Pre-Entry Assessment (PEA)

If you think you would like to study at RNC, the next step after completing your application form is to attend a Pre-Entry Assessment (PEA). This cannot happen until you are within one year of your start date.

We do recommend that you come to the first available PEA once you become eligible as this will give you plenty of time to discuss your plans with your funding authority and to start to plan for the future.

You can still apply to RNC at an earlier stage to register your interest and to let your funding authority know that this is the path you intend to take.

We do not automatically offer a place to everyone who applies to RNC. We have to be sure that it is the right place for you, that you will benefit from being here and that we have something to offer which will help you to progress in your life and ambitions.

Studying at RNC will not be like your past experiences in education. Our aim is to empower you to study independently, to make your own decisions about your future and to develop the skills you need to live the life you want. PEA is a way of seeing if we are the right environment for you, of checking your current level of skills and of deciding what package of education and support we might offer you.

PEA is an opportunity for you to get under the skin of RNC. You will meet a range of staff who will be involved in your day to day life at the College. This will include tutors from your preferred subject area, residential staff and members of our Independent Living Skills and Orientation & Mobility Team. This gives you the chance to ask anything that is on your mind and to dig deeper than the information in our prospectus.

More importantly, you will meet a few of our students and be able to get an unbiased view from someone who has been in your shoes. You will also spend time with the rest of your assessment group and be able to share experiences with them. There are never more than six people in an assessment group.

While you are finding out about us, we will also be finding out about you. You will have a series of one-to-one meetings to talk about your experiences to date, your interests and ambitions, your knowledge in areas such as IT and your current level of mobility. These are very informal conversations, not interviews, and are intended to help us to put together the right package of support for you if you attend RNC.

Please select the Word document below to read more about the PEA:

What to expect on your PEA

A meeting normally takes place at RNC during the same week as your PEA. This is when we discuss the outcome of your PEA, decide whether to make you a formal offer and review the full package we would recommend. You will be notified of the outcome of this meeting by telephone and in writing.

Any offer made is likely to be subject to certain conditions. These are most commonly providing specific paperwork such as exam certificates or achieving certain grades in upcoming exams. Although failure to achieve these grades might not prevent you from coming to RNC, it might mean that the programme you have been offered needs to be amended.

If you accept our offer we will then work with you, your family and advisers and your funding authority to agree the details and get everything in place for you to join the following September.