EF Torbay A-Level and IB students visit the UCAS exhibition

A Level and IB students from EF Torbay visited that UCAS university exhibition at the West Point convention center in Exeter yesterday and then had a guided tour and admissions lectures from faculty heads. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK-based organization whose main role is to operate the application process for British universities. It operates as an independent charity, funded by fees charged to applicants and to universities, plus advertising income.

Services provided by UCAS include several online application portals, a number of search tools, and free information and advice directed at various audiences, including students considering higher education, students with pending applications to higher education institutes, parents and legal guardians of applicants, school and Further Education college staff involved in helping students apply, and providers of higher education (universities and HE colleges). Basically it’s the door way to all UK universities.

The UCAS convention is a huge event that is held in key areas around the country and it’s a must for students who are applying to university as it will be attended by a huge number of universities from across the country all trying to attract students. Full of information and a vast number of free pens and prospectuses it’s a gold mine of information.

Some students have a very clear idea of what they are looking for and head straight for their chosen uni’s armed with relevant question while others use it as a scouting operation to get a better idea of what they are looking for. Either way it’s very useful.
In the afternoon we headed to Exeter University which is our closest, only 30 minutes away, and a source of great pride in the southwest of England. It’s a truly impressive place as it’s the size of a small town but it’s a uni with a great feel , full of wide open space and a mix of modern and older architecture.

The university was founded and received its Royal Charter in 1955, although its predecessor institutions, the Royal Albert Memorial College and the University College of the South West of England, were established in 1900 and 1922 respectively.
The university has four campuses: Streatham and St Luke’s (both of which are in Exeter); and Truro and Penryn (both of which are in Cornwall). The university is centred in the city of Exeter, Devon, where it is the principal higher education institution. Streatham is the largest campus containing many of the university’s administrative buildings, and is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country. The Penryn campus is maintained in conjunction with Falmouth University under the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) initiative.

The university was named the Sunday Times University of the Year in 2013 and was the Times Higher Education University of the Year in 2007. Exeter has maintained a top ten position in the National Student Survey since the survey was launched in 2005. In 2011, it was considered as being one of the top 12 elite universities in England (based on the proportion of incoming students with at least AAB at A Level), and the university is one of only eight universities to be ranked within the top 10 of all three major national league tables for 2016.

Exeter is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities. The university is also a member of Universities UK, the European University Association, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities and is an accredited institution of the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

We were greeted by a team of students and admissions staff outside the massive Great Hall in the stunning piazza and treated to a tour of the university including the science research center, I.T Sweet and sports facilities. Afterwards, we went to one of the largest lecture halls in the uni and had a questions and answers session with admissions team.
It was a fantastic day and really useful to the students.