Animal
Management

Our courses at Level 2 are 3 days and our Level 3 courses tend to be 3 or 4 days in college plus work placement. This will depend on the level you are studying and whether you require to resit English and/or maths GCSE.  

About 40% -50% of students go on to higher education at many universities across the country. Depending on which pathway you decide to study will depend on the job roles you may go into many of our students go into roles such as zoo keepers, pet shops, animal welfare positions, animal care assistants, trainee veterinary nursing, wildlife support officers, roles within national parks, animal training and much more.  

Level 2 Animal Care is taught at Middlesbrough, Saltaire and Wakefield, at York there are two pathways, ie Level 2 Companion Animals (pets) and Level 2 Zoos and Wildlife. 

Level 3 Animal Management is taught at Middlesbrough and Saltaire, Level 3 Companion Animals at York and Wakefield, Level 3 Zoos at York and Wakefield and Level 3 Wildlife and Level 3 Applied Science are both taught at York only. 

The main difference between the pathways are the modules you will complete, in the first year many of the core or synoptic modules are the same. The optional modules in year one differ; for example companion students complete animal training, small animal rehabilitation and kennel and cattery. Whereas the zoo students complete animal training, estate skills and business.  

In the second year the pathways become much more specific to the roles you will be looking at when going to university or work for example the wildlife pathway covers modules such as ecological concepts, population surveys and wildlife management, whereas the science pathway complete modules such as animal nursing, science investigation and genetics. 

Students are required to complete 150 hours per year on work experience and you are usually expected to find your own placement, but if you’re having difficulties, don’t worry – our staff will be able to help and point you in the right direction and our Work Placement Co-ordinators are on hand to help too.  In the second year most students will be expected to complete the extended placement of 350 hours, this provides an additional certificate of achievement and increases the opportunities of going into work after the course.  Previously students have had work experience at grooming salons, kennels, small animal parks, zoos, aquariums, pet stores, and as pet sitters and dog walkers. 
 

For Level 2 courses you will need four GCSEs at grade 3 (D) or above, to include two from English, Maths and Science, with at least a grade 2 (E) in the remaining subject.  

 For Level 3 courses you will need four GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above, to include two from English, Maths and Science, with at least a grade 3 (D) in the remaining subject.  

There are 4 mocks, then one exam for the health and safety module, one exam for the biology module and then a final synoptic exam in March, with a resit opportunity in June. The final synoptic exam covers several modules. 

Alongside these exams you will need to complete a synoptic assignment, this is a range of theory tasks sat in exam conditions and normally 2 practical assessments that are completed within a window usually between March and April. 

A full Level 3 Extended Diploma (1080) (2 years) with distinctions in every module is equivalent to 168 UCAS points or the same as 3 A-level grades at A* (56 UCAS points for one A*). A Merit grade across all modules is equivalent to 96 UCAS.  Pass grades across all modules is equivalent to 48 UCAS.  

The maximum number in a classroom is about 25 and the maximum for practical sessions is around 12.  Some courses will have core subjects where students from different cohorts will be combined, so those groups will be larger, but most of our classrooms cannot seat more than 30 students.  The specialised subjects will have smaller groups. 

No previous experience is needed for the course, however an understanding of biology (GCSE level) and some understanding of caring for animals in beneficial.  

There’s no set uniform. However, you will need to have your own overalls (full coveralls/boiler suit) and steel toe capped boots for practical sessions. The boots maybe any style, but we do recommended steel toe capped wellies for the winter months.   Any specialist PPE will be provided.