All students have been invited to attend the testing facilities as part of The College’s commitment to ensuring a smooth and safe transition back to study on campus.

While COVID testing is not mandatory by law, The College has seen an impressive uptake by students, with the vast majority keen to benefit from the efficient on-site testing facilities at North Road, Lansdowne and The Fulcrum.

The successful return to college study comes as the latest OFSTED progress monitoring report hails Bournemouth & Poole College as achieving ‘significant improvement’ – an accolade only achieved within around 12% of monitoring visits.

The inspection report highlighted new quality assurance systems in place at The College, and the continuing high priority focus of leaders in improving the quality of education. In particular, it was highlighted that teachers used their expertise to help students improve their knowledge and skills and become more employable. OFSTED also recognised the hard work across the entire team of staff to make the learning environment COVID-safe.

Diane Grannell, Principal of Bournemouth & Poole College, commented: “Everyone at Bournemouth & Poole College is delighted to welcome our students back and that attendance has been so high as they return to their onsite studies.

“I am proud of the efforts that have been made to roll out a complex onsite testing facility in a short amount of time, ensuring the safety of our students and staff. Throughout lockdown, our staff worked extremely hard to support our students and ensure that they continued to get the most of out of their college experience.

“A huge amount of work goes into ensuring all our courses are of the highest quality for our students, and I am delighted that our progress has been recognised by Ofsted. We are dedicated to providing our students with the best start to their careers.”

Only one positive case has been identified within the excess of 3,400 COVID tests carried out to date. The asymptomatic individual isolated immediately, with The College quickly identifying a small bubble which also required to self-isolate, in line with standard protocols. No further transmission related to this case has occurred to date within The College.

Continuing student safety remains a high priority for The College, with social distancing regulations, mask wearing, and enhanced hygiene remaining in place until further notice. On-site testing by arrangement will remain in place to serve new enrolments, with The College now issuing home testing kits to current students.

For more information on the wide variety of full and part-time courses currently available to students, or to learn more about enrolling at The College this September, visit www.thecollege.co.uk.