Wasted time and money
Wasted time and money. Disappointed

Activate Learning is an educational organization offering a diverse range of learning opportunities across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey. The company operates several colleges, including Banbury and Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Guildford College, providing programs aimed at various demographics, from school-aged learners to adults seeking further education or vocational training. The organization specializes in a variety of educational services, including access to higher education, adult education, apprenticeships, and specialized skills bootcamps designed to enhance local career prospects. By leveraging digital technology and innovative teaching methods, Activate Learning aims to empower students to achieve their educational and career goals in a supportive and resource-rich environment.
Activate Learning receives overwhelmingly negative feedback from students and parents, with a significant majority expressing dissatisfaction. Common complaints center around poor management, lack of communication, and inadequate course delivery.
Many reviewers report frustrating experiences with registration and enrollment processes, noting delays and unresponsive staff. Specific courses, such as A-levels and vocational programs, are criticized for insufficient teaching support, with some students left without essential instructors for extended periods. Despite a few positive mentions of individual staff members who provided helpful guidance, the overall sentiment reflects a deep disappointment in the institution's ability to deliver quality education. Consumers strongly advise against enrolling, highlighting a lack of professionalism and care for student needs.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 1.6 | 30 | 100% | ● Low |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Nov 2024.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 23 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Jan 24 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Feb 24 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Mar 24 | — | 0 |
| Apr 24 | — | 0 |
| May 24 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Jun 24 | 2.0 | 1 |
| Jul 24 | — | 0 |
| Aug 24 | 5.0 | 1 |
| Sep 24 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Oct 24 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Nov 24 | 1.0 | 2 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 30 most recent reviews.
“In the 2020/21 academic year I undertook an access course along with retaking Maths and English GCSEs as an adult lea...”
“Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this college at all based on my child’s experience”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Universities & Colleges.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Service | Website & app | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6 out of 5 (poor) | 100 out of 100 | 1.9 out of 5 (poor) | 2.6 out of 5 (poor) | — | 30 | |
| 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 4.2 out of 5 (good) | — | 85 | |
| 5.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 57 | |
| 5.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 37 | |
| 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.9 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 25 |
Bottom line: Activate Learning is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On service, Truka scores higher (5.0 vs 1.9).
30 reviews of Activate Learning. Filter by what matters to you.
Wasted time and money. Disappointed
Since buying out loads of Colleges, their "land grab then sell off for profit" approach means that almost all the decent and competent admin staff have left the campus' as they can't stand working for the awful management, who seemingly have absolutely no interest in education whatsoever, and a huge fixation with getting personally very wealthy and cruising around in top-end company cars etc. Just look around their sites - filthy dumps where they don't even pick up the litter; emblematic. A very sad reflection of the state of tertiary education in the UK.
active learn is really bad i think it should burn in hell because it really doesnt help
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In the 2020/21 academic year I undertook an access course along with retaking Maths and English GCSEs as an adult learner. The engagement from the teachers was outstanding throughout the entire year, even during all of the disruption caused by the pandemic. One teacher in particular paid so much attention to students that they identified I may have a learning disability. A 5 hour assesment later showed that I have Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and suspected ADHD - a bit of a shock at 27 years old. My life will forever be different moving forward having finished my first year of university with a 2:1 average which is something I'd have never thought possible. The access courses at this college truly help set you up for higher education if you're willing to engage with the course material. The teachers at Activate Learning went above and beyond what they needed to by staying later and offering extra sessions to students who needed additional support. If you put in the work, you will reap the rewards at activate learning.
Rubbish college!! Avoid! Directors of the college are so mean. They do not care about their students one single bit! They only care about their most senior staff and they have left me with depression for life which will haunt me for the rest of my life. They generally do not care about mental health. College tutors and directors never find a resolution to solve students problem. As I said, AVOID Banbury and Oxford Activate learning college! These are beyond some of the worst colleges ever in regards to mental health and awareness. Student support team are beyond useless, do not listen to you and instead of trying to resolve an issue, they make it worse by trying to blame things on you. Directors of college never listen to students. As I said, AVOID!!
I recently enrolled in this college..hair and beauty level 1…I started on the 6th it’s now the 16th and I’ve been told I’m being withdrawn because there is no room as they have 35 people in there and since I’m a mature student (26) that needs to work on her confidence (I have severe anxiety and depression) they have let me go and told me to apply for next year instead. They suggested I get work in a salon before I re apply for next year. Im absolutely mortified that they even let me start the tutor even said there were girls that she knew are not going to finish the hairdressing..sooooo I don’t understand why I got booted when I really would have seen the course through!.. to withdraw me Because im old and have very little confidence.. Absolutely disgusted I wouldn’t ever go back to this place. I wouldn’t recommend for anybody!
I would seriously consider every other educational provider before I sent my child to this establishment. We were on our own trying to fight an appeal of a vindictive failed qualification and all the management were interested in was protecting their own reputation and covering up for the tutor who seemed to disappear after a complaint from us after taking cash from students without receipts. I have since come across more and more people let down by this so called educator. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Let down so badly. Last year I applied to study an access course. Even applied for student finance, was sent an email with student log in details and links to assignments and course materials. Bear in mind I am a busy mum of two with not much time to waste. I ended up writing two 1 000 plus word essay assignments. Was then informed that with quarantine ending that classroom lectures would start but was not told what date to come in so I rang the helpline. Was then told after 1 month of 'remote learning' that the course was fully subscribed, and I never was on the list, and that I didn't even hold the right qualifications for it. Was then passed onto a staff member who wasn't interested in enrolling me in any other courses. it made for a pretty depressing start to the second lockdown.
Activate Learning is an educational organization offering a diverse range of learning opportunities across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey. The company operates several colleges, including Banbury and Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Guildford College, providing programs aimed at various demographics, from school-aged learners to adults seeking further education or vocational training. The organization specializes in a variety of educational services, including access to higher education, adult education, apprenticeships, and specialized skills bootcamps designed to enhance local career prospects. By leveraging digital technology and innovative teaching methods, Activate Learning aims to empower students to achieve their educational and career goals in a supportive and resource-rich environment.
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