Animal Care
Animal Management
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma
Study animal behaviour, biology, health and nursing on this course and gain practical skills in animal handling and husbandry including kennel, cattery and pet store management. You will also take options such as wildlife care and species conservation, exotics, farm livestock and the management of animal collections.
You will have frequent field trips to locations such as Marwell Zoo, The Hawk Conservancy and the Living Rainforest.
Animal Care
BTEC Level 2 Diploma
Gain the basic skills needed to care for animals and gain practical caring and handling experience in the college'ss own fully staffed animal house. You will also work with a large variety of rare domestic animals at Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm and The Living Rainforest. The course includes at least 120 hours work experience.
Land-Based Studies Diploma
City & Guilds Level 1
Find out what it'ss like working in a land-based industry including the care of animals. You will learn how to handle animals.
I’m so pleased I chose the Animal Management National Diploma instead of A-Levels! This course offers the opportunity of experience with a wide range of animals and the potential for lots of animal handling, which is just what I wanted!
I am pleased I chose BCoT too as it’s not like being at school. There are small learning groups, which appealed to me, and everyone is chilled out and motivated to do well. In addition, my tutor agreed to fix my arachnophobia by the end of the two years and, thankfully, she is well on the way to achieving this!
As part of the course I have the opportunity to work with the reptiles and furry animals in the animal house. I also spend time at Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm working with larger animals and have been taught how to catch and restrain them. Recently, I was asked to catch a pregnant sheep and worm and inject her with vitamins.
I have learned all sorts of things I didn’t know about a wide range of animals and their different living environments, eg some reptiles need certain enclosures and heat. I’ve studied animal first aid and learnt how to bandage, stop bleeding, check breathing and pulse etc. The lecturers are very knowledgeable and have given me a good insight into the health, nutrition and nursing of animals, which has helped me to improve the way I look after my own pets!
This course is just perfect for me and, thanks to BCoT and the experience I have gained, I feel ready to go to university and more confident to work with animals. My long-term ambition is to become a veterinary surgeon and next year I will be applying to Nottingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Cornwall and Newcastle universities to study Veterinary Nursing.
Key: entry requirements
Further Study 
GCSE Grades A-C
or other Level 2
GCSE Grades D
or other Level 1
GCSE Grades E
and below
