Virtual College

About Virtual College

Virtual College is a Leeds company that sells online compliance training to UK employers and individual learners. Its catalogue has more than 300 certified courses in food hygiene, safeguarding, health and safety, social care, healthcare, business compliance and leadership. Courses are bought one by one from £14 + VAT: Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene for Catering costs £16 + VAT, Safeguarding Children Level 3 £40 + VAT. Learners log in to the Enable LMS at vc-enable.co.uk and download a digital certificate when they pass. Since 2021 the company has been part of Netex, a Spanish e-learning group from A Coruña.

Virtual College sells short online courses that UK organisations need for compliance. A buyer pays for a course on virtual-college.co.uk and gets a licence in the Enable LMS. The learner studies the modules in the browser, takes a multiple-choice test with a 75% pass mark and downloads a certificate. Schools, care providers, housing associations, charities, food businesses and offices buy the courses, and teams can take a yearly subscription to the whole catalogue.

Rod Knox and Bob Gomersall founded the company in 1995. Virtual College Limited was registered in England on 2 May 1995. The first courses came on CD-ROMs, and the company later moved them online. In 2018 Rod Knox, then CEO, started the Prepared to Save a Life campaign with the Community Save a Life Scheme and Bolsover Council. A Covid-19 course raised more than £25,000 for NHS Charities Together.

In 2021 Netex Learning bought Virtual College. Netex was founded in 1997 by Carlos Ezquerro and José Ramón Mosteiro and is based in Oleiros, A Coruña. In 2024 the investment firm bd-capital bought into Netex at €4.75 per share, and the founders kept 60%. Since June 2026 Companies House lists Netex Knowledge Factory S.A. as the direct owner of 75% or more of Virtual College Limited. The website now trades as Virtual College by Netex.

History

1. 1995 Rod Knox and Bob Gomersall found Virtual College. Virtual College Limited is registered on 2 May. The first courses ship on CD-ROM.
2. 2016 Virtual College Holdings Limited is registered on 18 May. The Trustpilot profile is claimed in January.
3. 2017 Virtual College joins the Crown Commercial Service G-Cloud 9 framework for public-sector buyers.
4. 2018 CEO Rod Knox starts the Prepared to Save a Life campaign with the Community Save a Life Scheme and Bolsover Council.
5. 2019 Virtual College Holdings Limited becomes the parent company in March.
6. 2021 Netex Learning buys Virtual College. Netex founders Carlos Ezquerro and José Ramón Mosteiro join the board on 23 December.
7. 2024 Investment firm bd-capital takes over Netex at €4.75 per share. The Netex founders keep 60%.
8. 2025 Netex signs a three-year content partnership with GoodHabitz in April.
9. 2026 Netex receives the Learning and Performance Institute Gold Accreditation in April.
10. 2026 Netex Knowledge Factory S.A. becomes the direct owner of 75% or more of Virtual College Limited on 24 June.
11. 2026 Safeguarding Children Level 3 is updated for KCSIE 2026 and Working Together 2026 on 31 August.
12. 2026 Sexual harassment courses for employees and managers are updated before the Employment Rights Act 2025 duty starts on 30 October.

Leadership

• CE Carlos Ezquerro CEO of Netex Learning and director of Virtual College Limited since December 2021
• JRM José Ramón Mosteiro Netex co-founder and director of Virtual College Limited since December 2021

Companies House lists two active directors on 15 October 2026. Co-founder Rod Knox is a former director. Virtual College does not name its own managing director on its website.

Course categories

Categories from the course catalogue and the free courses page on virtual-college.co.uk, 15 October 2026.

Video, blogs and resources

• Help centreLogin, purchases, certificates and LMS admin guides↗
• Resource libraryArticles on safeguarding, food hygiene and health and safety↗
• PodcastsConversations with L&D professionals↗
• AccreditationsRoSPA, CPD, IATP, NICEIC and ISO 9001↗

Products

• 1The Importance of Food Safety and Hygiene

  2Understanding Food Law

  3Understanding HACCP

  Food hygiene courses Level 1, 2 and 3 food safety and hygiene for catering, retail and manufacturing, plus allergy and HACCP courses. Level 2 for Catering takes 2 to 3 hours in 12 modules and ends with 30 questions. Level 2 Food Safety for Catering ↗
• Question 3 of 15

  Who do you share a concern with?

  The DSLA friendNo one

  2–3 hours
  Safeguarding Safeguarding courses for schools, care and charities. Safeguarding Children Level 3 has 10 modules, takes 2 to 3 hours and ends with 15 questions. It was updated for KCSIE 2026 on 31 August 2026. Safeguarding Children Level 3 ↗

• Leaderboard

  1Ana980

  2Tom860

  3Lea790
  Health and safety More than 100 courses, among them fire marshal, manual handling, COSHH, PAT testing, first aid and IATP-approved asbestos awareness. Fire Marshal, Manual Handling and COSHH take 30 to 45 minutes and cost £25 + VAT each. Health and safety courses ↗
• FGMForced marriageCounty linesSelf-harmFire preventionAnimal welfareSave a Life
  Free courses Ten free courses on safeguarding and health topics, each with a downloadable certificate. Free courses ↗
• Team progress

  Sales

  Support

  Product
  Training subscription and Enable LMS A yearly subscription with access to the full catalogue of more than 350 courses in the Enable LMS. Admins allocate courses, set deadlines with reminders, upload their own material and run reports. Plans and pricing ↗

How much is Virtual College?

