foundation course 
noun British
A course taken at some colleges and universities, either in a wide range of subjects or in one subject at a basic level, preparing students for more advanced study: when I left school I did a foundation course in art...
- To overcome this, the university launched a foundation course designed to give students the basics - an English-language component, and then intensive tuition in maths, physics, chemistry and biology.
- I was quite artistic and I studied an arts foundation course at Bradford College and later worked at the Alhambra Theatre backstage, in the box office and on the stage door.
- Tim Appelbee, of Bradford College's School of Art where Bob did a foundation course before going to university, said Bob was continuing the tradition of art-school student becoming rock star.