Training Provider London

emacqueenuk

I started my Level 4 with a training provider in London but have had to leave as they were not any good. Can anyone recommend a good training provider in London that is not too expensive? I am looking to study part time and would prefer a classroom based course. AAT said they could not recommend anyone.

reader

I know that I'm not really answering your question but you could try distance learning.

It did distance learning at level 4 and found I ended up saving loads of money and time (commuting time).

If you have already tried this and it hasn't worked out for you, you could try one of the big players like BPP, Kaplan, LSBF, etc. I used Kaplan distance learning and found them good. I know someone who is using BPP classroom based and is getting first time passes.

KoopaCooper

Well, as a Londoner myself, I would say it really depends on:

a) where you are in London,
2) how far you're willing to travel
iii) what days you'd prefer your classroom course to run on.

I live in the south of London and was studying AAT as a classroom-based course, but decided that I wanted to take level 4 classes on Saturdays; this was so that I could hopefully get a full-time job during the week, and the classes would not interfere with it (as it turns out, I got a F/T job a week before the classes even began, so it worked out really well).

But when I was looking around at colleges in London, I found that there were almost none that offered Saturday classes - a few offered revision classes only on Saturday, but not the full course.

In fact, I only managed to find ONE college in the whole of London that ran AAT on Saturdays, the UK College of Business and Computing. Their AAT classes are on a site up at Gants Hill in the far north-east of London:

http://www.ukcbc.ac.uk/aat-courses/aat-professional-diploma/aat-professional-diploma-fees/

(P.S. They apparently now also have AAT classes in Holborn! Damn, I wish they'd been doing that two years ago when I went to them... xD)

I'll be honest - if you don't live near to Gants Hill, it's a right pain to get to. I had to take a bus and two tubes just to get there, and it was a 2hr journey each way. The fee I paid was £1,750 - but two years on, it's now £2,200! (Although apparently if you pay up-front that can come down to £1,980)

But it's selling point is still that it's one of the few providers which seem to offer weekend classes for the full course. I knew a woman on the same course who chose it because, like me, she couldn't find a closer college doing a Saturday AAT Level 4 course; and she lived in Brighton! xD

emacqueenuk

Thank you for both responding to my enquiry.

Ideally I am looking to attend weekday evening classes but am willing to consider Saturday classes depending on the duration of the course as don't want to spend every Saturday attending a course as I prefer doing other things at the weekend. I would be traveling from South East London and would be willing to travel about an hour each way.

The two optional modules I am looking to study are the Business Tax and External Auditing.

I have not found any place other than Kaplan and BPP that offer the External Auditing module. Even then they only offer this module via distance learning so will need to study this module at either Kaplan or BPP. Did you use the live classroom with Kaplan?

I would prefer classroom based for the rest of the modules as I like to ask questionsand my internet is not great so can't do live classrooms as I am sure my internet would lose connection during the live online classes.

Have you heard whether the course at UKCBC Holborn campus is any good?

I can't afford to pay the full amount up front and all the courses apart from the one which I just left are too expensive for me unless I can pay in a few instalments.

I have checked and LSBF don't offer AAT level 4.

reader

KoopaCooper said:

Well, as a Londoner myself, I would say it really depends on:

a) where you are in London,
2) how far you're willing to travel
iii) what days you'd prefer your classroom course to run on.

I live in the south of London and was studying AAT as a classroom-based course, but decided that I wanted to take level 4 classes on Saturdays; this was so that I could hopefully get a full-time job during the week, and the classes would not interfere with it (as it turns out, I got a F/T job a week before the classes even began, so it worked out really well).

But when I was looking around at colleges in London, I found that there were almost none that offered Saturday classes - a few offered revision classes only on Saturday, but not the full course.