• Level 1 Food Safety and Hygiene £14/course £14 + VAT, 1–2 hours
• Most popular Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene for Catering £16/course £16 + VAT, 2–3 hours, 12 modules
• Fire Marshal and Warden Training £25/course £25 + VAT, 30–45 minutes
• Asbestos Awareness £25/course £25 + VAT, 2–3 hours, 3 modules
• Level 2 Safeguarding Children £35/course £35 + VAT, 1–2 hours
• Safeguarding Children Level 3 £40/course £40 + VAT, 2–3 hours, 10 modules
• Level 3 Food Safety and Hygiene for Supervisors £89/course £89 + VAT, 8–9 hours, 13 modules, posted certificate

Is Virtual College free?

Ten courses are free, with a downloadable certificate. Paid courses have no free trial.

Prices on virtual-college.co.uk on 15 October 2026, in pounds, per learner, plus VAT. Each course is a one-off purchase. Orders get 10% off from 10 courses, 20% from 25, 30% from 50 and 40% from 100, applied at checkout. On sale on 15 October 2026: the Food Allergy Awareness and Level 2 Food Hygiene package costs £28 (regular £32), the Complete Health & Safety Package £60 (previous price £272).

• virtual-college.co.uk ↗
  1. Do not open the course you want to cancel
  2. Email info@virtual-college.co.uk or call 01943 885085, Monday to Friday 9:30–16:30
  3. Give the order details and ask for a refund

• Each purchase is a one-off payment, so there is no subscription to cancel.
• A refund takes into account any discount applied to the order.
• Team subscriptions run for at least 12 months.

Refund rules

Before you open the course

You can cancel the order and get a refund at any time.

After you open the course

The order cannot be cancelled.

Not opened in 12 months

Virtual College may cancel the order and withdraw access without a refund.

From the terms and conditions of sale on virtual-college.co.uk, checked on 15 October 2026.

Apps and ratings

• WebChrome, Firefox, Edge 79+ and Safari 16+; Windows 10+, macOS Big Sur+, iOS 15+, Android 11+
• Enable LMS loginvc-enable.co.uk, email address and password
• Password resetForgotten password form
• Help centreGuides for learners, purchasers and LMS admins
• Single sign-on and APIGoogle SSO, Microsoft Entra ID and an Enable API for LMS customers

Is Virtual College worth it?

What learners write in reviews, not our rating. Courses start at £14 + VAT, and an unopened course can be refunded.

Virtual College reviews

• I have been using Virtual College for…

  “I have been using Virtual College for many years for our staff training. Easy to navigate and great courses!!”

  Mark Concannon · 8 October 2026 · App Store
• Easy to access the training course…

  “It was useful that they system recorded where I had finished when I ended the sessions.”

  Mr Andrew Saunders · 7 October 2026 · App Store
• Really poor experience

  “Unable to log on or set a password. Apparently due to a firewall issue.”

  customer · 23 June 2026 · App Store
• Had a problem with the name as we have…

  “Had a problem with the name as we have done employees and they couldn’t change the name on the second test”

  Ms Rumena Lisa · 15 January 2026 · App Store

Latest news

• 2026Learning and Performance Institute Gold Accreditation for Netex
• 2017Crown Commercial Service G-Cloud 9 supplier

1. 8 April 2026Netex achieves LPI Gold Accreditation and strengthens its position in the UK ↗
2. 10 April 2025Netex strengthens its learning platform through a strategic alliance with GoodHabitz ↗

Contacts and company data

• Phone01943 885085, Monday to Friday 9:30–16:30
• General enquiriesinfo@virtual-college.co.uk
• Enable LMS supportsupport@vc-enable.co.uk, 01943 889480
• Careerscareers@virtual-college.co.uk
• Head officeThe Coach Works, 21 The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7EH

Legal entity

Virtual College Limited, Ground Floor, CW1 The Coach Works, 21 The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7EH, United Kingdom

Companies House

03052439, England and Wales

Incorporated

2 May 1995

Status

Active, private limited company

Nature of business

SIC 85590, other education

Parent company

Netex Knowledge Factory S.A., Registro Mercantil A Coruña, A-15595754, since 24 June 2026

VAT number

GB 755 2968 90

Accounts

Last made up to 30 September 2024

Alternatives to Virtual College

• High Speed Training🇬🇧 United Kingdom More than 180 CPD-accredited compliance courses from Ilkley, owned by its employees. Level 2 Food Hygiene costs £20 + VAT. →
• iHasco🇬🇧 United Kingdom More than 250 online health and safety, HR and compliance courses with its own LMS. →
• GoodHabitz🇳🇱 Netherlands A library of online training for employees from Eindhoven, a content partner of Netex since 2025. →
• Learning Pool🇬🇧 United Kingdom Workplace learning platforms and ready-made courses from Derry, renamed Confirm in 2026. →

How we built this profile

1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 15 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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