Students at Brit College have been told that their higher education courses will be no longer be designated by the Department for Education from 4 June 2025.
This means that any prospective students will not be able to access student finance from the Student Loans Company to study at this provider, and existing students – who are currently on a term break – will need to transfer to a different provider to continue to access student finance.
Brit College is registered with the Office for Students (OfS). This impacts around 250 students currently studying for a Pearson Higher National qualification at the college, who will no longer be able to complete their courses there. In these circumstances, Pearson is supporting the college to ensure students have good information, advice and guidance about their options for continuing their studies, as well as support for their wellbeing. The college and Pearson are writing to all of Brit College’s Higher National students today and will continue to provide advice and support.
The college was also delivering the City & Guilds L5 Diploma in Education and Training (DET) prior to September 2024. City & Guilds has been working closely with Brit College to collate the assessment records of students who were previously studying on this course and has provided the college with contact details for students to explain next steps.
The de-designation of courses at Brit College does not affect the maintenance payments that have been made recently to eligible students. The amount of future tuition fee and maintenance loan payments to which students will be entitled will depend on the option students choose for continuing their studies. Once a student confirms where they will resume their studies, the receiving provider will inform the Student Loans Company and tuition fees and future maintenance payments will be paid following the normal process.
Director of Regulation at the Office for Students, Philippa Pickford, said:
‘This will be upsetting news for students at Brit College. We are grateful to colleagues at Pearson for their work to date to ensure that students are able to continue their studies elsewhere or receive credit for their academic achievements to date.
‘We will continue to work with Pearson and others to ensure students are properly supported at this difficult time. There is more information for students on our website.’
Philippa added:
‘We have been engaging with Brit College in relation to compliance with our ongoing conditions of registration, and it is currently subject to an OfS investigation which remains ongoing.
'Universities and colleges are responsible for running their businesses effectively. It’s important that students and taxpayers can be confident that that institutions have robust systems in place to safeguard public funding and ensure that students’ interests are protected.’
Notes
- The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. We have been consulting on a new strategy for 2025-2030 which seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve.
- See information for Brit College students.
- See information about our ongoing investigation into Brit College.