Courses start at the beginning of each term in September, January and April and can be one, two or three terms in length.
There are two different levels of pre-sessional course – Level 1 and Level 2 – depending on the students’ level of English on entry and the English language entry requirements of the academic programme to be pursued (GCSE, A Level or Foundation).
Number of lessons and teaching hours per week:
|
English |
Maths |
Science |
Business Studies |
Level 1 |
24 lessons (18 hours) |
6 lessons (4.5 hours) |
3 lessons (2.25 hours) |
3 lessons (2.25 hours) |
Level 2 |
18 lessons (13.5 hours) |
6 lessons (4.5 hours) |
6 lessons (4.5 hours) |
6 lessons (4.5 hours) |
Supervision
Students are accommodated in boarding houses on the site, so there is no travel involved to get to school. There is always a member of staff available on duty in the boarding house should students need them, and teaching staff are around all day to help anyone that needs it.
Lessons begin at 8.30am with a tutor meeting and finish at 3.55pm with Enrichment activities until 4.30pm. There is a 20 minute break in the morning and a 50 minute break for lunch. Students are in lessons throughout the day.
After school, students are supervised by a member of staff on duty in the boarding house.
Students have supper from 6.00pm to 6.30pm and then Prep time to complete homework until 8.15pm. Students are then free to enjoy our common spaces. There is always a member of staff on duty in the boarding house.
There are no lessons at the weekends, although students sit a 1 hour test with the rest of the College on Saturday. This helps embed learning from the week.
Pastoral Care
At Padworth we pride ourselves on our pastoral care. We want everyone to feel that they belong in our community and getting to know our students is critical to this. Students register with their tutor twice a day, once in the morning and again at lunch time. This provides lots of opportunities for tutors to check that everything is going well.
Students have a House Parent who will supervise them outside of the academic day. The House parent is there to ensure that students are well looked after and are supported in their learning. Students are supervised by members of the teaching staff during the evening prep time so if they have questions about their academic work they have staff to turn to. Boarding staff will ensure that all students are checked before lights out and bed-time, and will support the students with activities in the evenings. If students wish to relax in their room at this point, that is fine too.
There is close communication between boarding and teaching staff to ensure students are well known and any issues can be resolved as soon as possible.
IELTS entry requirements:
|
September |
January |
April |
Level 1 |
4.0 |
4.5 |
5.0 |
Level 2 |
4.5 |
5.0 |
5.5 |
It is possible for students to move from Level 1 to Level 2, depending on their progress.
Other entry requirements:
Students must be a minimum of 14 years to enrol on the course and should not be older than 17 years.