YOUR STUDENT HANDBOOK 01923 812345 westherts.ac.uk
HELLO! WELCOME ABOARD Congratulations, you’re now officially a West Herts College student! This guide tells you everything you need to know about college.
THE COLLEGE PACKAGE Studying at college is about more than just a course. We provide a huge variety of opportunities to help you develop the skills and experiences that will open doors to a bright future. From clubs and societies, to study support and travel money, you’ll have access to everything you need to thrive and succeed.
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GAP
GAP is made up of four pillars: - Employer Encounters - Careers Advice - Project Bravura - Personal Development
GET CAREER READY Every college offers enrichment programmes, but only West Herts College gives you GAP. GAP is all about unlocking your potential. It’s part of every course and tailored to you. You’ll identify your career pathway and what you need to get there. You’ll get in front of the right people, and take part in the right experiences.
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Most of all, you’ll build the confidence and self-belief to get where you want to go. Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/student-life/gapcareers-programme for more.
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ENGLISH & MATHS Working at your pace, you’ll prepare for exams and assessments to give yourself the best chance for success.
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If you haven’t yet achieved GCSE grades 4-9 in English or maths, you’ll take English or maths classes with the added assistance of Century - our AI programme that identifies your strengths and weaknesses and recommends skills in bite-sized nuggets to develop. Work with our subject-expert tutors to focus your learning on areas you need to develop, bringing your skill-level up in the topics where it matters to you most. Working at your pace you’ll get ready to prepare for your exams and assessments. It’s time to level up – that next grade is in sight. Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/student-life/ english-maths to find out more.
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SUPPORT NETWORK Our Student Support teams are here for you, both on campus and online, ready to help whenever you need it. Whether it’s navigating college life or dealing with personal challenges, you’ll always have someone to talk to.
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Health Assured We’ve partnered with Health Assured, a 24/7 support service where you can chat with trained counsellors any time. Plus, their Wisdom app lets you track your mood, check your health and access live chat features.
WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK
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Our Learner Support Fund (LSF) is available to help with the costs of coming to College. If your household income is less than £45,001 you could be eligible to access financial support, to help with: - Travel costs - Kit and equipment - Free meals - Childcare Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/studentlife/student-support/financial-support/learnersupport-fund to learn more. 9
STUDENT SOCIETY A big part of preparing for life after college is through your own personal development. At college you’ll meet new people, experience new things, learn new skills and try new hobbies. Join our community, it’s where potential becomes reality. Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/student-life/ gap-careers-programme/ personal-development to find out more. 10
ENHANCING YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE College is a chance to define who you are, what you believe in and where your future is heading. We’ll help you to discover more about yourself and your interests by hosting fairs, activities, workshops, sports, clubs and societies. LEARN MORE
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YOUR CAMPUS
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WELCOME HOME Hemel Hempstead campus The newest of our two campuses, Hemel is home to our state-of-theart Construction & Engineering Centre and modern Main Building. Watford campus Our flagship campus, Watford is home to a range of specialist workshops to upskill, breakout spaces to unwind and plenty of opportunities around every corner to look forward to.
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Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/ student-life/ourcampuses to take a drone fly-through. 14
WHERE TO EAT Our campuses are home to a range of different food and drink options. Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/student-life/our-campuses/foodand-drink-on-campus to see what’s on the menu. We pride ourselves on catering for everyone and have therefore ensured that we offer a wide range of hot and cold items, including halal, vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options.
TIME TO REFUEL Hemel Hempstead campus Canteen Located at the entrance of the Construction & Engineering Centre. - Hot and cold meal options - Grab & Go sandwiches - Rollover hot dogs -15Starbucks drinks
FOOD & DRINK ON CAMPUS
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Opening times Term time only Monday - Friday 8:30am - 2pm
Watford campus Opening times Canteen Located on the Ground Floor. Term time only Monday - Friday 8am - 2pm - Hot and cold meal options - Grab & Go sandwiches - Snacks - Soft drinks
Café Located on the Ground Floor at the end of The Street. - Starbucks drinks - Grab & Go sandwiches - Snacks
Opening times Term time only Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday - Thursday 8am - 6pm Friday 8am - 4pm
Shop Located on the Ground Floor by Reception. - Hot food items - Grab & Go sandwiches - Rollover hot dogs - Snacks - Soft drinks
Opening times Term time only Monday - Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 4pm
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GETTING TO COLLEGE COURSE TITLE First choice
Second choice
eed a referee? y on your references to help us your suitability for the course, ore it is important you complete ction. For school or college nts your referees can be your eacher, careers officer, course or Head of Year.
