Gateway to College

Location: Cardonald Campus
SCQF Level: 4
Start Date: 25 Aug 2025
Qualification Type: NQ
Course Type: Short Full-Time
Duration: 18 weeks (August - January)

Applications will open in 2025, date TBC

Did you leave school without getting the qualifications you wanted? Do you want to come back to education but you’re not sure where to start?

Our Gateway to College course is designed to support, you. It is a Level 4 / Level 5 course for under 25s. You will gain a wide range of skills and achieve qualifications, which you can use to progress to other courses, training, or employment.

Please join us to improve your confidence levels, get key qualifications, access careers guidance, employment opportunities and future learning at the college. You can also access support to help you understand which career you are best suited to.

What will I learn?

During this Gateway to College course, you will study:

SQA Core Skills units 
SQA Employability units
SQA Wellbeing Award
Event planning
Working with others
Personal development
Project-based learning that will help you explore different industries and college course options to create a plan that fits your goals.

Entry requirements (minimum)

No formal qualifications are required for this course but:

You must be ready to study towards SCQF Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications
You must attend an information session
You will share any previous experience or qualifications with the interviewer
If English is not your first language you will need SQA National 4 ESOL or higher to cope with the portfolio coursework.

There is a commitment to attend all lessons in person, face to face.

This is not an English language course, if English is not your first language you should already have an intermediate level of understanding and use 

Entry requirement equivalency table 

If you do not meet the entry criteria for your chosen course, you may be offered an alternative course in the same subject area.

Jobs and further study

If you successfully complete this course, you may progress to Level 4 or 5 courses in January at Glasgow Clyde College or move into training or employment.

Support with CVs, Job Search and interviews for progression into employment is available and you may get the opportunity to complete projects and develop your knowledge of career paths and employment opportunities.

Making an application

For courses starting in August, you can make up to two applications.

Applications are made to a course and a first choice of campus. If the course is oversubscribed at your first choice you will be automatically considered for alternative sites and may be made an offer without a further application.

I've applied — what happens next?

When you apply

You will receive an automated email confirming that we have received your application (remember to check your SPAM folder).

Your application will be reviewed by the admissions team, and you will either be:

Made a direct offer (unconditional or conditional)
Invited to book an information session. The information session will be followed by an interview and, if required, a skills test. Proof of qualifications and residency must be supplied before an offer can be made
Advised that your application is unsuccessful – you have not met the entry requirements for this course and are advised to contact the College Student Advice Centres to discuss alternative options which may be available to you
We aim not to reject an application and if you don’t meet the entry requirements you may be referred to a different course or level.

If you are invited to interview, you will be informed of the outcome of your interview by email within 14 working days. The outcome will be one of the following:

Unconditional offer of a place – you have met all the entry requirements, and your place is guaranteed. You will be required to accept this offer to secure your place.
Conditional offer of a place – your place is secured pending you meeting the entry requirements. This may mean achieving school or college qualifications which you may not be able to provide to us yet. You will be required to accept this offer to secure your conditional place. Once your conditions are met this will change to an unconditional offer of a place which you must accept before you can enrol on the course.
Waiting list – you have met all entry requirements, and have been interviewed however, the course is now full, so you have been placed on a waiting list. If any spaces become available you may be contacted, usually around the course start date. We would advise that you also consider other application options.
Reserve list – following your interview, you have unfortunately not been successful in this round of recruitment. We have placed your name on a Reserve list and your application may be reconsidered at a later date. This could happen any time up to the start date of the course, but it is very possible that you will not be offered a place. We would advise that you also consider other application options.
Unsuccessful – your interview has been unsuccessful. You may be offered a place on a course at a different level, or advised to contact the College Student Advice Centres to discuss alternative options which may be available to you.

Once an offer is received, you must reply within 14 working days or risk losing your place, as the system will automatically decline your offer after 14 days.