Oaklands College is a
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
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 ...
in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It was established in 1991 when further education was reorganised.
The college has campuses in
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
and
Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...
, with a further provision in
Borehamwood
Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
. Over 10,000 students study at the college annually, studying full time, part time and
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
courses as well as
apprenticeships
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
.
History
![Oaklands College, St Albans - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Oaklands_College%2C_St_Albans_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1349001.jpg)
The site of the current St Albans Campus in
Smallford
Smallford is a village in the City and District of St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. It is sandwiched between Hatfield and St Albans. It was served by Smallford railway station on the Hatfield and St Albans Railway, now the Alban Way cyc ...
, including the historic Mansion House, was purchased by
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...
in 1920. The site opened a year later as the Hertfordshire County Council Agricultural Institute to provide full and part-time courses for home and overseas students. The college was founded by John Hunter Smith, who also served as its first principal. In February 1926, a fire broke out in the roof of the Mansion House, resulting in the gabled roof being replaced by the flat roof which exists today. The college later became known as the Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture.
In the 1930s, a rugby football team was established by the college. The
Museum of English Rural Life
The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as The MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Red ...
has a collection of dairying equipment for processing milk and making cheese used at the college, plus account books covering the 1930s to 1960s. In the 1950s, the college's offering was expanded to include courses such as the arts and construction trades.
On 1 April 1991, Oaklands was officially established by the merger of Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, De Havilland College in Welwyn Garden City and St Albans City College, when further education in Hertfordshire was reorganised and the three sites became campuses of the newly established Oaklands. Oaklands retained all three sites following the merger, with the De Havilland Campus later being renamed the Welwyn Garden City Campus. It also acquired a small site in
Harpenden
Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...
which has since closed. In December 2002, a fire broke out at the St Albans City Campus; the site was later closed in the mid-2000s. The area is now occupied by housing near the city centre. With the closure of this site, the college moved all course offerings to the current St Albans Campus in Smallford and the Welwyn Garden City Campus.
Courses
The college offers a wide range of BTEC courses covering different sector subject areas including art, beauty, business, construction, equine studies, engineering, health and social care, hospitality and catering, public services, IT, agriculture, media, performing arts, science, maths and sport. Oaklands also offers apprenticeships as well as a range of A Level subjects. The college has 14 to 19 and 16 to 19-year-old consortium arrangements with local secondary schools in Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and St Albans.
The college is well respected with regards to its land-based provision, these include horticulture, greenkeeping, equine studies and animal management. Oaklands also provides a wide range of part-time courses as part of its adult community learning programme.
Oaklands College also offers tertiary qualifications such as foundation degrees,
HNDs and
HNCs, which are run in partnership with the
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...
. Foundation degree students can progress onto a BA or BSc qualification at university.
The college also has its own sports academies,
Oaklands Wolves
The Oaklands Wolves are an English sports club and academy based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Based at Oaklands College, the basketball academy has an official team which competes professionally in the National Basketball League and Women's Brit ...
. It offers sports such as athletics, basketball and rugby which can be joined by students enrolled on a full-time course. In 2019, it was announced that Oaklands would be working with
Arsenal F.C. to offer a new football academy for female students aged 16–19.
Campuses and facilities
Oaklands College is primarily based on two campuses, St Albans and Welwyn Garden City. It also owns a third site in Borehamwood. All sites are based in Hertfordshire.
St Albans Campus
![St Albans HC at Oaklands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/St_Albans_HC_at_Oaklands.jpg)
The historic Mansion House remains at the St Albans Campus, dating back to the 19th century. The campus also houses a large sports centre, equipped with a gym, multi-purpose sports hall and astro pitches, which opened in 2013 as part of the Discovery Centre building. The Stables Restaurant, a student-run restaurant is also based at the St Albans Campus which is open to the public.
In November 2017, the college gained permission for a multi-million-pound redevelopment of the St Albans Campus. The new build will consist of new student accommodation, administration areas, teaching centres, workshops and a sports pavilion. The development began in 2018, and will continue over a period of five years comprising four phases.
A cordoned-off area of derelict greenhouses was demolished in 2018 to make way for the new student residential block, for which construction started later that year. It was officially opened in 2020, providing student accommodation for around 80 students. Some student residential houses were demolished in late-2019 to make way for a large teaching block, which opened to students in November 2021.
Welwyn Garden City Campus
The Welwyn Garden City Campus is located in a central location near the town centre. The college's Engineering Resource Centre at the Welwyn Garden City Campus was officially opened in 2015, featuring new engineering workshops and welding facilities. The Welwyn-based Oasis Salon opened in 2010; this is run by hair and beauty students and is open to the public to book treatments.
Borehamwood
In 2019 the college opened its doors to the new Borehamwood site, offering courses such as construction, business, English as a second language and many part-time and evening courses.
Organisation and administration
The college corporation oversees all aspects of the college and is responsible for appointing the principal. The principal oversees its day-to-day running. The current corporation chair is Peter Thompson. Andrew Slade is the tenth and current principal of Oaklands College, having assumed office on 1 September 2021.
The following people have served in a permanent role as principal of Oaklands College, or its predecessor, Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture. The incumbent is shown in bold.
* John Hunter Smith (1921–50)
* Rowland Line (1950–55)
* Eric Pelham (1955–79)
* Richard Blossom (1979–91)
* Keith Gardner (1991–97)
* Liz Cristofoli (1997-2001)
* Helen Parr (2001–04)
* Mark Dawe (2005–10)
* Zoe Hancock (2011–21)
* Andrew Slade (2021-)
Notable alumni
Oaklands has been associated with a range of notable alumni and staff in a number of disciplines.
*
Olivia Breen
Olivia "Livvy" Breen (born 26 July 1996) is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m a ...
*
Joel Kpoku
Joel Awanka S. Kpoku (born 22 June 1999) is an English-born Congolese rugby union lock for Lyon in the French Top 14
Kpoku began playing rugby at school and joined rugby league side London Skolars at 12 years old. He then joined Saracens Amate ...
*
Ben Lawson
*
Maria Lyle
*
Daryll Neita
Daryll Neita (born 29 August 1996) is a British sprinter. In 2022, she won her first individual international medals, with bronze in the 100 metres at both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Neita claimed bronze for the 60 metr ...
*
Jack Singleton
Jack Singleton (born 14 May 1996) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at hooker for Premiership Rugby club Gloucester.
Club career
Singleton came through the Saracens Academy prior to joining Worcester Warriors in 2014. In O ...
*
Jordan Thomas
*
Alan Titchmarsh
References
External links
Oaklands College Website
{{authority control
Further education colleges in Hertfordshire
Educational institutions established in 1991
1991 establishments in England