Banbury And Bicester College
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Banbury and Bicester college is a further education college in Oxfordshire, England. It has two campuses – one in
Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
and one in
Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...
.


Introduction

Previously called Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (OCVC) Banbury and Bicester college changed name when the Oxford & Cherwell Valley College Group reorganised and become the
Activate Learning Activate Learning is an education and training group based in Oxford. It runs schools, further education colleges and work-based training across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey, and delivers higher-education and international study programmes ...
group in 2013. Banbury and Bicester College provides vocational training programmes, primarily for the post-16 sector, across different subjects. Programmes include vocational training for school leavers and professionals/adults, apprenticeships, higher education, international study, learning for leisure, and courses to help the unemployed get back into work.


History

1.1 North Oxfordshire Technical College and School of Art North Oxfordshire Technical College and School of Art, in Banbury, has roots from the late 19th century with its current Broughton Road location from a move in the 1950s and was a general further education college that served Banbury and Bicester. 1.2 Oxford and Cherwell College On 31 July 2003, Oxford College of Further Education merged with North Oxfordshire College in Banbury to become Oxford and Cherwell College. 1.3 Oxford & Cherwell Valley College - New campus A new campus was opened in Bicester in 2005. This is when the college became Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (OCVC). In 2010 OCVC, along with the Learning Skills Network (LSN), took responsibility for running
Reading College Reading College is a further education college based in Reading, Berkshire, England. It has over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. The Kings Road site that is the principal location of Reading College has been used for further education ...
. OCVC then became the Oxford & Cherwell Valley College Group. 1.4 Banbury and Bicester College In 2013, the OCVC Group reorganised and restructured. It became Activate Learning, and the two OCVC colleges (Oxford and Banbury) changed their names. OCVC (Banbury) became Banbury and Bicester College, whilst OCVC (Oxford) become City of Oxford College.


Subjects and courses

2.1 Full-time study Subjects available for full-time study at Banbury and Bicester College include art and design, business and enterprise, caring and health, catering and hospitality, construction, electrical, foundation studies, hair and beauty, ICT, media, motorsport, motor vehicle, performing arts, sport, travel and tourism, and uniformed public services. Motorsport is taught at the Bicester campus. 2.2 Higher education Higher education (HE) is delivered across the Activate Learning group. Different HE programmes are delivered at the different colleges. The group delivers higher education (university-level) programmes in art and design, business, care, computing, engineering, furniture, motorsports, policing and sports coaching. These programmes include HNDs, foundation degrees and honours degrees. The group also delivers the PGCE teaching and training qualification. The foundation degree (Level 5) and honours degree (Level 6) programmes are delivered in partnership with local universities, which include
Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
and
Bucks New University Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a public university in Buckinghamshire, England, with campuses in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and Art, ...
. At Banbury and Bicester College there are higher education programmes in art and design, business, care, and motorsport. These are all in partnership with Oxford Brookes University. 2.3 International students International students are welcome at Banbury and Bicester College. Activate Learning runs an international study programme for students from overseas. 2.4 Part-time study Part-time study can be professional (qualification based) or leisure (non-qualification based). Part-time subjects with qualifications include accounting, business, catering, hair and beauty, ICT, first aid, teaching and training, security, and skills for life. Subjects without qualifications focus mostly on the creative arts (e.g. art, photography, textiles, ceramics). 2.5 Apprenticeships and work-based training Banbury and Bicester College provides apprenticeship training across many of its vocational subjects. These are delivered by Activate Enterprise, the group’s business-to-business service. 2.6 Courses for the unemployed The college has a Get that Job programme which is for people who are unemployed. It provides free training courses to those who are eligible, and offers help with other skills such as CV writing and interview techniques.


Campuses

Banbury and Bicester College has campuses in Banbury and Bicester. 3.1 Banbury The campus has on-site facilities for students to do their training. These include hair/beauty salons and a restaurant, and studios for creative arts, music and performing arts. The salons and restaurant are open to customers. It is renowned for its creative arts provision and opened a new creative arts centre in September 2012. 3.2 Bicester The campus delivers courses in classic vehicle maintenance – see specialist centres below.


Specialist centres

4.1 Performance Engineering Centre The Bicester campus is also known as Bicester Motorsports. It specialises in motorsports training and has a national reputation within the motorsport industry, and has been known as Roycotte Wood and OCVC Motorsports. This site was one of the first Motorsports Colleges in the UK and is well established in terms of its links to industry. The Foundation Degree in Motorsport: Performance and Automotive Technology, offered in partnership with Oxford Brookes University, is delivered at the Bicester campus. Edit: Banbury campus is now home to Banbury and Bicester College's engineering, motorsports engineering and motor vehicle programmes. The
Activate Learning Activate Learning is an education and training group based in Oxford. It runs schools, further education colleges and work-based training across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey, and delivers higher-education and international study programmes ...
partnership with Bicester Heritage allows students to study classic vehicle restoration programmes in
Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...


References


External links

*http://www.banbury-bicester.ac.uk {{Coord missing, Oxfordshire Further education colleges in Oxfordshire