The Exeter School of Nursing

Delivering BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health) in Exeter
The Exeter School of Nursing

The University of Plymouth Exeter School of Nursing delivers the BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health) course at the WESC Foundation, based in Countess Wear, a short distance from central Exeter. This school enables students who are beyond commuting distance from the Plymouth or Truro campuses to enter onto the BSc (Hons) Nursing course, without having to commit to long travel times.

The University of Plymouth has a long history in educating health professionals, having run a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) accredited adult nursing programme for more than 20 years. The Exeter School of Nursing will deliver the same high-quality curriculum as taught at both Plymouth and Truro by the University.

Entrants to the Exeter school will receive the same high quality teaching in adult nursing as those students based in Plymouth, but with the benefit of being part of a smaller cohort of circa 100 students. The smaller cohort allows students the chance to be part of a potentially far more close-knit community than might be the case with the larger cohort in Plymouth. 

Our placement partners in the local trusts are very keen to recruit local student nurses for their Band 5 staff nurse posts when they qualify. Educating more students locally is of great benefit to those trusts in future years and, of course, to the students themselves - currently 98% of our graduating cohort find work within six months of graduation, at an NHS Band 5 (present salary band: £21,909 - £28,462) in the majority of cases.

The WESC Foundation

The University of Plymouth, in partnership with the WESC Foundation, is committed to providing high quality teaching and facilities to adult nursing students who are unable to commute or relocate to Plymouth or Truro.

The WESC Foundation itself is a specialist day and residential centre offering a unique experience for young people and adults with visual impairment including complex needs. Their commitment is to excellence and innovation at a national and international level. They provide high-quality education and care that increases their learners’ opportunities and raises their expectations.

The University of Plymouth is proud to be working in partnership with the WESC Foundation.

Where to find the WESC campus:
WESC Foundation
Topsham Road
Countess Wear
Exeter
Devon
EX2 6HA

Transport links

The WESC campus has a bus stop a directly outside the facility, perhaps a hundred yards from the Countess Wear roundabout.

The nearest rail links are Topsham and Exeter St. Thomas.

Professor Bridie Kent, the University of Plymouth's Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tracy De Bernhardt Dunkin, Principal and Chief Executive, WESC and Maureen Biss, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, WESC, outside the WESC reception area.

BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health) 

“The BSc (Hons) Nursing course with the University of Plymouth really prepares you for life as a qualified nurse...it ingrained the importance of being the best that you can be and has emphasised the diversity of nursing as a profession.”

Learn more about the BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health) course (full time or part time), including:

  • Course details
  • Entry requirements
  • Fees, costs and funding
  • How to apply.

Complimentary educational resources

To help, financially, with your transition into life as a student of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Plymouth, the University provides the following:

  • we bear the cost for Occupational Health clearance and for Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which are a condition of any offer of a place on the programme. This potentially saves applicants in the region of £195–£245 (circa £45 for DBS checks, and £150–£200 for Occupational Health) although in some cases the costs can be much higher
  • we supply e-learning resources to all students on the programme
  • we supply three tunics and three pairs of trousers, for use in the clinical environment, worth circa £60
  • the ‘Medincle’ medical spellchecker software is provided free of charge
  • books from the Skills for Health Training Package are provided for each student.

Student journeys at the Exeter School of Nursing

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Guy Davey
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Hannah Carter
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Lucy Brailey

Zoe Young – BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) graduate

The exciting range of community and acute placements I had as a nursing student has given me the confidence to truly embrace nursing in different environments and has also shown me that I have developed the skills I need to really make a difference.

Zoe gives advice to people wanting to get into nursing and tells us how studying at Plymouth has helped to shape her career.

Learn more about Zoe Young

Exeter School of Nursing

Professor Bridie Kent, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, explains how the school will benefit people based in the region as well as those travelling from further afield.

The Exeter School of Nursing opened in 2017

Professor Bridie Kent, Interim Executive Dean of Faculty of Health and Human Sciences at the University of Plymouth, explains how the new school will benefit people based in the region as well as those travelling from further afield.

"The University of Plymouth is proud of its longstanding, successful history of nursing education, accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council,” she said. “Working in partnership with healthcare providers over the past 20 years, the University has helped to develop a workforce of health professionals across the region and beyond.

“Our Exeter school builds on this success and will give even more students access to our first rate teaching, as well as providing those students local to Exeter with the added advantage of reduced travelling times. We look forward to welcoming our first cohort of students to our Exeter School of Nursing in September.”