19 Jan 2023
The DWA, originally established by Dick White Referrals, is now operating under the auspices of the Dick White Charitable Foundation.
James Westgate
Job Title
Students at the Dick White Academy, which will now be run under the Dick White Charitable Foundation.
The Dick White Academy (DWA) will now be run by the Dick White Charitable Foundation after it agreed to take on the organisation.
Opened in 2016 in response to the shortage of qualified veterinary nurses in the profession, the academy remained under the ownership of Dick White Referrals (DWR) until it was acquired by Linnaeus when DWR and four other hospitals transferred from Pets at Home in 2021.
However, it was felt the interests of the academy would be best represented in the future by the charitable foundation.
The foundation is run by a board of trustees chaired by Prof White. He said: “The academy has an outstanding reputation for delivering first-class training and this has been reflected, since its inception, in results achieved by the students.
“The trustees plan to continue providing top-quality education to students studying for level three qualifications, but also to expand the range and depth of courses available.”
DWA is training nurses from 88 practices through the apprenticeship scheme, and the number attending courses has increased from 15 in 2016 to 140 in 2022.
In a recent end-of-term survey, 100% of students reported they were enjoying their studies and felt confident the lectures delivered would help them to pass their exams.
Academy principal Ali Heywood said: “We are all excited about the potential development envisaged by Prof White and the trustees of the foundation.
“There is no doubt that the need for a high standard of veterinary nurse training is increasing and I believe that DWA is ideally placed to provide it.”
