For more than 15 years, City College Plymouth has been building international education partnerships across Asia, enabling students to gain UK recognised qualifications, access further study opportunities and develop the skills needed for successful careers.
Today, that long-established international presence provides a strong platform for the College, and for Plymouth, to play an increasingly significant role in global technical and vocational education.
Through our partnership with PDVL Overseas Advisory, an international education specialist, more than 1,000 international students have studied with City College Plymouth, achieving a success rate of more than 97%. The partnership has also created an extensive network of schools and colleges and a growing alumni community across Asia.
Building on this foundation, we are strengthening our presence in key international markets, developing new institutional and government relationships and exploring opportunities to extend high-quality UK technical and vocational education overseas.
Our recent engagement in Indonesia and Thailand, led by Chief Executive & Principal Jackie Grubb and Director of Compliance & Performance Nadia McCusker, has reinforced that ambition.
During the visit, we met with students and parents, and education and government organisations including Bangkok Christian College, Assumption College, Wattana Wittaya Academy, Veritas Intercultural School and the Indonesian Ministry of Education.
These discussions are helping us identify emerging opportunities, strengthen established partnerships and develop new ways for international students to engage with education and skills connected to Plymouth.
International education creates value in both directions. It gives students around the world access to high-quality UK qualifications and educational expertise while bringing new relationships, knowledge and economic opportunity into Plymouth.
Our international offer is also continuing to grow. Alongside established PDVL foundation pathways in business and science, international students can study a range of higher-level programmes, including foundation degrees, with opportunities to progress to further university-level study.
That growth is strengthened by a strong focus on quality. City College Plymouth has recently achieved provisional Accreditation UK status through the British Council, providing further external assurance around the quality of our English language teaching, student welfare, management and learning environment.
For government, industry and international partners, Plymouth has a distinctive proposition.
As Britain’s Ocean City, with globally connected strengths in marine, defence, advanced manufacturing, technology and skills, Plymouth is a city with the capability and ambition to build relationships far beyond the South West.
City College Plymouth has an important role within that ecosystem.
Our ambition is to build on more than a decade of international success and strengthen the College’s position as a leading international partner for technical and vocational education, connecting Plymouth with global institutions, creating opportunities for students and helping demonstrate the city’s strategic importance on the international stage.
