most instances, if you do not manage to secure suitable employment for your apprenticeship, we will try to find you a place on one of our full-time courses whilst you continue to look.
A: Unlike schools, we don’t have set college days. Lesson times vary across different areas but students will usually be in for 3 days a week. If they have to re-sit both their GCSEs then this will usually stretch to 4 days. T Level students can be timetabled for 5 days a week as they have more hours built into their qualification. Where possible we try to ensure that students don’t have large gaps in their timetable but it might be they are not in for a whole day. Classes usually start at 9am but this could be early in some areas and it isn’t unusual for classes to run until 5pm. Breaks and lunches are staggered across the day to manage the flow of students using breakout areas and refectories.
A: You won’t be fined but we really don’t encourage students miss college to go on holiday as this can have a serious impact on their learning and achievement. Students will be expected to achieve their target attendance rate at the end of the year to be able to progress and this can easily be impacted if they have holiday during term time.
