Here in the Admissions Team, we’re still working and we’ll be contacting you before your interview to:

Make sure you are well and happy to go ahead with your interview – don’t worry if you’re not we can rearrange for another date and time when you’re feeling better

Check if you have a space at home for the interview to take place in – it will need to be a quiet space where you can talk to the interviewer and you may need enough room to perform if you are doing a music interview via video. We know that some households will be self-isolating (and some can be very busy places anyway) and you may not have enough space – but that’s fine we can book you in again if we need to.

Ask you how you would like the interview to take place – things to consider are:

• Do you have a device with a web camera?
• Do you have a Gmail account?
• Do you have a Skype account?
• What is your phone reception like at home?
• How reliable is your internet connection?

By answering these questions we’ll be able to decide what the best option is for the interview. We’d ask you to be ready with your phone or device at least 5 minutes before your interview is due to take place, so that we can try to make sure that everything runs to time. If you have any issues regarding your interview, please contact the Admissions Team straight away on 0800 281842, or admissions@accesscreative.ac.uk if you are having phone problems.

If your interview takes place by phone, you will probably need to do an audition, demonstration or show us a portfolio at a later date, if you are given a conditional offer.

Although we expect to go back to face-to-face interviews later in the year, we can’t predict when this will be right now. The new interview arrangements will be in place until further notice, we’ll let you know straight away when they change.

If you have any questions, please just get in touch. We know this is a stressful time for everyone, and we don’t want your interview to add even more stress. If you do want to rearrange for any reason at all, we’ll be happy to do that. Just contact us on 0800 281842 or admissions@accesscreative.ac.uk and we’ll sort it out for you.

You can now book your interview from your account after you have applied for a course. Interviews usually take place on weekday early evenings and last around 45 minutes. We can also arrange interview on other days to suit you.

At the interview you will find out more about your chosen course and campus, and we will explore the creative skills that you have. It is intended to be an experience which will benefit us both and at the end we aim to offer the right course for you.

We will want to see passion for your creativity and a dedication to gaining skills. For Music Performance and Vocal Artist courses you will be expected to showcase your music via a short audition. For other courses, please come prepared to discuss and demonstrate your skills, perhaps via an online or physical portfolio.

You will also need to demonstrate that you are able to work at your chosen level and each course has a skills set which you will be expected to meet. You can find out about these via the course pages. For school leavers, we require evidence of predicted or actual grades, and if you are able to bring a school reference that would be really useful too.

Access Creative College is committed to meeting the needs of individuals with learning differences and disabilities.

There are opportunities to tell us about your support needs on the application form, during conversations with our Admissions Team and during the interview itself. Please tell us as much as possible, including support that you may have received in the past, so that we can fully understand your needs.

Please bring any relevant documents with you, eg EHCP, educational psychologist report, SaLT report, referral to CAMHS or hospital consultant letter confirming diagnosis.

We will arrange a support review after your interview, where we will discuss your support needs in more detail. Conditional offers will be made until a support review has taken place. The support review may involve us talking to your school or local authority to confirm arrangements that have been in place to date and work out the best plan for your future studies. You will be kept informed at every stage of the review.

Our Learning Support Team can be available to support you through the process and make any reasonable adjustments you may need. You can contact us to discuss this in confidence.

Please make sure you allow plenty of time to arrive ahead of your  interview slot. On arrival you will be greeted by a member of staff and we have comfortable areas for you to sit and relax.

Parents/guardians/carers and family and friends are welcome to attend the interview, but please keep numbers to a minimum. When in the actual interview, visitors are respectfully asked to allow the interviewee to answer for themselves.

Please take time to prepare fully for your interview.

Come ready to talk about why you have chosen your course, what skills you want to learn and about your interests and passions. Please prepare links to online work you have produced, or bring a portfolio with you.

If you are undertaking an audition make sure you rehearse it fully beforehand.

Please remember to bring all the equipment you need – if you are an musician, remember to bring peripherals like leads, effects pedals, drum sticks etc.

It’s important that you have a clear idea about what skills you want to learn, and also that you’ve started to think about what you want to do after you finish the course.

Above all we will want to get an idea of your career goals. How do you want to make a living? How can this course help you get there?

We would also like to know about your immediate next steps. This might mean studying another course with Access Creative College, going into the creative industries, or going on to further study at university.

Think of any questions you’d like to ask or areas where you require further clarification.

This shows the interviewer that you have thought about what you want to do.

Be sure to ask questions that relate specifically to your interests and to what you want to know about the course and the college.

If you have any queries about equipment for the interview, please contact us directly before the interview day.

Try to avoid giving one-word answers – tell us as much as you can.

Don’t forget to bring a pen and paper (or an alternative device) in case you need to take notes.

Double check the time and date of your interview. Make sure you arrive in plenty of time and plan ahead to ensure you are not delayed.

To enable us to make the most accurate offer at your interview, it will help if you can bring the following with you:

• Any qualification certificates or results slips for any examinations you have already taken.
• If you are still at school, please make sure you bring your predicted grades.

At interview you will receive one of the following:

• An unconditional offer – we are offering you a place there and then. This will only happen if you already have the qualifications and skills to enrol on the course.
• A conditional offer – we are offering you a place based on you supplying additional information. This will often be pending results for qualifications such as GCSEs.
• Not offered – very occasionally we are unable to offer you a place at the moment. We will explain why and offer alternatives.

All options will be confirmed on an interview record document that you will take away with you and we will also write to further confirm the decision.

Demand for places is high, so don’t miss out. Please email or call us to accept your place:

• Email
• 0800 28 18 42

To contact us about anything relating to your interview please:

• Call 0800 28 18 42 (free from landlines and mobiles)
• Email admissions@accesscreative.ac.uk
• Call or text our mobile on 07960 956 119