In fact, I only managed to find ONE college in the whole of London that ran AAT on Saturdays, the UK College of Business and Computing. Their AAT classes are on a site up at Gants Hill in the far north-east of London:

http://www.ukcbc.ac.uk/aat-courses/aat-professional-diploma/aat-professional-diploma-fees/

(P.S. They apparently now also have AAT classes in Holborn! Damn, I wish they'd been doing that two years ago when I went to them... xD)

I'll be honest - if you don't live near to Gants Hill, it's a right pain to get to. I had to take a bus and two tubes just to get there, and it was a 2hr journey each way. The fee I paid was £1,750 - but two years on, it's now £2,200! (Although apparently if you pay up-front that can come down to £1,980)

But it's selling point is still that it's one of the few providers which seem to offer weekend classes for the full course. I knew a woman on the same course who chose it because, like me, she couldn't find a closer college doing a Saturday AAT Level 4 course; and she lived in Brighton! xD

Was the college in Gants Hill any good?

KoopaCooper

@reader - the college at Gants Hill is actually part of an office block (the lower floors are various other businesses, the top 4 floors are UKCBC, and in fact the two floors immediately them are used by the DWP). It's not exactly brilliantly refitted, either - rooms are often too stuffy or draughty, and thin partition walls mean sound bleeds through from adjacent rooms (mildly irritating if you're in a class...bloody annoying if you're in an exam!)

There's very little in the way of local amenities nearby - so during lunchbreak, your choices are a) stay in the college classrooms or use the designated break-room (a few café tables and a vending machine), or b) walk down the road to Burger King (the only food place close enough to get to and back in a decent time).

It's not really what I'd call a college - polytech, maybe; it's a business run as a college, and it kinda looks cheap, imho. But the classes and the teaching are still great beside that, and if you live close by I'm sure it's a pretty convenient choice.

I can't comment on what the Holborn campus is like though, when I was at Gants Hill they gave no indication that AAT could also be sat at Holborn, that might be new for the AQ2016 syllabus.

Anyhow, I'm looking for a provider for ACCA F4-9 now...I'm considering London South Bank if anyone has any experience with it?

N4T

Hi @emacqueenuk

I went to McArthur Morgan last year for L4, they are based in Old Street, London. Before that I hadn't heard of them. There is one very bad review on the internet so I was very nervous about joining them. Location wise it was perfect for me, I took the chance as it is down to me to put in the effort whether they turned out good or bad. Distance learning is not for me so wasn't an option.

They have evening classes and when I was there they were running External Auditing and Business Tax. In fact they offer all the options but you have to wait for the rotation.

They use Kaplan resources and the revision books were excellent for L4. I paid £2280 plus exam fees so £2700 in total. They allow payment by instalments. Expensive? Yes but no more than Kaplan and BPP and it was worth the money as I achieved first time passes in all units and completed it within the year.

I cannot fault the tutors and the administrators. I did not need to email them for extra help, I found what I learned in the classroom sufficient, so cannot comment on their additional support outside the classroom.

The two tutors I had are very different but both styles worked for me. I liked they taught you methods not shown in text books, tips on areas to revise etc which gave the classroom-based experience value for money. I have had tutors where they read out the text book verbatim and I leave thinking I wasted 5 hours of my life.

They move at a very quick pace. The class ends and the exam is the following week, I often had to forgo sleep to fit in revision. Their daytime classes did not run on the same day each week which I found awkward as I needed to take time off from work. I'm not sure what the timetable is like for evening classes.

Overall experience with McArthur Morgan very good so I would recommend you check them out. I would certainly go to them again, for example if they ever taught ATT.

N4T

@emacqueenuk

You didn't say which training provider you left. I'm hoping it wasn't McArthur Morgan after I sang their praises

emacqueenuk

KoopaCooper - Sorry but I have no experience with ACCA. One of my lecturers from level 2 and 3 AAT was going to be starting at London South Bank and he is a really good lecturer but don't know if he is still there or what accountancy course he was going to be lecturing there. I would have stayed with the same provider for level 4 if it wasn't for the fact the course was going to be quite a bit more expensive and it was going to take over a year.

Reader - With distance lecturing at Kaplan did they offer good support? Did they provide any other learning materials apart from the live or pre recorded lectures?

N4T - The college I started my level 4 at was near Bethnal Green.

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone. I will look into UKCBC Holburn campus and McArthur Morgan.

DavidMike

You have kept many limits. The better option is to find individual tutor for you. If you could have better internet then, online classes will be your option. I found bewlow list, check them.

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