It’s that time of year again when thousands of Year 14 students start thinking about what’s next after A Levels/Level 3 courses. They begin the process of looking online at undergraduate degree courses at various universities and colleges and considering what course and institution is the right choice for them. Normally, they would go to an Open Day or even a series of Open Events to find out more about what’s on offer and imagine themselves studying there. This year, the public health emergency arising from the global coronavirus pandemic, has led to these events going online with no actual visits to a university campus possible.

On the 1st October, to coincide with the opening of applications, St Mary’s launched a new online hub for Undergraduate Applications. This is a dedicated webpage for students who want to find out more about the undergraduate degree courses in Teacher Education and in Liberal Arts. It begins with a link on the home page of the College website which invites students to ‘Start Your Journey to St Mary’s’ and transports them to a central hub featuring six steps.

Firstly, students are invited to view the Entry Guidelines which is an eight-page brochure outlining the degree courses on offer and the minimum entry requirements for each degree programme. Students can see, at a glance, specific subject and potential grade requirements regardless of what Level 3 qualification they are presenting with.

The second step invites the students to view the online Undergraduate Prospectus which will give the students a great deal more detail about what’s on offer in St Mary’s. It includes an introduction to St Mary’s outlining our core values, mission and ethos as a faith-based provider of higher education; as well as sections on Admissions; Finance; The College Experience; Initial Teacher Education; The Liberal Arts Degree; The M-Level Course for Teachers; and Student Voices.

Step 3 of the journey invites the students to view the various Degree Programme Talks. In these talks, the students will hear about the main elements of each degree programme and the knowledge and skills they will gain. They will also hear about work experience components and employability.

Step 4 invites the students to take a short College Campus Tour to help them to get a sense of the kind of friendly, welcoming place that is the St Mary’s community.

Step 5 offers more information on specific Subject Study and Step 6 offers students a step-by-step guide to the Application and Admissions process and advice on the Interview for Teaching.

Start your journey to St Mary's here.