UCAS Entry Points
A minimum of 64 UCAS points
This course is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career in bakery or patisserie, either within a craft or industry setting, in roles such as quality management, food marketing or new product development.
As well as developing your practical skills in bread making, sugar and chocolate work and patisserie and desserts, the course explores the science behind each of the product sectors, equipping you with a rounded knowledge of the bakery and patisserie industry. A key focus is the development of practical skills in the first year and then gaining an understanding of industrial automated production methods in the second year. You will be well equipped to enter within the artisan or industrial sectors of the industry.
University Centre Reaseheath is an academic partner of the University of Chester. Foundation degrees, Honours degrees, and Cert Ed are awarded by the University of Chester.
Start Date
September 2021
September 2022
Course Length
Full-time: 2 years
Student are taught in the £7.4 million Reaseheath Food Centre – an industry-leading academy with an international reputation in the food and drink sector. The state-of-the-art facilities include a commercial dairy, butchery, commercial bakery, and innovation rooms for new product development (NPD) and scale-ups. As a college, we pride ourselves on our partnerships with the food and dairy industry, and work with businesses to create bespoke courses and training programmes to meet a wide range of industry needs.
Upon successful completion students may progress on to the BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Management (Top-Up).
What will I study?
Modules are delivered through practical work and theoretical lectures. There is a compulsory 4 week work placement* in the chosen specialism module. Modules include:
Level 4
- Food Materials and Product Manufacture
- Food Safety in Manufacturing
- Introductory Bakery Skills
- Sugar and Chocolate Technology
- Artisan Bakery Skills
- Food Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Level 5
- Food Innovation and the New Product Development
- Weddings Cakes and Entremets
- Research Methods
- Artisan Patisserie and Desserts
- Work Based Learning
- Processing and Quality Assurance of Baked Goods
Level 6 (BSc Top-Up)
Upon successful completion of the Foundation Degree, there is an option to progress onto the one-year BSc Top-Up to gain a BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Management.
Teaching and Learning
Overall workload
Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity, plus field trips. The following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each year of the course:
Year 1:
26% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity
Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 306 hours
Independent Study: 894 hours
Year 2:
22% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity
Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 268 hours
Placement: 100 hours
Independent Study: 832 hours
Assessment and Feedback
Assessment Methods
Assessments are designed to encourage both academic skills and skills valued in the workplace. They include a combination of coursework, practical assessments, and time constrained online assessments. Coursework may take many forms including essays, reports, data processing, presentations, academic posters, seminar discussions, interviews, critical reviews, portfolios of evidence and practical competency assessments. The time constrained online assessments vary, depending on the nature of the module, but may take the form of multiple-choice questions, essays, practical assessments, data handling questions, short answer quizzes, and in class assessments.
The approximate percentage of the course assessed by coursework is as follows:
Year 1
71% coursework
21% online time constrained assessments
8% Practical
Year 2
69% coursework
13% online assessments
18% Practical
Feedback
Feedback is supplied via Turnitin or directly from the module tutor. The majority of submissions are made via Turnitin and feedback for coursework is provided four working weeks after the submission date. If for unforeseen reasons this is not possible, the reasons will be communicated to the students within 2 weeks and the feedback prioritised within the department.
Written feedback will be supported verbally should the student require clarification. Formative assessment feedback will be provided at the time of completion where possible, with more detailed summative feedback for reports.
Additional Qualifications
To offer graduates a leading position in the jobs market, students are given the opportunity to enhance their career prospects by taking additional qualifications during their course of study. These could include a range of qualifications such as:
- Highfield Level 3 Award in HACCP for Food Manufacturing
- Highfield Level 3 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing
Students are encouraged to join the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) as an associate (student) member.
*Travel arrangements at your own cost.
Entry requirements
- A minimum of 64 tariff points from A and AS levels to include a Food or Science subject
- Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) – a minimum grade MPP in Applied Science or in a Hospitality and Catering subject
- Pearson BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
- City & Guilds Level 3 Technical Advanced Extended Diploma (1080 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MPP in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
- City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma (720 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
- Mature students (aged 21+) will be considered on an individual basis on their prior knowledge and experience. This may be assessed by interview, completion of coursework/essay or other methods. There may be a requirement for a formal qualification to be completed first e.g. Access to HE course.
Further study
- One year top-up route to BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Management (Top-Up) or related subject.
Career Options
The combination of practical and academic training you will gain during your degree will equip you with the skills required to enter a graduate career in food-related industries, or to undertake further training or research.
- New Product Development
- Research and development
- Food marketing
- Buying
- Laboratory Analysis & Testing
- Bakery entrepreneur.
Useful Information
How much will this course cost?
Tuition Fees
As a Higher Education student you will have two main costs to meet; your tuition fees and living costs.
Our full-time tuition fees for UK and EU students, entering University, can be found on the student finance page. These fees are charged for each academic year of a course and are set by the college annually.
If you are an international student or for the latest information on tuition fees visit the student finance page on our website.
Additional Costs
- Whites for the kitchen and processing halls cost approximately £115
- Laundering of the whites’ costs approximately £50 per year
Equipment Costs
- £115 for chef’s whites
- £50 per year for laundry
Prices of equipment are subject to change dependent on retailer.
Additional financial support
University Centre Reaseheath is committed to providing additional financial support to those who need it. To find out about the bursary schemes available visit the additional financial support pages on our website.
Accommodation
All Higher Education students are given the opportunity to apply for residential accommodation. First year students are guaranteed accommodation and this offer is made to all applicants who live more than a reasonable daily travelling distance from Reaseheath and who apply before 31st July of the year they intend to start their course. For full details on our halls of residence visit the accommodation pages.
Student support
We have a team of dedicated professionals on hand to offer you support when and if you need it during your time with us. These include our Student Services team, Higher Education Support Team (HEST), Library and Learning Resources and the Reaseheath Careers Service. You will find more information on the support provided at Reaseheath here.
How do I apply?
Before you apply you can come and visit us at one of our HE Open Events to see what we have to offer. Once we have received your application we will invite you to attend an Offer Holder Day.
Applications for full-time Degrees and Foundation Degrees are made through UCAS. Applications for all other full-time courses such as Access to HE and Level 4 Diplomas should be made directly to Reaseheath via the online application form. You can find out more here.
Student contract
For students to get the best out of their time at University Centre Reaseheath, we must both recognise that we owe obligations to each other. These obligations are set out in our Higher Education Student Contract. Before you accept an offer of a place at University Centre Reaseheath, it is important that you read these contract conditions. If you are going to be living in Halls of Residence, you will also need to read the Student Accommodation Licence Conditions. Both of these contracts can be found here.
Click here to view the University Centre Reaseheath Student Protection Plan.
This course will open so many doors for me, hopefully in the product development department of a major company.
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University Centre Reaseheath – Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6DF
Tel: 01270 613284 | Email: UCR@reaseheath.ac.uk
