We now welcome students back on-site for study visits, and are able to also offer shared accommodation once more, allowing for more students to study on-site at any one time. Distance learning also continues to be an option for MSc students, should you prefer to study entirely from home.

We will continue to have some measures in place to ensure we can operate our modules on-site as safely as possible. This includes cleaning shared spaces, ventilation and hand sanitiser stations.

To protect other students, staff and the local community, we will need your help while you’re studying at CAT and ask that you continue to be respectful of others and follow voluntary measures when on-site where possiblesuch as  regularly washing your hands. Please remain respectful of those who continue to wear face coverings when indoors, as they are likely to be protecting the health of either themselves or close family or friends,

If you have been shielding due to being in a vulnerable category for COVID-19, please inform us of this when booking.

We believe in learning through doing, and practical sessions are an important part of our on-site student experience.

We aim to keep the practical activities as interactive as possible whilst ensuring the safety and wellbeing of staff and students.

Whilst CAT has a range of indoor and outdoor teaching locations, indoor classes will mainly take place in the WISE building with communal spaces, toilets and touch points cleaned regularly.

Hand sanitising stations will continue to be available around the WISE building and the CAT site.

We ask all students to help protect themselves and others through regular handwashing.

Our WISE bedrooms are twins with ensuite bathrooms. These are bookable with an option to share.

Our bunkhouse-style Eco-Cabins are also offered as shared rooms and facilities. The communal kitichens allow us to offer a self-catering option although students are also free to book their meals for the week ahead for the study visit.

Details of how to book accommodation will be sent to students who have previously chosen to take an upcoming module on-site.

We encourage students to use CAT accommodation during the study visits for the full CAT experience.

Staying on-site will also reduce potential COVID-19 transmission with or from the wider community, but if students live locally or wish to camp locally while attending the study visit this will be possible.

If you are a student living locally or wish to camp locally to take an upcoming module on-site, then you will be asked to confirm this with Student Support to ensure they are aware of your preference and know the number of students wanting to attend the study visit.

Students who live locally or wish to camp locally and are attending a study visit without staying in CAT accommodation will still be able to pre-book food at CAT.

If you need to cancel accommodation due to COVID-19 you’ll be able to transfer credit for accommodation for a future module.

For cancellation for other reasons, please refer to our standard Fees Terms and Conditions.

If students have pre-booked their meals, CAT will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, and teas and coffees are included in the costs paid for tuition. Meals will be available from the café. Students who live locally or wish to camp locally and are attending a study visit without staying in CAT accommodation will be able to pre-book food at CAT.

At times there may be multiple modules running or multiple groups on-site, and as such, we may stagger meal times if all students can’t be accommodated in the dining area together.

If you have any food allergies please notify us in advance so we can make arrangements for you.

If you are travelling from outside Wales but from within the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands), please note that Welsh Government guidelines may be different from those in your area. Please check the latest guidelines before planning your travel.

If you are travelling from outside the Common Travel Area, please note that additional restrictions may apply, or may be introduced during your stay. You may need to quarantine before coming to CAT. Please check the latest FCO foreign travel advice as well as Welsh Government guidelines before planning your travel.

What is the best way to travel to CAT for the on-site teaching?

How you travel to CAT is a personal preference, although we encourage the use of sustainable transport.

We’re only three miles from Machynlleth, with National Cycle Network Route 8 linking us to the town. The route is around 45-60 minutes on foot or 15-25 minutes by bike through the beautiful Mid Wales countryside, including a short section that crosses grazing lands.

Buses (34 and T2) or taxis from Machynlleth are also available.

If you plan to travel by train or bus, please refer to Welsh Government guidelines on using public transport before planning your trip.

Should a student fall ill with COVID whilst here, we would ask that they make arrangements to return home safely, avoiding public transport.

Whilst arrangements are made, the student will be asked to remain isolated, with food and other essentials being delivered to them safely.

Should a student fall ill within a week of being on-site, we ask that they contact us so that we can contact anyone who was on-site at the same time, so that they can take measure for their own health and welfare follow government guidelines on including periods of self-isolation and testing if necessary.

Please note that in these circumstances we will not divulge the names or details of individuals in our communications with the student cohort.

Students’ contact information may also be shared with NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect if required within 21 days of your visit. Please see our Privacy Notice for details.

We are asking all attendees to take a lateral flow COVID-19 test at home 48 hours before travelling to CAT, especially if they are starting to or feeling ill.  This is to limit the risk of exposure to fellow students, staff and the local community should you be asymptomatic.

We hope attendees will see this as the best way to keep their families, friends and the wider community safe, and as a way to support them to stay on-site safely and to help face to face teaching continue.

Although many restrictions have now been lifted by the Welsh and UK Governments, all our plans are subject to alteration should government guidelines be updated or the situation change.

If the situation does worsen, we are well placed to revert back to running modules via distance learning only, as we did at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March 2022, we  have been able to offer shared rooms on-site again allowing for more students to study on-site at any one time.

We have returned with weeklong study visits for most MSc modules, with on-site teaching activities focusing on more practical activities, supported through blended learning online, including streamed and recorded lectures, interactive tutorials and seminars, and one-to-one tutor support.

Due to the number of students wishing to study on-site, for some modules we may offer shorter study visits to allow as many people as possible to take part in on-site study visits safely.

All MSc modules are also available via distance learning, should you prefer to study entirely from home. You can choose whether to join an on-site study visit on a module-by-module basis.

The unique structure of our MSc courses allows us to offer students the option to study on-site, via distance learning or through a mix of both, which provides real flexibility. If you prefer not to join us for on-site visits you can simply take that module via distance learning.

If you choose to take a module via distance learning, you will be part of an active and lively online community. Alongside a mix of home and overseas students, you will study with the same lecturers and tutors who teach on the residential study weeks, including CAT’s in-house teaching staff and a range of expert visiting and guest lecturers.

All students, whether joining us in person or studying at a distance, use our online learning environment platform Teams  for access to lecture recordings, slides and notes.

You’ll also be able to join online seminars and discussion groups, take part in practical exercises, have individual contact with your tutor and the student support team, and access books and articles online.

You can read more about online learning on our distance learning pages, and you can read  some recent student experiences of studying via distance learning on our blog.

As we did in 2021-22, MArch students will be able to attend on-site teaching as usual. Due to the number of students on the course, we have been able to run full teaching weeks on-site with our COVID-19 safety measures and will continue to do so unless the situation changes.

On-site teaching usually focuses on more practical activities, and these will be supported through blended learning online, including streamed and recorded lectures, interactive tutorials and seminars and one-to-one tutor support.

We will provide newly enrolled students starting in September 2022 with information prior to the start of the course if this changes.

Owing to the highly practical nature of this course, attendance on-site for teaching is required.

Under normal circumstances, the course is only offered on-site, with students attending monthly study visits at CAT and supported outside of these through online learning.
We hope will to continue with our ‘normal’ approach now as further restrictions are have been lifted., Hhowever in the event of future COVID restrictions we have successfully transferred students to distance learning previously and we have measures in place to do this again should Welsh Government guidelines change.