UR TV CAST

HND/HNC courses in civil engineering studies also start in February.One university which has always started its academic year in January is the University of Buckingham, Britain’s only private university. Its BSc degrees include economics, economics, languages, law, business studies, international hotel management, marketing with French or Spanish, English language studies with literature, history of art and modern politics. This January the university will admit some 350 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and in July it will admit another 90. The subjects offered include science, geology, applied geochemistry, engineering geology, environmental geology, environmental sciences, environmental control, geography, remote sensing, geographical information systems and natural resource management. In January, 20 students enrolled on such courses; this coming January, the university has up to 50 places available.The university also offers February starts in all its land and construction management MScs and in BScs in design and construction management, building surveying, estate management, quantity surveying, housing and environmental health. In this four- year, full-time programme, the first year, known as Year 0, is designed to bring students to the requisite level of scientific knowledge and skills for entry to the normal three-year programme.

The extended degree programme is designed to provide entry to science degree pathways for mature or other students from a non-science background. It is not as popular by any means as the September start in terms of the absolute numbers who come, but that is because higher education in this country is still focused very much on school-leavers.”In many universities now there are very significant proportions of people who do not follow the conventional 18-year-old school-leaver with A- levels route, and we welcome them.”At his university there are January and September starts to extended BSc degree programmes in 11 earth and environmental subjects. While many of these mature students study for a degree part-time, an increasing number are enrolling on full-time courses that begin at unconventional times of the year.As the Government’s commitment to widening access and lifelong-learning takes hold, Professor Humphreys says the idea of starting in January will actually gather momentum “We are beginning to do it now increasingly. However, this picture is starting to change as universities respond to government exhortations to cater for lifelong learning and to widen access to socio-economic groups which have previously been excluded from higher education.
The move towards a modular degree curriculum in many universities, where students can mix and match course segments in non-linear ways, also means that institutions can be more flexible about when they admit students.Professor John Humphreys, pro vice-chancellor of Greenwich University, says that January course starts for full-time courses are becoming more commonplace.Increasingly, higher education is not just for 18-year-old school-leavers with A-levels, but is also for people who might have had some time off between school and university, workers seeking to update their skills and job prospects and others seeking a change in career. By convention, university courses start in September – but then who cares about convention. Simon Midgley looks at the attractions of a January start for a growing number of institutions and students.

The majority of students starting full-time, first-degree courses do so in the autumn at the start of what has traditionally been the beginning of the new academic year. Substitutes: Elliott (Leicester) for Weir, 76; T McKinlay (Celtic) for Boyd, 80; Donnelly (Celtic) for Gallacher, 83; Hopkin (Leeds) for Durie, 90.Referee: A Lopez Nieto (Spain).. Substitutes: Djorkaeff (Internazionale) for Laslandes, 71; Boghossian (Sampdoria) for Petit, 73; Candela (Roma), for Laigle, 80; Gava (Paris St-Germain) for Ba, 80.SCOTLAND (3-5-2): Sullivan (Wimbledon); Calderwood (Tottenham), Weir (Heart of Midlothian), Dailly (Derby); Burley (Celtic), McAllister (Coventry), Collins (Monaco), B McKinlay (Blackburn), Boyd (Celtic); Gallacher (Blackburn), Durie (Rangers). Then came the penalty – but Scotland could reflect with some satisfaction on their efforts against a team widely held to have a chance of winning the World Cup itself.FRANCE (3-5-2): Barthez (Monaco); Thuram (Parma), Blanc (Marseille), Desailly (Milan); Ba (Milan), Zidane, Deschamps (both Juventus), Petit (Arsenal), Laigle (Sampdoria); Laslandes (Bordeaux), Guivarc’h (Auxerre).

David Weir’s raking pass out of defence pitted Durie against Desailly in a race through the middle, the Frenchman doing just enough to force his opponent into shooting straight at Barthez.Durie, released by Gallacher, then chipped a yard wide with only the goalkeeper to beat, before McAllister’s attempted lob also sailed beyond the far post. Moments later, Deschamps’s goalbound volley cannoned behind off a defender, yet Scotland seldom came under concerted pressure.Midway through the second half, they were making the better opportunities themselves. Scotland, making more of less possession, attacked with greater incisiveness and might have gone ahead after 51 minutes. Gallacher and McAllister were involved once more, the latter crossing from the left for Durie to fire narrowly over.Despite having relinquished the armband, McAllister set his usual inspirational example. Colin Calderwood followed it with a textbook sliding tackle to unload Laslandes, the French League’s leading scorer, as he shaped to pull the trigger. Burley, wide on the right, worked the ball inside to McAllister. He, in turn, found Kevin Gallacher, who cut it back to the penalty spot.

Gordon Durie drove high into Fabien Barthez’s net.Sullivan promptly made partial amends by parrying stinging shots from Guivarc’h and Zidane, whose cunning enabled him to slip McKinlay more than once.The Juventus player was, however, a solitary beacon of invention in a French side which had attracted some restless whistling before scoring.The malcontents were heard again when Zidane and his captain, Didier Deschamps, wasted free-kicks in quick succession. Sullivan was at fault for France’s opener, failing to catch or punch Marcel Desailly’s centre. The ball carried to Laigle, whose diagonal volley was his first international goal.Scotland’s response was as intricate as it was instantaneous. But it was a safety-first measure, for the ball appeared to be passing wide.A goal for either side in the space of 60 seconds 10 minutes before half time brought an end to the phoney war. The teams were slow to catch the mood, with France’s most creative player, Zinedine Zidane, often stifled by the man- marking of Billy McKinlay.Sullivan, nevertheless, was called into action as early as the eighth minute, turning Stephane Guivarc’h’s effort behind the post after Lilian Laslandes had climbed to head Laigle’s cross into his path. The night was cold and wet, while the new stand rising on one side housed only stewards and ball-boys.If the sight of Tom Boyd leading out the Scots, instead of Gary McAllister – in honour of his 50th cap – added to the sense of unreality, the sound of drums pounding behind Neil Sullivan’s goal in the first half created a certain samba ambience. The injury forded 22-year-old Neville to sit out Monday’s first training session at the England squad’s Bisham Abbey headquarters.
Hoddle had been hoping that Neville would recover in time to be available for the Wembley encounter with the West African side.