Your Next Steps | Interview, Enrolment and Welcome Day Information

What happens after I apply?

Once your application has been submitted our admissions team will complete some data checks including checking that you meet the published entry criteria for your chosen subject.

For most programmes you will then receive an email inviting you to log back into your account to book your interview. If you have applied for Music, Performing Arts or an Art related subject we will email you with a date and for an audition or portfolio review.

Please check your emails as all communication will be sent by this method.

What Happens at my interview?

You will be here between 1-2 hours depending on the programme you have chosen. (2-3 hours for performing arts) You will normally have a presentation or talk to from a member of staff, telling you more about the programme, followed by an individual interview for about 5/10 minutes.

If you are having an audition or portfolio review, more information will be given in your email.

How will I know if have been offered a place?

Offers will be subject to meeting the entry requirements of the programme, as published.

Once you have attended an interview / audition we will email you to let you know if you have an offer. Offers will be subject to you meeting the published entry requirements of the chosen programme.

If you are not offered a place on your chosen programme, we will do our best to support you in finding an appropriate alternative.

Welcome and Induction Days

Cancellation of Welcome and Induction Days 2021

Please note that following the Government announcement about the delay in the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, and reviewing all the current data around the Delta variant, the College has taken the difficult decision to cancel the planned Welcome and Induction Days at the end of June.

This decision was not taken lightly, but we feel that these events are not in line with current guidance, and we want to do all that we can to protect staff and applicants from any added risks of contracting COVID -19.

Individual applicants will be emailed to confirm this decision, and we are now reviewing ways to provide applicants, and their parents/carers, with more help and information to support their transition to Colchester Institute.

As an alternative our teaching staff have put together welcome day packs with photos and information about the team, the courses, and the college environment, as well as useful information that you will need to know before  you enrol. For some areas, this will also give you details of any equipment, kit or uniform that you need to get in advance of starting. Please click the button below to see this information.

Exam results and Advice Days

One of the most exciting – and scary – days of all is when you receive your exam results.  This year is slightly different as results days for GCSE, AS, and A level and some vocational qualifications will now take place earlier than in previous years, with results issued in the week of Monday 9th August 2021. This will give extra time for any appeals to be assessed.

Normally students receive their GCSE results in mid to late August, but this year pupils will receive theirs on Thursday 12th August 2021.

For learners looking to study a qualification with an A-level pre-requisite with us, the results day for AS and A2 exams is on Tuesday 10th August 2021.

Current and Returning Students

Information about collecting exam results is currently being finalised and will be communicated in due course. It is important to keep regularly checking your emails for the latest information!

What happens next?

Fingers crossed that all your hard work will have resulted in great results, but if your GCSE or A-level results do not meet the entry requirements or you are still unsure please don’t panic!

Dates for our August Advice Days are currently being finalised and the information in the Advice Day section will be regularly updated with what you need to do next. Once these are confirmed information will be accessible from this page.

Please choose a button below appropriate to the awarding body for your qualification.

If you don’t see your awarding body listed here, don’t worry – details with regards to all other awarding bodies/qualifications will follow shortly. Please visit this page regularly for new and updated information.

Please be aware that all student emails have been migrated to Office 365. This means you will now need to use the following web address to access your college email (https://outlook.office365.com/mail).

If you are looking to setup your college email on your mobile device, then you will now need to choose the “Office 365” account option rather than “Exchange” option and follow the steps given from there.

If you need support accessing your account or if you have forgotten your password please contact the ILT Service Desk via the ILT service desk portal.

Enrolment Information 2021

Colchester Institute use an enrolment system which is completed online, and new students can do this from home, or even on holiday. New applicants will need access to the internet and evidence of their exam results, including those from previous years.

All communications regarding enrolment are sent to the email address used throughout the application process. It is essential that all applicants are able to access their emails easily, and that they are checking them regularly.

We know that enrolment can be an anxious time for some, and there will be staff from our admissions team on hand to help throughout, either by phone on 01206 712777, email at admissions@colchester.ac.uk or our online chat function. We don’t close over the summer.

Guidance videos will be available to view ready for GCSE results day on Thursday 12^th August 2021.

If you are currently studying with us and wishing to progress to the next level, then you do not need to apply again.

All course areas hold end of year Progress Boards in June / July, this is a process where the course teams meet and discuss each student and make decisions on whether or not they will be supported to progress to the next level.

For students who are supported to progress, they will be sent information by email inviting them to complete their re-enrolment on-line to the next level of study. In some course areas there may be conditions which relate to students achieving exams results, including GCSE English and / or Maths where these are being taken, in line with published entry criteria.

Online Re-enrolment for returning and progressing students

If a student is not supported to progress, they will be informed of this decision by letter, sent via email to their college email address. It is the responsibility of all students to check their college email accounts, and to ensure that the College has up to date email contact information of their parent / carer / next of kin.

For students who are not supported to progress, and they were born on or after 1^st September 2002, these decisions will be copied to their parent / carer, sent to the to the Next of Kin email address recorded on the college management information system.

Guidance on Progress Boards is included in the Full Time Further Education Admissions Policy which can be found here:

If you have now successfully enrolled on your new programme, or you returning to a higher level, then we are really excited to see you starting at Colchester Institute in September.

Please read the following information to help you to prepare to start the new academic year.

Thank you for reading this, please keep checking your emails for your First Day information, and we really look forward to seeing you on campus very soon.

Our term starts on Wednesday 1st September 2021.