Located in the heart of London’s fashionable Mayfair district, West London College (WLC) offers a range of professional courses from diploma level right up to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, computing, hotel management and tourism. All courses are structured to be as affordable as possible whilst offering the very best practical standards of tuition and aiming towards internationally recognised qualifications.

Academic strengths

West London College is recognised as efficient by the British Accreditation Council for Further and Higher Education (BAC). It is approved to run specific degree programmes for the following universities: the University of Greenwich, Heriot-Watt University, and Bournemouth University. It is also accredited by the following awarding bodies: the Association of Business Executives (ABE), the Confederation of Tourism, Hotel and Catering Management (CTHCM), and the Association of Computer Professionals (ACP). It is also the largest Virgin Atlantic Fares and Ticketing training centre in the world.

Students entering the College enjoy every practical incentive to succeed. WLC is staffed by tutors of the highest quality and students have access to an impressive range of teaching aids including audio-visual equipment and computer facilities. Lecturers are chosen not just for their technical skills but also for their ability to impart their knowledge to others. They are entertaining and friendly, and always do their best to ensure that the course is as enjoyable as possible.

Facilities

The College has excellent facilities including air-conditioned computer rooms equipped with Pentium 4 flat-screen PCs, spacious and air-conditioned lecture rooms with IT connections and overhead digital projectors.

The library, located in the College's brand new annexe, has a full-time librarian to help and advise students, and plenty of computers for document preparation and free internet access.

Student life

Even before students board their flights to the UK, our Student Services team are working hard to ensure that all goes well on their arrival. Often international students do not have friends or relatives with whom they can stay whilst they are studying in London, so it is important that good accommodation is provided within easy travelling range of the College.

Accommodation is arranged for our students in hostels, typically located in Swiss Cottage, Notting Hill, Bayswater and Queensway, which are among some of the most sought after residential areas in London. Double or dormitory rooms are available and all are offered on a half-board basis with breakfast and evening meals provided and all bills included in the price. All the hostels are located close to bus routes and tube stations so that students can use public transport to reach the College, usually within 30 minutes.

The College welfare team devote much of their time to helping new students find their feet. It might mean helping a student to register with a doctor (overseas students are entitled to health care under the National Health Service), or to find an ethnic restaurant or a place of worship. Also, there will be occasions when a student needs official documents in order to extend a student visa for example, or open a bank account. If this is the case the welfare team will be happy to help.

All in all, it is the continuous aim of the College to make all students feel at home and to provide the support that will allow them to concentrate happily on their prime objective – to obtain a good education in London and an internationally-recognised qualification to prove it.

The College buildings are in Mayfair, in the West End of London. The main building is opposite Selfridges department store and very close to Bond Street underground station. The College's annexe building, is a brand new state of the art educational facility. It is arranged over two large floors with an excellent range of air-conditioned classrooms, a large library, a 28 seater free internet facility and a 60 seater student cafe. Hostel style student accommodation is offered in the Queensway, Bayswater and Notting Hill areas of West London.

London offers the range of cultural and social facilities expected of England’s capital city. Concerts held throughout the year give students the opportunity to see major rock and pop acts as well as classical and jazz musicians. The world-famous theatres of London offer everything from big musicals and long running hits such as ‘Cats’ and ‘Les Miserables’, to productions at Shakespeare’s Globe and The Barbican Centre (the RSC’s London home).

Accommodation can be arranged by the College in student hostels which are typically located in the fashionable districts of Notting Hill, Bayswater and Queensway, which are among some of the most sought after residential areas in London. Double or dormitory rooms are available and all are offered on a half-board basis, with breakfast and evening meals provided and all bills included in the rental price (£75-85 per week). All hostels are close to bus routes and tube stations so students can use public transport to reach the College, usually within 20 mins.

The College will only provide accommodation for new students if asked to do so. It is not done automatically because many students arrange to stay with friends or relatives to keep costs to a minimum. If students do require accommodation it is necessary to inform the College at least 5 days in advance. The College always tries to put students in the same hostel as others on their course. All hostel accommodation is supervised.

