Frequently Asked Questions - for young people (16-25) interested in applying to RNC

A: We encourage all potential new students to visit us informally and learn more about our outstanding facilities, academic and vocational courses, residential living, resources, support and the assessment process. We also talk through the funding process with you and give you the contact details of your funding provider if you do not already have them. We have a schedule of planned visit days and offer other dates if you are unable to come on the scheduled days, although we encourage you to come then as you will meet other potential students who may end up being your new best friend!

 

Contact us on 01432 376621 or e-mail our Student Enquiries via info@rnc.ac.uk.

We will send you the latest copy of our prospectus and an application form before you come or give them to you when you visit. 

 

A: Please contact us on 01432 376621 or e-mail our Student Enquiries via info@rnc.ac.uk and we will send our prospectus and an application form to you in your preferred format. We have standard and enlarged print, Braille, audio and electronic versions – tell us which you prefer. As soon as we receive your completed application form we will invite you for a pre-entry assessment.

A: Assessment at RNC is a two-way process. It gives us an opportunity to get to know your strengths, interests and support needs and determine whether this is the right place for you. It gives you an opportunity to meet staff and students and ask any questions you might have about RNC to help you decide whether it is the right place too!

Assessment candidates arrive on Monday afternoon, there is an informal welcome session on Monday evening and you will have an overnight stay in our beautiful new assessment centre, Gardner Hall. 

Assessment programmes are based in the Gardner Hall Assessment Centre and include an assessment of:

as well as individual interviews with our assessment team to discuss

A: The assessment programme will end at approximately 5.00pm on Tuesday afternoon after we have completed an evaluation form with you.

 

A: Any potential students under the age of 18 must be accompanied by parent/s, carer or guardian or an appropriate adult. While potential students are being assessed on Tuesday, parents, carers or guardians are invited to a seminar which gives them information on the application and funding process and ‘Life at RNC’, after which they are free to explore Hereford city centre at their leisure.

 

A: Please remember to bring the documents listed in your assessment invitation letter. It is important that you do bring this information as it may not be possible for us to make an offer if we not had sight of them beforehand. If you have any queries about this, please let us know. Please bring anything else you might like us to see, for example your Art portfolio. If you are considering the RNC Football Academy programme, please bring appropriate football kit for a fitness assessment. Please bring any portable low vision aids or other equipment that you use and let us know beforehand if you have a guide dog and will bring it with you. 

A: You will stay in our newly purpose designed assessment centre, Gardner Hall. All accommodation is en-suite. We do not charge our assessment candidates anything and ask only for a contribution of £35 per person per night for anyone else accompanying you. We take payments by cash, cheque [made payable to RNC] or by debit/credit card. Please let us know who will be coming with you and whether any of you have any additional needs we will need to know about when you arrive.

 

A: Meals and refreshments will be provided for on campus from your arrival until the end of your assessment. A packed meal for your return journey can be provided if you wish. Please let us know in advance if you have any special dietary requirements and particular likes or dislikes!

 

A: All of our accommodation in Gardner Hall is accessible. Please let us know if you have any mobility difficulties and we will ensure that you have an appropriate bedroom and that your interviews and assessment tasks take place in accessible rooms.

 

A: Yes, you need to arrange your own travel to and from RNC although we will help you with routes and travel arrangements if you wish. Railway and bus stations are located within walking distance of RNC. The cost of a taxi fare to or from either the bus or railway station is approximately £4.  You may be able to make travel arrangements through your Connexions or Careers Wales adviser. 

 

A: All students aged 18 and over on entry must have a Criminal Records Bureau [CRB] Enhanced Disclosure check. We will complete the CRB form with you during your assessment so please bring all the documents we ask for on the sheet provided before your assessment. Please bring the original documents with you as we will not be able to proceed with your application until we have seen the original. We will take a photocopy of the original documents which are treated confidentially and are subsequently destroyed. Please note that you will not be able to enrol at the College unless a satisfactory CRB check is in place.

 

A: We will let you know the outcome of your assessment by telephone or email within 10 working days of you assessment and confirm this in writing shortly afterwards. We will ask you to confirm whether you wish to accept our offer. If you accept our offer we contact your Connexions or Careers Wales adviser to proceed with your application.

 

A: It is important to note that your attendance at pre-entry assessment at RNC and acceptance of our offer will not automatically lead to the funding body agreeing to fund your placement here. It is always necessary for you to work with your Connexions/Careers Wales Advisor [also known as ‘Referring Agency’] as they are responsible for co-ordination of your funding application.  You will probably have to arrange to visit your local college of further education, or perhaps more than one, as your Adviser will want you to discuss what they can offer, and talk about what support needs you may have. 

 

Your Adviser will then complete an S139a [Connexions] form or Assessment of Learner Needs or Moving on Plan [Careers Wales] which includes detailed information about what you wish to do, what your support needs are and what options are being considered. They will arrange a meeting with the appropriate funding body, where your application to RNC will be discussed. Following this meeting the funding body will write to you, your Connexions/Careers Wales Advisor and RNC to let us know their decision. If your funding is approved, we will contact you again to discuss your travel/start day and induction. All younger students and their families/carers are invited to the New Student Conference at the beginning of July each year.

 

Current funding arrangements are through the Learning and Skills Councils [England] and Estyn/Welsh Assembly Government. Until 31^st March 2010 students whose application is refused have a right to attend a discussion forum. This is a meeting attended by all of the stakeholders in the application process where everyone, including you and your parents/carers have the opportunity to ask questions and provide information to support your application to RNC. The Learning and Skills Council will confirm their decision at the end of the discussion forum. There is also a right to appeal if the outcome of the discussion forum is that funding for RNC still is not approved.

 

RNC will help you through the application process. We are very happy to represent you at Year 11 review meetings, meetings with your funding body or LSC discussion forums. We will always help or advise you with answers to questions which may not appear here, or to queries your parents/carers or Advisers may have.

 

A: A Referring Agency should have been identified during the annual review of your Statement of Special Educational Needs in year 11. You may need to contact your local Connexions/Careers Wales office if you do not already have an Adviser. Alternatively, your current school may be able to help you. If not, please let us know and we will help you to make contact with the Referring Agency.

 

A: Members of the Assessment and Review team will be able to help you with your queries. Please contact us on 01432 376397/376342 or via e-mail assessmentandreview@rnc.ac.uk.

 

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have a query.