BIC celebrates exams success

Based in Aston, Birmingham Independent College (BIC) celebrates one year of successfully delivering an alternative education to teenagers from 14 to 16 years old. In March 2015 the college opened its doors with just 5 students but one year later the register stands at 29 students.

Students enter the college from a range of backgrounds. The majority of students are newly arrived to Birmingham and come from all over the world including Italy and Ghana. Other students are British and have relocated to the city and found it difficult to get a mainstream school place in Years 10 and 11.

BIC focuses on helping every student achieve recognised qualifications at the highest level possible. Vivienne Lambert- Blackwood, Operations Manager at BIC, explains “It is vital that students progress quickly in order to get a step up the ladder in further education and work. We have two examination periods throughout the year to ensure that everyone, irrespective of when they start at BIC, have an opportunity to gain solid qualifications with OCR, Edexcel and ASDAN.”

In 12 months, BIC has entered students for more than 200 examinations. Students have progressed extremely well, with many starting at Functional English Entry 1 and progressing to Functional English Entry 3 by the time that they leave. BIC is also committed to adding new subjects to the curriculum and began a BTEC Health and Social Care course in January 2016. The first cohort of 12 BTEC students will take the exam in the next few weeks.

Looking forward, an ambitious curriculum programme hopes to see the launch of a range of new courses from September 2016. For more information contact BIC on 0121 507 0904.