The College’s facilities include two fully air-conditioned computer rooms equipped with the latest Pentium PCs, and 12 air-conditioned lecture rooms which are linked to the College computer network and contain audio/visual teaching aids. The College library, has a full time librarian to help and advise, computer terminals for word processing, CD-ROMs and e-mail, and is open at weekends for private study. The new College annexe houses the Library, the internet zone (another 28 terminals) and a refectory offering healthy, subsidised hot and cold meals.

College students are given automatic corporate membership of International Students House (ISH), a large sports and leisure complex, situated within walking distance of Parliament House and entirely devoted to helping students to enjoy their stay in London. The facilities at ISH include a cinema, library, theatre, gymnasium and games rooms. There is also a cafeteria and common rooms for socialising, and clubs and societies that cater for all interests. Outdoor sports at ISH include soccer, cricket, tennis and hockey, whilst indoor sports offered include squash, badminton, aerobics and karate.

For many of our overseas students their journey to London to study at the college is their first time away from home and, for most, represents a major change of lifestyle. It is vitally important therefore that the College provides expert help and guidance regarding accommodation and welfare.

Even before our overseas students board their flights to England our Student Services Manager and her team are working hard to ensure that all goes well on their arrival at Heathrow or Gatwick and that a driver is waiting to take them to their accommodation.

Then once they commence their studies members of the college welfare team are available to help the new students overcome any difficulties they may face in the first few weeks.

The welfare team are well aware that students' academic success at the College will often depend on their comfort in their surroundings and their ability to overcome any anxiety caused by homesickness, and consequently great emphasis is placed on ensuring that students are happy with their living accommodation.

The College welfare team devote much of their time to the care of overseas students who have recently arrived in London and are still finding their feet. It might mean helping a student to register with a doctor (overseas students are entitled to health care under the national health service), or finding an ethnic restaurant or a place of worship. Also, there will be occasions when a student needs official documents, in order to extend a student visa for example, or open a bank account. If this is the case the welfare team will be happy to help.

Fees

Department of Business

• Certificate in Business Administration
  Fee: £1,400
  Start dates: Feb, May, Sept
• ABE Diploma in Business Administration
  Fee: £4,200
  Start dates: Jan, July, Sept
• ABE Advanced Diploma in Business Administration
  Fee: £1,950
  Start dates: Jan, July
• BBA Degree in Business Administration (Final Year)
  Fees: £5,000
  Start dates: Jan, July
• Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) Level 1, 2, 3
  Fee: 3 x £2,550
  Start dates: Jan, July

Department of Computer Science

• ACP Certificate in Computer Programming
  Fee: £2,600
  Start dates: Jan, May, Sept
• ACP Diploma in Computer System Design
  Fee: £1,750
  Start dates: Feb, June, Oct
• ACP Advanced Diploma in Computer Science
  Fee: £4,350
  Start dates: Jan, June, Oct
• BSc. (Hons) in Computing (Final Year)
  Fee: £5,200
  Start dates: Sept, Feb

Department of Hotel Management

• CTHCM Diploma in Hotel Management
  Fee: £4,200
  Start dates: Jan, June, Sept
• CTHCM Advanced Diploma in Hotel Management
  Fee: £4,200
  Start dates: Feb, Oct
• BA (Hons) Degree in International Hospitality and Tourism Management (Final Year)
  Fee: £5,200
  Start date: Sept

Department of Travel and Tourism

• CTHCM Diploma in Travel Agency Management
  Fee: £4,200
  Start dates: Jan, June, Sept
• CTHCM Advanced Diploma in Tourism Management
  Fee: £4,200
  Start dates: Feb, Oct

Entrance Qualifications

West London College training does not normally require, on the part of the student, any previous knowledge of the subjects to be studied. However, prospective students should have attained a reasonable level of literacy and numeracy, or, where they wish to enrol for professional examination courses, be able to provide evidence of holding the necessary GCE passes or their equivalent. Educational certificates held by intending students will vary from country to country; the College Faculty will judge these qualifications on their merits and advise the student accordingly.

Tuition is in English and intending students must therefore have reached a reasonable level of fluency. To take care of any difficulties that may arise, the College has access to a remedial English Language Course and must reserve the right to transfer to this course any student whose command of English is inadequate for a proper understanding of the course for which he or she has enrolled.

Postgraduate Departments

• BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
• MBA

Undergraduate Departments

• COMPUTING AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE
• BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES
• TRAVEL, TOURISM AND LEISURE