Westerfield College has officially launched its first UK campus, marking a major milestone as the first African sixth form college in the country. The expansion aims to provide Nigerian students with a global learning edge while promoting a combination of academic excellence and cultural immersion.
Speaking In an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Catherine Cole, Westerfield College’s External Relations Manager, said, “This is the first African sixth form college in the UK as well, so it is such a big deal, to further open and improve on the education for Nigerians and Africans as a whole, and just being able to say, you know, I have a school here that I can relate to because it’s one of your own, it’s owned by Nigerians.”
Karah Adu, the college’s Regional Market Manager for Africa, described the UK campus as part of Westerfield’s broader international growth strategy. “College in Nigeria has been growing and I think this is the next logical step for Westerfield to really reach out and embrace those international and global roots.”
“We are in the UK, because UK is very broad, so we’re based in Worcestershire, which is sort of, it’s about halfway up the country, so it’s in a really good sort of central location.”
The UK campus is designed to provide students with both academic and personal development opportunities. Westerfield’s summer camp, for instance, combines cultural exchange, social experiences, and academic programs.
“But then what we’re doing is combining both, You’re also able to gain social experience. You go on tour. And then we’re infusing academic to it because we do have parents who are concerned that it wouldn’t always be about, you know, playing, just having fun.”
“We’ve decided to also infuse academic. So the student, for example, who has studied in science can decide to take a two weeks program in say, art, because the programs that we have academically does cover whether you’re in science, art, you know, you’re into engineering, you know, commercial, whatever it is,” Adu explained.
Pastoral care for students, particularly first-time international travellers, is a priority for the college. Cole highlighted the safeguarding measures in place: “Can I just say that part of our goal and mission is to ensure safeguarding for students, because we do understand how important that is. And it does take a lot for a parent to say, you know what, I’m leaving my child to you, to your care. So absolutely, yes.”
We do have chaperones for each of the groups. We have 10 students attached to one chaperone, so we have an adult for looking after the kids. We’re working very closely with the British High Commission as well, so to help visa processing, very smooth and easy. We’ll be assisting the student that will be travelling with their visa processing, so absolutely, and we’ll be travelling together, so you don’t feel alone, especially for the first time.”
The college also offers financial support, scholarships, and flexible payment options for its academic programs. Adu added, “We do provide financial support as well. So we do have scholarships. All our academic programs come with scholarships, discounted scholarships. We divide the fee into two equal halves.”
“So say, for example, you have two semesters for the program that you’re enrolled for. And then each of the payments, you can pay twice. So it’s quite decent, to be fair. And we also provide visa support. We help all our students do the whole university applications and all of that. They just sit tight and let us do the work and provide us with the information.”
In addition to the UK campus, Westerfield continues to operate its Nigerian campuses in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano, offering Cambridge A-levels, university foundation programs, and a Nigerian degree pathway. Cole noted that the college also engages with school leaders through its annual conference.
“The school leaders and teachers conference is happening in January as well. It’s basically to give back to the people, I would say. Over the years, Westerfield was established in 2011. So over like 12, 13 years, we’ve had several schools from across Nigeria trust us with students. We’ve had parents trust us with students. So this is a way of giving back to the school to say, we see, we appreciate you.”
“The people that we’re attending are like leaders of schools. So it’s such a very important event. And it’s tied to everything we do because that way, we’re all on the same page. We’re ensuring that both us as a sixth form college and the schools that we work with ensure to provide solid and fantastic education.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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