Writtle College will be running another Veterinary Nursing course as there is so much demand.

The College already runs the Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing on a Tuesday from September and Thursday from February - but from September 2015 it will also be offering the course on a Monday.

It comes as applications have already hit 30 with the busiest time in the recruitment cycle yet to come and numbers usually sitting at between 15 and 20.

Kersty Ellis, Section Leader - Animal Studies and Veterinary Nursing at Writtle College, explained why demand is so high: “This is a City & Guilds qualification that leads to professional registration with the RCVS [Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons] so has always been popular.

“This year we have noticed a big increase in the number of practices applying to become Training Practices and there are a lot of new practices in the area, including the corporate chains Vets4Pets and Companion Care.

"I think the demand has risen because of the economy picking up and people starting to spend more on animals, so the practices are more confident about training students.

"We are also in a relatively population dense area so we have lots of practices here compared to other areas of the country.

“The Level 3 course is always a popular choice and applications always exceed places. What’s changed this time is that we have more placements to support students.

"We also offer Apprenticeships here so, as long as they are eligible, students have the opportunity to be put on the Apprenticeships programme, which saves practices money on training costs.

“If students complete this Level 3 course successfully, they can apply to progress onto the Animal Management and Animal Science degrees here at Writtle College as well as the Veterinary Physiotherapy Integrated Masters, which is a four-year course combining undergraduate and Masters elements.”

Part of the draw of the course is that Writtle College has more than 250 farm animals, 55 horses and over 500 small/companion animals on-site that students could work with.

Kersty adds: “As part of the course, students have to complete an element of equine in each core unit. As we have the Equine Training and Development Centre here, students benefit from highly-qualified equine staff.

"At the Titchmarsh Centre for Animal Studies, they can also gain experience of exotics on-site and get hands-on with reptiles, small mammals and birds.

“Our team includes an exotic nursing-qualified member, who has the City & Guilds Certificate in Exotic Nursing.

"We also have a member of staff who has worked in referral centres particularly involving emergency and critical care.

"Additionally, three members of the Veterinary Nursing team are external examiners for RCVS and City & Guilds so we are involved in the final registration exam, which is sat elsewhere.”

• The new course will be run from 9am to 7pm on Mondays from September 2015. For more information about the course content, please visit www.writtle.ac.uk/Level-3-Diploma-in-Veterinary-Nursing