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Level 3 Extended Diploma in Personal Training

  • BERKSHIRE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
  • LEVEL 3
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Course Overview

This qualification is ideal for anyone who is keen on working in the rapidly growing health and fitness industry. Whether your goals are to work in gym and health club settings, be self-employed with private clients, or aspire to be the next big fitness influencer, this qualification will get you closer to your goals in just a year.

You will study core modules that will develop your knowledge of how the body works and responds to different training methods and learn how to programme exercises to help your clients meet their goals. You will also gain valuable industry experience working with a range of different clients both at college and with local employers.

You will learn in dedicated classrooms equipped with interactive technology and have access to our high-quality sports facilities including a full-sized sports hall, fully equipped fitness centre and separate strength and conditioning facility. You will also benefit from a range of relevant trips, visits, and guest lectures.

You will also have the opportunity to complete the AIQ Level 2 Award in Instructing Circuit Sessions and a first aid qualification as part of this course.

Why BCA?
At BCA we have:

100% pass rate on all sport programmes
95% of our student’s progress into positive destinations
90% of our students achieve on or above their target grades.

Excellent links with local sports clubs, industry experts, and employers including our partnership with Maidenhead FC
All of our staff have extensive industry experience and qualifications.

Outstanding facilities
Opportunity to represent one of our sports academies.

Course Code

FF3NSPO7B0

End Date

Fri, 04 Jul 2025

Entry Requirements

Five GCSEs at Grade 4 or above including English, maths and preferably PE (or equivalent). Minimum age: 17 at the start of the course.

All appli...

Course information

Students will complete a range of modules to develop the skills and knowledge required to be competent in this field.

Below are some examples of modules that will be studied over the duration of the course:

Anatomy and physiology for exercise
Maximising the customer experience in a gym environment
Supporting client health and wellbeing
Conducting client consultations and gym inductions
Planning and reviewing gym-based exercise programmes
Instructing and supervising gym-based exercise programmes
Applied anatomy and physiology for activity
Health and fitness,
Client motivation and lifestyle management
Programming personal training sessions
Delivering personal training sessions
Nutrition to support a physical activity programme
Business acumen for personal trainers

1 Year

This course will be delivered via a range of theory and practical lessons

This course is assessed via practical demonstrations, external exams and a portfolio of evidencewhich will include:
Written reports
Presentations
Tests
Practical demonstrations
Case Studies
Role Play
Work-based learning observations
3 externally set exams

Learners will achieve an Active IQ Level 3 Extended DIploma in Personal Training. There will also be opportunities to achieve a first aid qualification as well as a Level 2 Award in Instructing Circuit Sessions.

You will be required to complete a minimum amount of industry experience hours across the course of the year. You will be in college 3 full days per week and it will be expected that all learners in this programme are completing one additional day per week in a relevant industry setting from January to May.

We actively encourage students to find their own industry placement near to home, but BCA will support you if required. All employers accepting industry placement students will be visited beforehand to ensure that they comply with health and safety regulations and also have the correct insurance cover in place.

This course is designed for learners to progress straight into paid employment within the health and fitness industry. The course is approved by CIMSPA and the Register of Exercise Professionals and successful completion provides individuals with a license to practice as a Personal Trainer or Gym Instructor. Learners will also have the option to progress onto a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport if they wish to progress to University.

What careers can this course lead onto?

Personal Trainer
Sports Therapist
Sports Development Officer
Sports Coach, Sports Journalist
Sports Analyst, Sports Scientist
Sports Psychologist
Nutritionist
PE Teacher

Level 3

This is a fast-paced course that will help you develop subject-specific skills as well as interpersonal skills. You will need to have a relatively good level of fitness in order to meet the practical requirements of the course.

The course makes full use of the excellent facilities:

Modern classrooms, fully equipped with IT support.
4 full-size football pitches
A state-of-the-art sports hall, incorporating 4 badminton courts, a full-sized basketball court, and cricket nets
Indoor and outdoor climbing facilities
High & low rope courses
Archery range
A fully equipped fitness centre and a separate strength and conditioning facility

Uniform and PPE: All Sports students will be required to purchase the compulsory BCA kit, which is appropriate for their programme. You are only expected to purchase 1 kit bundle, so if you are part of an Academy, please order the specific academy kit, as detailed below. We try to keep all compulsory kit bundles to a minimum cost and then give the option for you to purchase additional items. Clean, practical kit must be brought in every day.

Please click on the link below to place your online kit order.

Non-Academy Sports Students
www.clubwebshop.com/a-z/clubs/bca/club-bundles

You will have to register and create an account before ordering.

Football Academy
www.mufcdirect.co.uk/collections/mufc-academy-bca

Netball Academy
www.hawkinsport.co.uk/schools/berkshire-college-agriculture

Returning students are very welcome to order another complete bundle, however, you will already have some kit from last year, so you may decide just to order a few additional items. Please email Nicky Cornelius, Curriculum Assistant nacornelius@bca.ac.uk for the specific link to order individual items.

Stationery:

All students will be required to bring appropriate stationery and a notebook to all lessons. We advise students to purchase a ring binder folder to keep class notes and resources in, for future reference. BCA does not supply pens, pencils, rulers, or notepads.

All students will be required to bring their own set of headphones for blended learning sessions. The headphones do not need to be expensive but must be PC compatible.

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