DOWNEND SCHOOL Competitors

Bridgwater & Taunton College is now defunct after an exciting merger with Strode College. Please visit and follow the UCS College Group page for more information. UCS College Group is the leading South West provider for technical & professional training and offer a diverse range of qualifications. The courses seamlessly blend real-world experience with academic rigour, propelling students towards prestigious universities, esteemed companies, and promising career opportunities. With a student body of over 20,000 learners from across the UK, UCS College Group collaborates with a wide array of stakeholders, encompassing 1,500 employers, industry experts, community organisations, and awarding bodies, all united in advancing the national skills agenda. The course offerings span from post-16 programs and apprenticeships to adult learning and distance learning. University Centre Somerset (UCS) is an integral part of UCS College Group and provides higher education for learners advancing from our Colleges or adults seeking to retrain and upskill. UCS aspires to become Somerset's inaugural university, offering vital support to the local community and attracting talent from across the nation. UCS College Group takes great pride in being an inaugural member of the Chartered Institution for Education, demonstrating excellence in the areas of governance, leadership, professional development, teaching practice and community impact. This commitment to excellence is further exemplified by the numerous prestigious awards held by the Group, including the SEMTA Awards, TES FE Award, City & Guilds Lions Award, TEF Silver Award, an unparalleled 15 Association of Colleges Beacon Awards, and two highly prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education. UCS College Group provides tailored training solutions to meet your business needs. Find out more at www.btc.ac.uk/ucs-college-group/

BGS is a thriving independent day school, taking children from Reception through to the Sixth Form. Over the past 10 years, the School has greatly strengthened its academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision, culminating in the highest ‘Excellent’ rating across all categories in the ISI Inspection report in October 2015. Student numbers have risen steadily as our reputation has grown across the city and the region: for the start of the 2017/18 academic year, the School is effectively full with waiting lists in some year-groups. The financial strength this brings has allowed the Board of Governors to invest in new infrastructure, the highlight being the opening of our 1532 Performing Arts Centre in September 2016, named in memory of our foundation year. We continue to be ambitious in thinking about how to expand and improve what we provide for our students. For example, implementation of our plan to introduce the International Baccalaureate into the Sixth Form is well advanced, and we are making good progress on significant additions to our sports facilities. Looking further forward, we are exploring ways in which BGS, its staff and its students can play a wider role in the community that is Bristol and its surrounds.

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) is a successful further education college formed by the merger between Stroud College and Filton College. These two high performing colleges merged in February 2012, to give all stakeholders more choice, greater opportunities and a wider range of facilities. At SGS, we have four main campuses – Stroud, Filton, WISE and Berkeley Green – as well as many local community venues including the Bristol School of Art in Clifton, the Galleries Shopping Centre and Bristol Zoo Gardens. SGS welcome over 12,000 full-time and part-time students of all ages every year and is proud to engage with over 2,000 employers within the region.