YOUR DETAILS Last name
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an I get additional support? have a disability or g difficulty, please tick the nt box. Our support team will ct you for further information assess your needs. For further ation, please call Learning rt on 01923 812525.
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NEXT OF KIN CONTACT DETAILS Contact name
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EDUCATIONAL REFEREE
Details must be completed by all applicants. Please see guidance notes fo Name of school/college/company name Address
Referee
Position
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Postcode
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By submitting this form you are agreeing to the processing of your data College to share data where it is relevant to your application. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
The college welcomes applications from students with disabilities and l a disability or learning difficulty, please tick any of the boxes so that we wherever possible. M40
I have a disability/learning disability and would like support I have special exam arrangements at school (e.g extra time, reader, scribe)
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We are committed to providing a safe environment. To help us achieve convictions. Please indicate if you have any unspent convictions.
d is not a legally binding contract. While cannot be held responsible for any errors and locations we offer without prior notice. mic year will only be eligible to attend West Herts uthority.
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CAMPUS LOCATION
Should the course you are applying for be available at more than one c which campus would you prefer to study at?
PLAN YOUR ROUTE Both of our campuses have great town centre locations with well-connected transport links, so whether you study at our Hemel Hempstead or Watford campus, you’ll be ideally placed to get to college. Click the button or head to westherts. ac.uk/student-life/our-campuses/gettingto-college to plan your journey to college.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
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Financial support is available to help with these costs of coming to college. You can find out more about it on page 9.
PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS We set the standard high and expect professionalism from day one. Experience an exciting learning environment where everyone can reach their potential.
What we expect from our students: - Commitment - Attendance - Punctuality - Meeting all deadlines - 100% effort in lessons, on project work and assignments
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Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/about/ policies-statements to view our expectations in detail. 18
SETTING THE STANDARD What you can expect from us: - Gaining freedom and independence - Learning in a mature environment - An ‘industry-ready’ skill set - Building a positive rapport with tutors and classmates - Regular catch-ups with personal tutors - Personalised support services
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ON-DEMAND COLLEGE With on-demand access you’ll never miss a beat whether you’re on campus or online.
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TAKE YOUR STUDIES WITH YOU As a student at West Herts College, you can look forward to accessing all of our resources, kit and equipment and stateof-the-art facilities on campus, but we also back this up with our On-Demand College services – to provide students with a seamless digital experience. You’ll have access to: - CANVAS - Online learning platform - My WHCG app - College in your pocket - Century - English and maths skills - Office 365 - Study anywhere Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/student-life/ on-demand-college for more.
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COLLEGE CALENDAR These are the key dates to know for the academic year 26-27. Click the button or head to westherts.ac.uk/students/collegecalendar to view the full calendar.
Exam Dates We publish all exam dates to the My WHCG app, so you can keep track of your upcoming exams and assessments. These will be added to the app as you’re entered, your course tutors will keep you informed. We’ll be in touch by email with more information on how to access the My WHCG app.
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STAY UP TO DATE
Academic Year 26-27 Term Dates Autumn Term 2026 Term Starts: Thursday 3 September Half Term: Monday 26 - Friday 30 October Parent/Carer Meetings: Monday 16 - Friday 27 November Term Ends: Wednesday 9 December Spring Term 2027 Term Starts: Monday 4 January Half Term: Monday 15 - Friday 19 February Progress Review Week: Monday 8 - Friday 12 March Term Ends: Thursday 25 March Summer Term 2027 Term Starts: Monday 12 April Half Term: Monday 31 May - Friday 4 June Term Ends: Friday 25 June
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Stay connected Follow us on social media to keep up to date with everything going on at college.