The College of West Anglia (often abbreviated to CoWA or CWA) is a four-campus
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
of further and higher education in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
and
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, England. The college has three campuses, located in
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
,
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
and
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, as well as a sports campus at Alive Lynnsport in King's Lynn. The college has more than 10,000 students and 800 staff.
The college is the result of mergers of smaller colleges. King's Lynn Technical School (founded in 1894),
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
, Norfolk. A merger with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture to form the College of West Anglia in 1998. A merger with the
Isle College, Wisbech
The Isle College, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, opened in 1956 as the Isle of Ely Further Education College and Horticultural Institute. In 1983, it became a tertiary education college. In 1987, its horticultural institute separated to become part of t ...
(founded 1955),
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county.
Etymology
Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that ...
, Cambridgeshire in 2006, retaining the College of West Anglia name.
Overview
The College of West Anglia educates over 10,000 full-time and part-time students each academic year, across a wide range of vocational and academic fields. In addition to full-time and part-time courses, the college also offers bespoke training for local businesses, apprenticeships and higher education courses, run in partnership with
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
. The college has around 800 members of staff working across the three main campuses, and its other premises.
Under the previous
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
inspection criteria, the college was rated outstanding (grade 1) in 2007-2008. The most recent
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
inspection in 2013 ranks it as good (grade 2), making it one of the best performing colleges in the country under the new criteria.
Campuses
In 2009, building work commenced on the existing sites in King's Lynn, Milton and Wisbech at a cost of over £35 million. The work includes two new technology centres at King's Lynn and Wisbech, both of which opened in 2013, a renovation of the tower block at King's Lynn and redevelopment at the Milton campus, including a bespoke higher education area.
In 2012, the college moved its sport provision to Lynnsport and Leisure Centre, in collaboration with
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 147,451.
History
The district was ...
borough council. In association with Freebridge Community Housing and the Benjamin Foundation, the college's foundation studies is provision is located at separate premises in King's Lynn. The college received a £1.75m grant from the government in 2012 to develop a creative arts centre specialising in TV, film and performing arts at the King's Lynn campus.
In the same year, the college also announced plans to begin a £10 million refurbishment project on its "Tower Block" building within the King's Lynn campus. The plan includes the replacement of all the windows within the building, re-cladding the exterior and building an extension to the ground floor for a new student restaurant and social area.
History
![Norcat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Norcat.jpg)
The college was founded in 1894 as the King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973 it was renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, commonly abbreviated to "Norcat". In 1998, Norcat merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture, which added a land-based provision in Cambridgeshire. The revised institution adopted the name, College of West Anglia. In April 2006, Isle College in
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
was added in a further merger, to form the current, enlarged College of West Anglia.
Principal
The college's principal is David Pomfret. Pomfret joined the college in 2005, having previously been principal of
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
. He has a background in education and training, having worked as a lecturer in business studies. Pomfret represents the college on a wide variety of professional and educational boards within Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Notable alumni
*
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012.
Brundle contested the 19 ...
- racing driver and commentator
*
Barbara Parker - track and field athlete for
Team GB
Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...
*
Dan Ashworth
Dan Ashworth (born 6 March 1971) is an English football director. Currently he is working as sporting director for Premier League club Newcastle United, previously he worked as technical director for West Bromwich Albion and Brighton and Hove ...
- professional footballer, FA director of elite development
*
Dom Dwyer
Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward. Born in England, he represented the United States national team.
While in England, Dwyer represented, among other teams, Norwich City as a youth ...
- professional footballer,
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
*
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
- comedian and actor
*
Andy Hunt - former professional footballer
*
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock band from Hunstanton and King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The band was formed in 2005 at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia.
Biography Early days (2005–2008)
Deaf Havana was forme ...
- alternative rock band
*
Samantha Chapman
Samantha Chapman (born 23 August 1977) is an English makeup artist based in London and Norwich. Sam is married to Welsh director, Ryan Andrews.
Background
Chapman attended the College of West Anglia, taking a two-year BTEC in Make-up and H ...
- make-up artist
*
Sarah Gillespie
Sarah Gillespie is a critically acclaimed British American singer songwriter, lyricist, writer anproducerbased in London. She has four albums, known for combining poetic lyrics with folk, blues and elements of jazz. Her debut collection of poet ...
- Singer Songwriter
References
External links
The College of West Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:College Of West Anglia
Further education colleges in Norfolk
Educational institutions established in 1894
Learning and Skills Beacons
King's Lynn
1894 establishments in England