Northern College is one of the four long term residential adult colleges in England. It was established in 1978 and by 2006 was the largest of the colleges. Located at Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley it is set in the only Grade I listed landscape in South Yorkshire. Currently the College is in the middle of a £15 million restoration and renovation scheme which will provide a range of new facilities within the wider context of a major tourist attraction in South Yorkshire.
The College has a powerful heritage of combining widening participation with providing learning of the highest quality. It was one of the Beacon Colleges under the FEFC and has Beacon Status under the LSC, one of only two institutions to hold this status in South Yorkshire.
It engages with learners in the first instance through outreach programmes throughout West and South Yorkshire and through its connections with local authorities and the voluntary and community sector. Often Learners first come to the College in groups where they are encouraged to enter the Foundation Programme which offers a range of short residential courses at levels 1 and 2.
With the Foundation Programme, the College offers specific courses in Literacy and Numeracy, an area of provision in which the College has an outstanding reputation.
In addition, the College offers a 'Workforce Development Programme' which includes significant amount of provision for trade unionists, in conjunction with the TUC and a range of trade unions including AMICUS, the GFTU, UNISON and the GMB. It works with the voluntary and community sector to offer courses in the area of community regeneration.
At the apex of the College are the Diploma Programmes, which provide access to higher education and employment opportunities for a range of full-time and part-time adult students.
The College also provides facilities for conferences/workshops and seminars, and has a new facility for 80-100 participants in the refurbished St' James Church, plus additional residential and teaching facilities in the 18th Century Home Farm complex.
The College has played a leading role in the development of adult education in the UK in its pioneering work in areas such as outreach community learning, trade union education and education for community regeneration. David Blunkett stated:
"the residential colleges hold a proud and distinguished place in the history of adult learning in this country"
The College is ready to move forward into a new and exciting future with a range of new and refurbished facilities, but its mission remains that of reaching adults from the most disadvantaged background and communities, providing them with the highest learning possible. As one learner said:
"what sets Northern College on its own is that it realises people's potential"
A Grade 1 College
The Northern College for Adult Residential Education has received a glowing report from the Adult Learning Inspectorate. The Northern College inspection took place between the 13-17 November 2006 and the report awarded the College six grade one's in all aspects of its work. The six areas inspected included leadership and management, Skills for Life and the short course programme, the humanities Diploma Programme, and overall effectiveness.
Tony Jowitt, Principal of Northern College at the time of the inspection, said:
"This is excellent news, which clearly justifies our standing as a Beacon College. To be recognised as a 'flagship of excellence' and then to have it confirmed by an excellent inspection report is testament to all the hard work put in by the staff and students at the College".
The College has managed to combine widening participation with continuation of improvements in the quality of its provision. It combines outreach work in the communities of South and West Yorkshire with strategic periods of residence.
Located in an eighteenth century castle and set in the only Grade 1 listed gardens in South Yorkshire, it offers a wide range of residential courses, lasting from 3 days to a full year at a variety of levels, for those taking the first tentative steps back into education to a higher education programme. The College is at the forefront of combating educational inequality and has been confirmed as a 'flagship of excellence' for the further education sector.
The College hosted a discrete celebration event on Friday the 12th January 2007 from 12.15pm - 1.15pm and invited MPs, MEPs, Council Leaders, colleagues and students from across Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.
For further information please contact:
Stephen Brunt
Business Development Unit Manager
Northern College
Barnsley,
S75 3ET
s.brunt@northern.ac.uk
01226 776000 x 6121
www.northern.ac.uk
