Wiltshire College
 | |
| Established | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Type | Further education |
| Principal | Amanda Burnside |
| Location |
Castle Combe, Chippenham, Lacock, Salisbury, Trowbridge Wiltshire UK |
| DfE URN | 132779 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | 750 |
| Students | 9,000+ (full-time, part-time & University level) |
| Gender | both |
| Ages | 16+ |
| Website |
www |
Wiltshire College is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College.[1] Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, which commenced in January 2008. In 2015-16 the college had approximately 3,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students,[2] with over 600 enrolled on degree-level courses.[3]
The college's most recent OfSTED report, in June 2015, assessed it as good.[4]
Locations
- Wiltshire College Chippenham was founded as North Wilts College of Further Education and later changed its name to Chippenham Technical College, and again to Chippenham College in 1993.[1] It offers a wide range of vocational courses and qualifications, specialising in engineering, commerce and construction trades. Its buildings are in Cocklebury Road, close to the town centre and railway station, and were rebuilt on the existing site in 2015 at a cost of £21 million.[5] There are workshops for motor vehicle, engineering and construction trades, as well as hair and beauty studios, art studios, and a sports science lab.
- Wiltshire College Lackham is based close to Lacock and opened in 1946 as a purely agricultural college.[6] It has a 400-acre (1.6 km2) working farm to allow students hands-on experience of the rural economy, and also hosts a Museum of Agriculture and Rural Life.[6] The college offers a number of extramural courses to non-students and also has a full programme of public events throughout the year, such as flower shows, equestrian, and related events. Following the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak which limited access to many farms, a "Virtual Farm" was opened in 2004 to provide continued education should access to the college farm be restricted again in the future.[7] The college holds an annual Lambing Weekend where local children can see at first hand lambs being born.[8]
- Wiltshire College Trowbridge, in College Road, offers a wide range of vocational courses for school-leavers, and houses the Arc Theatre, a venue for live performances. A Construction Skills Centre was opened in 2015.[9]
- Wiltshire College Salisbury was formed in 1992 as the merger of the College of Art & Design and the Technology College.[10] Situated in Southampton Road, it offers degree courses in association with Bournemouth University and vocational courses for school leavers. A-level courses for sixth-form students were also offered at the site until 2013 when the provision was withdrawn.[11] However Salisbury Sixth Form College opened at the Southampton Road campus in 2014, and is expected to relocate to its own site by September 2016.
- Castle Combe, at the Castle Combe Circuit near Chippenham, is the home of Wiltshire College's 6,500 square foot motorsport centre.[12] The centre was the first circuit-based motorsport engineering centre in the UK, and has two classrooms, six car workshops, an engine workshop and a machining workshop. It provides motorsport engineering courses ranging from the BTEC Level 2 Diploma to a Level 6 BSc Honours Degree from the University of Bath.
Wiltshire College also has learning centres at Corsham, Devizes and Warminster.
Courses
A wide range of courses are offered to students, either part-time, full-time or as apprenticeships. Vocational qualifications include BTEC Diplomas, NVQ Level 1, and GCSE.[13]
University level
Courses lead to qualifications including Foundation degrees, HNC, HND, and BA/BSc degrees.[13]
Chippenham: Business, Computing & Systems Development, Applied Computing, Criminal Justice, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Castle Combe: Motorsport Engineering.
Salisbury: Art & Design, Film Production & Cinematography, Music, Photography, Education Studies for Teaching Assistants, Professional Certificate in Education.
Trowbridge: Art & Design, Early Years & Childhood Studies, Health & Social Care, Social Work.
Lackham: land-based courses including Animal Science & Management, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Management, Equine Management, Game & Wildlife Management, Sports Coaching.
Alumni
- Jamie Cullum – singer/songwriter
- Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes – television presenter
- Lewis Haldane – former professional football player
- Aaron Moores – British Paralympic swimmer
References
- 1 2 "The Chippenham, Lackham and Trowbridge Colleges (Dissolution) Order 2000" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ↑ "About Wiltshire College". Wiltshire College. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ↑ "Higher Education Review of Wiltshire College" (PDF). Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. December 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ↑ "OFSTED Report, 2015" (PDF). Ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ↑ Lawton, Andrew (10 November 2015). "New £21m Wiltshire College campus in Chippenham opens". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- 1 2 "Wiltshire College Lackham celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2006". Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ↑ "Cyber Cows and Virtual Sheep at Lackham Farm" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ↑ "Lambing in Lackham". Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ↑ Baber, Andy (14 March 2015). "Official unveiling for £3.6m Construction Skills Centre at Wiltshire College Trowbridge". Wiltshire Times. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ↑ "Salisbury College". The Independent. London. 2007-07-27. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ↑ "BBC News - Wiltshire College students offered A-level places elsewhere". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ↑ http://www.wiltshire-college-motorsport.co.uk/about_us.asp
- 1 2 "Prospectuses". Wiltshire College. Retrieved 30 April 2016.