New College is a further and higher education institution in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, Wiltshire, England. There are two main campuses, Queens Drive and North Star, as well as an Adult Learning Centre in Swindon town centre. The college offers qualifications for all ages:

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

T Level T Levels are technical-based qualifications in England, developed in collaboration with employers and businesses, with content that meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training, or study. T Levels are two-year cou ...

s, vocational qualifications,

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and degree-level courses.

History

In August 2020, New College merged with Swindon College. Leah Palmer was appointed interim principal and chief executive at the start of the 2023–2024 academic year, replacing Carole Kitching, who held those roles since 2018.

Sites

Queens Drive campus

The Queens Drive campus is just outside the town centre, near Coate Water Country Park. Facilities include: * The Phoenix Theatre. * Studios for art and design; photography studio with darkroom. It also has a recording studio with hardware and sequencing software. * Two dance studios and Sports Centre with a sports hall, fitness suite and exercise studio. * Over 1500 computers, including tablets, Apple computers, Windows PCs and

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. The STEM facilities include nine science labs.

North Star campus

Formerly the site of Swindon College, the North Star campus is in the centre of Swindon near the railway station. Facilities include: * Wellbeing Centre and a Learning Development Centre; some training workshops for automotive, engineering and construction. * Gym and a construction centre with an outdoor, simulated construction site * Bespoke facilities for animal care * The Academy, a commercial hair and beauty salon * A training restaurant, coffee shop and specialist teaching kitchens

Courses

New College has almost 40

A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

subjects – including options such as Ceramics, History (Tudors & Stuarts), Archaeology and Environmental Sciences – and a selection of vocational courses including Construction, Engineering, Hospitality & Catering, Hair & Beauty, Health Care, etc. College also offers numerous programs at Levels 1 and 2 as well as part-time qualification, leisure courses, and professional training for adults. New College runs a football academy where students train and play, typically alongside an academic course. Until 2020, they fielded

New College Swindon F.C. New College Swindon Football Club was a football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Part of New College, Swindon, they played until the summer of 2020 in the Hellenic League at the Supermarine RFC ground in South Marston. History The ...

(previously New College Academy F.C.). The college also offers a basketball academy and a netball academy.

Partnerships

New College Swindon has formed partnerships with the

University of Gloucestershire The University of Gloucestershire is a public university based in Gloucestershire, England. It is located over five campuses, three in Cheltenham and two in Gloucester. The university is the successor of a large number of merged, name-changed ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

and

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshi ...

to offer foundation degrees and degrees.

Notable alumni

* Shelley Rudman – skeleton bob world champion and Olympic medallist * Laura Halford – British champion in rhythmic gymnastics * Debbie Palmer – speed skating and ice hockey *

Jaime King Jaime Barbara King (born April 23, 1979) is an American actress and model best known for her roles in TV series '' Hart of Dixie'' (2011–2015) and ''Black Summer'' (2019–2021), and films such as ''Pearl Harbor'' (2001), ''Slackers'' (200 ...

– swimming * Jon Lewis – cricket * Matt O'Dowd – athletics * Louise Hunt – wheelchair tennis * Anna Mayes – former

England national netball team The England national netball team, also known as the Vitality Roses, represent England Netball in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Quad Series, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the ...

head coach

Achievements

New College was assessed as 'good' when last visited by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

in November 2017. *A Level pass rate of 98%, with over 41% of grades at A*, A or B (Summer 2019) * Number one for College Achievement rates amongst local colleges * The top performing state school/college for Level progress in Swindon and Cirencester (January 2020 performance tables)

References

{{Authority control Education in Swindon Educational institutions established in 1983 Further education colleges in Wiltshire Higher education colleges in England 1983 establishments in England