The Student Room Group

accounting 'flying start' at Newcastle

well, Newcastle is the only place in England to offer people a 'flying start' degree where you train to become a chartered accountant whilst doing your degree. Has anyone heard of this? is it respected/recommended? Apprently you can become a chartered accountant 18 months after graduating.. What do people think of this course? Does it have the reputation that some other universities have, and is it recommended?

Most of all, is there anyone here who is actually on the course now or has been to an open day about it?

here is some information for those interested

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/flyingstart/whatisflyingstart.htm
Reply 1
i went to the open day today

you do 3 months from december till about feb/march in year 2 and 3, in year 4 he said you do between 4 and 5 months, dont know when this will happen though becuase you dont want it to conicide with your finals

you can become a charted accountant 13 months after graduating, instead of 3 years from graduating from ANY other degree, even if it is an accounting degree

you have to take your full term accom lease for newcastle out, but they have accom for you in the city that u choose, you get paid for your placement for about 14-16k pro rata (ish) so u get whatever that would be per month for however long you are working

the interview is held at st james park (newcastle football stadium) and you get travel expenses paid for etc....not much else of i can think of really

i really want to hear some peoples opinions on this course, people who have done it, or people in business and what they think of it
I'm definately thinking about applying to this course.

What's the deal with accomodation? Sorry - the explanation was a little fuzzy there. Can we still stay in halls and stuff? Are the placements based in Newcastle, or can they be all around the country?

If there's a student about who's actually doing this degree..if you could post any extra info that'd be ace!

Cheers xxx
Reply 3
I applied for this course and received an invitation to go to the interview/selection 2 days, which although I got rejected was an experience. Got to talk to some of the students already on course - the accommodation they put you up in when on placement is very nice - they said some of the lads on the course lived in London during the placement and got the place they were stayin in valued and it was extremely expensive! You can basically go on placement where there are PriceWaterhouse offices - so not just restricted to London - there are offices in Leeds, London, etc. The selection days were held at St James Park in a couple of the executive boxes - def very posh! They put you up in a very nice hotel for free and at night they paid for a posh 3 course meal! Definately an excellent course!
Reply 4
So do they pay for your WHOLE accomodation whilst on the placement? and is your room in the halls of residence reserved for you when you get back or is it put back on the market?
Reply 5
No, they don't pay for your accomodation when in Newcastle. As far as I could make out from the open day (pretty sure on it) they pay your tuition fees, but you pay for your room in halls. When you go on placement, they put you up in their accomodation, but you must continue to pay for your accomodation at Newcastle halls.

It doesn't really matter though - it's no more expensive in terms of accomodation than doing any other course at Newcastle, so I don't see why the bloke who asked at the open day got so upset about having to pay for his room for the whole year.

As you are paying for the whole year's accomodation, the room is obviously yours for the fully contracted time, and will not be offered to others during empty periods. And you will need to stay in halls during the lecture-phases of each year (unless you choose to be a home student or something).

But looking at the state of Castle Leazes, the halls I looked round, I wouldn't really pay for it..!!!

The course is unique as it gives you a guaranteed route to qualifying as an accountant (and a guaranteed job at the end :smile: ). ALL other courses will only give you degree in accountancy, but will not put you through your professional exams (ICAEW, ACCA or any other body) on the actual course. After you finish your degree, it is up to you to find an accountancy firm willing to take you on and sponsor you through the professional exams to qualify.

It's VERY competitive though... Can't remember the stats, but there was a LOT of applications for the 50 places on the course..!
Reply 6
rambo8521
No, they don't pay for your accomodation when in Newcastle. As far as I could make out from the open day (pretty sure on it) they pay your tuition fees, but you pay for your room in halls.



you pay for everything as though ur just doing a normal course ie tuition and halls. and sinse in the first year u dont do work experience, ur with the normal accounting and finance people for ur degree, it wont effect u staying in halls at all.
I applied for 07 entry..praying I get an interview!!!! But I think its pretty unlikely 'cause I got abbc at AS level - I'm predicted AAB for A level 'cause I'm doing a couple of resits to get my grades up..but I know the course is really competitive so I'm thinking my chances are pretty slim. Anyone think I actually stand a chance?!?!
I am invited to the interview. can anyone tell me how they assess you apart from the interview? are there any written tests?
Ooooh you're so lucky! I still haven't heard anything.. :frown: When did they tell you that you had an interview?
Castle Leazes is supposed to be quite reasonable. Dont expect too much from uni accom in general

From the sounds of it, they just say that YOU have to pay for your accom in Newcastle, but THEY pay for any placement accom. Considering its going to be £50 - 100 per week for accom its not bad considering you are being paid a couple of K for a few months
xlouisedoll
I applied for 07 entry..praying I get an interview!!!! But I think its pretty unlikely 'cause I got abbc at AS level - I'm predicted AAB for A level 'cause I'm doing a couple of resits to get my grades up..but I know the course is really competitive so I'm thinking my chances are pretty slim. Anyone think I actually stand a chance?!?!


My grades are identical to yours and i've applied to this course aswell, been invited to the open day on Jan 31/ Feb 1. Got to send the letter back yet though. Are you going to the open day?
rufnek
My grades are identical to yours and i've applied to this course aswell, been invited to the open day on Jan 31/ Feb 1. Got to send the letter back yet though. Are you going to the open day?


No I haven't been invited to that :frown: I got something in the mail today which said I was through to the next stage of applications, and they asked me to fill in a form for them and send it back to them within the next 10 days if possible. So I guess thats better than nothing!
xlouisedoll
No I haven't been invited to that :frown: I got something in the mail today which said I was through to the next stage of applications, and they asked me to fill in a form for them and send it back to them within the next 10 days if possible. So I guess thats better than nothing!


I got that in the start of Nov, then forgot all about it, found it whilst wondering why they hadnt given me a reply to the offer and filled it in online a month later. After that they sent me an app form for the open day. Got to book my tickets to get there an back though, sounds like fun :smile: