Cambridge Regional College has opened a £150,000 mock hospital ward where T Level students train on mannequins that talk and go into cardiac arrest.
Cambridge Regional College has opened a £150,000 mock hospital ward at its Kings Hedges Road campus. Students on its new nursing-support course will practise there before they set foot on a real ward at Addenbrooke’s or Royal Papworth.
The facility is called The Ward. It was opened with a ribbon cutting on Friday 25 September, the college announced on 30 September.
What is in it
The room is laid out like an NHS ward, with beds, curtained bays and monitors. The patients are mannequins run by college lecturers. According to the college, they can:
- speak to the student treating them
- show altered breathing
- simulate a sudden heart attack, stroke or severe allergic reaction, so a patient’s condition can get worse in real time
Students use them to learn ECG monitoring, blood pressure checks, injections, PICC line and catheter care, and wound care. Lecturers and support staff were trained to run the equipment.
The money came from the Department for Education’s T Level capital funding, alongside the college’s own investment. The college has not said how the £150,000 splits between the two.
Who it is for
The Ward serves the college’s first group of T Level Health (Supporting the Adult Nursing Team) students, who started using it this September.
The course page sets out how it works:
| Detail | What the course page says |
|---|---|
| Level | Level 3, two years |
| Entry | Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English language, maths and science |
| Placement | 315 hours on placement |
| Next intake | September 2027, at the Cambridge campus |
The placements are with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s, and with Royal Papworth Hospital. The college says students work alongside NHS nursing teams there.
The course page lists health care support worker and ambulance support worker as jobs it leads to. It can also lead to a higher apprenticeship or a degree such as nursing.
What the college and the hospital trust said
Mark Robertson, the college’s principal and chief executive, said The Ward would let students “build professional confidence and competence before stepping onto a real hospital ward”.
Julia Schumann-Pratt, work experience and widening participation lead at Cambridge University Hospitals, said the partnership was “central to how we build a skilled, resilient nursing workforce for our region”.
The college links the investment to nursing shortages. Its announcement cites 25,000 vacant nursing roles across the country.
What it means for you
If you have a child in Year 11 thinking about nursing or another NHS job, this is a route that does not start with A levels. It still needs strong GCSEs, including science.
- See it for yourself: the college’s next Cambridge campus open day is Wednesday 21 October, 4.30pm to 7pm, at Kings Hedges Road, CB4 2QT. Booking is free through the college’s Eventbrite page.
- Questions: the college’s advice line is 01223 226315.
A note if you search the college’s events list: an older Cambridge open day page there still shows 23 October. Its booking link is for 2024. The 2026 date is 21 October.
Our Cambridge school term dates page lists the holidays for the year ahead, including October half term.
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