CASE STUDY: Douglas Phillips and Jonathan Kempsell
When we spoke to Doug and Jonathan, they were studying on the Foundation degree in Motorsports (Automotive and Performance Technology) at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.
Doug completed a BTEC National Diploma at OCVC and decided to study the Foundation degree in Motorsports because he wanted the opportunity to study locally at the excellent facilities at OCVC's Bicester Performance Engineering Centre. This Foundation degree has been developed by OCVC and Oxford Brookes University in consultation with local motorsport employers in order to meet regional priorities for addressing skills shortages.
Doug feels there are many benefits to studying the Foundation degree. "It helps your learning, as you can put what you are taught into practice immediately. The National Diploma students see us working on single-seater race cars and it is an incentive for them to work towards progressing to a Foundation degree." Doug's aim is to become a race engineer for a leading Le Mans team and feels that undertaking a Foundation degree has been an important first step to achieving this goal.
Jonathan completed GCSEs and A-levels at school and then worked for eight years as the director of a security company. Because he felt he had been out of the education system for some time, Jonathan considered the Foundation degree a more personal option for learning. "The personal tutor system and small class means that you get more out of the course." He has been impressed with the course content which includes management and business-related units which follow industry requirements, as well as subject-specific units such as aerodynamics. "I would recommend this course to anyone as you get a taste of everything related to the motorsport industry, whereas with other courses you have to specialise early and don't receive such a comprehensive background."
After completing their Foundation degree, both Jonathan and Doug hope to progress onto the final year of a Bachelors degree at Oxford Brookes University.
We spoke to Doug and Jonathan in April 2009