Entry requirements

To secure a student place at Oatridge College there 3 main conditions that you need to meet before you can study in Scotland.

English Language requirements

All training delivery at Oatridge College will be conducted in the English language, although some of our tutors are fluent in other languages. Therefore we need to be very sure that you can communicate effectively in the English language, and that you can demonstrate your ability to listen, read, write and speak in English.

We require you to hold an English Language Certificate and accept both International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Level 5.5 (Competent User) or Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) at level 46, either gained within 2 years of making your application: this demonstrates that you have an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies and misunderstandings and can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

For handbook, test explanations, official practice material, and more information about IELTS click on :

For full details on Person Test of English go to www.pearsonpte.com

PTE

Visas

Do you need a visa to study in the UK? You will need a visa if you:

are not an EEA national
are stateless (you don't have a nationality)
hold a non-national travel document, or
hold a passport issued by an authority that is not recognised in the UK.

If you are coming to the United Kingdom as a student you must first be conditionally accepted onto a course, one of the conditions will be that you must pay the £1500 deposit. When all of the conditions have been met you will be full accepted onto the course and issued with a CAS number which will allow you to apply for a visa to study in the UK (see Guide to the Application Process section).

From 1 September 2007 all students will need a student entry clearance to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of study, however if you are planning on attending a course that is 6 months or shorter in duration there is a new category of "student visitor" visa that you can apply for.

We recommend that you check if you need a visa before making your application to Oatridge College. For more information on visas visit the UK Visa Services website which lets you check if you do need a visa and provides you with all the information you need to make an application for a visa. Click on the image below to visit the UK Visa Services website :

If you do not intend to work or stay in the UK for more than six months, you should consider entering as a student visitor. More information is available in through the following link: Visitors (INF2) that provides guidance and by clicking the following link you can find your nearest visa application centre.

From certain countries you can apply on-line for a visa: check the following website to see if this applies in your home country :

Visa4UK

Educational Qualifications

Most overseas qualifications are recognised for entry to Oatridge College courses and are accepted provided they are equivalent to the UK qualifications indicated for each level of course.

Our International Advisers can advise you about your qualification requirements. Contact international@oatridge.ac.uk with your enquiry regarding qualifications.

There are also a number of external organisations that provide advice and information about international qualifications and how they equate to UK qualifications.

Typical entry requirements for our Higher National qualifications are 1 Scottish Higher qualification or equivalent in a relevant subject and evidence of some work experience in the chosen subject. As a rough guide, Higher qualifications are those qualifications gained during the last year at Senior school and are often used to gain entry to University courses.

All Scottish National qualifications have been levelled against standards and placed at an appropriate level in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (see http://www.scqf.org.uk/ - a pdf of the SCQF framework is available on the website) and Higher qualifications are at Level 6. This is approximately Level 3 of the European Qualifications Framework - click on the image below :

European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning

Entry to other courses are at the discretion of the course tutors and is usually based on the qualifications gained during school years and a provable aptitude to the subject area being studied.

If you are unsure about the level of your qualifications, please contact us to discuss.

Oatridge College

International students