How to apply

 

Apply for a full-time course

Apply online from October 2024

To guarantee your choice of A Level courses, we recommend you apply by February half-term, but later applications will be accepted depending on course availability.

  1. Attend an event or make a visit

We highly recommend you get an early experience of college life by coming to a physical or virtual open evening, roadshow, or tour to meet teachers and see our facilities. You can view all of our events here.

  1. Apply for a course

You apply via the course pages on our website and you can contact the Admissions Team for help if needed. Please apply using a personal email address rather than a school email address as we will continue to contact you after you have left school. We accept applications throughout the year for technical and vocational courses, subject to the availability of places. For A Levels we ask that you apply by February half-term as demand is high on certain courses. Although applications after this date will be processed, some A Level courses might be full. If you want to join college in September on a course starting that same year, please ring the Admissions Team before applying.

Please note: You can apply to both an academic and vocational programme. If you want to find out about both and keep your options open, we will invite you to interview and to Welcome Days for both applications to help you make your choice by the time of enrolment. Please check your emails regularly as we will send you information about your application. You will be informed when your interview will take place by email within two weeks of us receiving your application.

  1. Attend the interview

All applicants will be invited for an interview where you will discuss your plans and goals and we can provide guidance on the best course(s) to study. At the interview, you will find out more about the college and discuss your reasons for your course choice with a teacher. These sessions start in December and continue until August.

  • You can ask for someone to support you at the interview if necessary
  • Your parents/guardians can attend the sessions to find out more about the college, but they won’t be invited to join you in the individual discussion, as we want to get to know you!
  • The tutor will inform you of their decision and you will be given a paper copy of your conditional place. You will then receive an email confirming your offer of a place that you will need to accept/decline
  • You will be required to accept the offer of a place within two weeks of your interview.

We do not give priority to applications from pupils enrolled at particular schools.

A Level interviews

Interviews for A Levels happen throughout the year at the English Bridge Campus. We will look at the predicted grade information from your school or achieved grades and offer you a place on the course or refer you for further information and guidance. Please make sure you have read the qualifications section to find out more about the range of qualifications available and check the entry requirements for each subject you are considering studying.

Vocational interviews

You will be invited to an interview session at the London Road Campus (or English Bridge Campus for Art, Fashion and Photography courses). You will get a better idea of what the college is about and have a chance to discuss your goals with your teacher.

  1. Save the dates for our applicant activity programme

We will keep in touch by email and text message and you will be invited to attend a Welcome Day in June/July where you will meet other students and find out more about your programme. You will need to have applied and been offered a place by May. Please apply in good time to secure your place on this day as it’s an important part of the application process. Between application and enrolment you will receive newsletters with information about how we can support you at college and great news stories about what our current students have been up to.

Welcome Day

All students who have been offered a conditional place are expected to attend this very important event. You will sample the course you have applied for, meet tutors and fellow students and have a tour of the campus. You will receive further details regarding this event by email. This is a timetabled day for applicants to experience the subject fully.

Parent Pre-enrolment

This is an opportunity for parents/carers to find out more about the college, the academic and pastoral support and communication with parents. This event usually takes place in June and parents will be sent an email invitation to book a place.

We will contact you regularly throughout the year about your Pre-Enrolment and Enrolment dates, so please ensure you correctly enter your email address and telephone number on your application - and notify us of any changes. The only information that is posted is the information about your enrolment. We will also be sending you emails regarding student finance, travel application forms and any other information you will require with regard to your transition to college.

  1. Enrol!

In July, we will write to you to confirm arrangements for enrolling in August/September. When you come to your Enrolment appointment, we will take some extra information from you and record your GSCE grades as well as give you your student ID card and tell you all you need to know about starting in September.

 

Part-time Courses

Some of our courses have entry requirements and you may need to have an informal chat with the tutor to check if it is appropriate for you. This will be clear in the course factsheets.

Most of our part-time courses do not have any specific entry requirements and in these instances, you can enrol either in person or by phone between 9am-5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am-4.30pm on Friday. You can also enrol and chat with staff at our advice/enrolment events, which happen throughout the year or use our Live Chat.

You will be required to pay your course fees at the time of enrolment, so please ensure that you bring an appropriate payment method with you, (as well as appropriate evidence if you are eligible to have any fees waived).

 

Apprenticeships

If you are interested in an apprenticeship, you are required to have an employer within the relevant occupation. It may be that you are currently working in the area you wish to take an apprenticeship. You can also apply for existing apprenticeship vacancies through the college.
More information on the application process is available here. 

 

Higher Education Courses

Full-time Higher Education courses

To apply for any full-time higher education course at Shrewsbury Colleges Group you will need to complete the online UCAS application form. Once you have a list of your course choices, go to www.ucas.com and click on the ‘Apply’ part of the site. You can then click ‘Register/Log in’ to begin the registration process.

If you are an existing Shrewsbury Colleges Group student, you should apply for your place at the beginning of year 2 of your Level 3 course. Your tutor will take you through the registration process as there is a special code needed.

Completing the application form:

  • You should complete each section of the form and when finished, click 'pay and send'. At this point you will be asked to input your credit or debit card details - it costs £13 to apply for one course or £24 for between two and five choices.
  • The personal statement is the most important part of the form and is used by HE Tutors to decide on the suitability of applicants for their course.

The application system opens on 1 September and ends on 15 January each year. You can apply after this deadline, but your application will be classed as late. You should aim to apply as early as possible after 1 September as the most popular courses fill up quickly.

If you need help in completing your application form, you can contact Paul Kelly, the college Careers & Progression Advisor, by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phoning 01743 653661.

You may wish to access the National Careers Service for more in-depth support. If you are currently a Shrewsbury Colleges Group student, you may book an appointment to speak to Paul by dropping in at The Agency or via your Student Support Tutor or Progression Specialist.

Part-time Higher Education courses

Applications for part-time HE courses do not go through UCAS. You can apply online via the course details page for your chosen course. Once the college receives your application, you will be invited to the college for an interview.

For further help on part-time HE courses please call 01743 653333.

Certificates for courses with qualifications

Certificates are posted to the address we have on record for you and we recommend you update us with any changes to your address before you finish your course. Apart from GCSEs, GCEs and A Levels, awarding bodies process certificates at different times, so we don’t have specific dates for the posting of certificates. If you haven’t heard anything by the end of August, please contact the college.

Please note: Once you have received your certificate, please check the details and contact us immediately if you see a mistake – there is a short period of time when errors can be amended free of charge.