Runshaw College is a further and higher education college based at three centres in Leyland and

Chorley, Lancashire Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pri ...

, England.

History

Runshaw College was established in 1974. It initially catered solely for school leavers from Balshaw's High School in Leyland, and Parklands High School in Chorley. In 1983 it became a

tertiary college In England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both youngsters and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...

following a reorganisation by Lancashire's education authority.

Locations

Its main campus, in Leyland, is a sixth form college catering for students aged 16–19. The Euxton Lane, Chorley, campus is the centre for adult and higher education. The site also hosts the Runshaw Business Centre, meeting the needs of local small and medium-sized enterprises; and Runshaw Training, offering apprenticeships and vocational training.

Leyland Campus

The Leyland Campus has 12 buildings plus a student services center, three sports courts and a public restaurant alongside the numerous student restaurants. Runshaw's buildings are named after areas of the Lake District. There are currently 10 educational buildings and two student services and study buildings. Dalehead is also the home to the Foxholes restaurant, which closed in 2018 due to budget cuts.

Chorley Campus

The Chorley Campus is located on Euxton Lane, Chorley and is home to many of the Apprenticeships and Adult Education courses.

Notable students

David Unsworth David Gerald Unsworth (born 16 October 1973) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Oldham Athletic. Prior to this, he was most recently academy director and under-23's head coach at Pre ...

, footballer *

Graeme Ballard Graeme Robert Ballard (born 16 June 1979) is an English Paralympian athlete with cerebral palsy, who competes mainly in category T36 sprint events. Graeme was born in Manchester. He competed in both the T36 100m and 200m in the 2004 Summer Para ...

, Paralympian athlete *

Holly Bradshaw Holly Bethan Bradshaw (née Bleasdale, born 2 November 1991) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She is the current British record holder in the event indoors and outdoors, with clearances of 4.87 metres (201 ...

, pole vaulter *

Derek Draper Derek William Draper (born 15 August 1967) is an English former lobbyist. As a political advisor he was involved in two political scandals, "Lobbygate" in 1998, and again in 2009 while Draper was editor of the LabourList website. He has worked ...

, New Labour spin doctor * John Thomson, actor and comedian *

Joe Gilgun Joseph William Gilgun (born 9 March 1984) is an English actor known for several roles, including that of Vinnie O'Neill in the Sky One series '' Brassic'', Marcus in Hollyoaks, Eli Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Jamie Armstrong ...

, actor *

Kevin Simm Kevin Ian Simm (born 5 September 1980) is an English pop singer. He won ''The Voice UK'' on 9 April 2016. Simm was in the group Liberty X from 2001 until their split in 2007, and is currently the lead singer of the group Wet Wet Wet. Early lif ...

and

Jessica Taylor Jessica Pietersen (; born 23 June 1980) is a British singer, television personality and dancer who was a member of the pop group Liberty X. Personal life As a teenager she was a member of the Preston Musical Comedy Society and played the title ...

, singers with

Liberty X Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British-Irish group originally consisting of Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group was formed by the five finalists of the 2001 ITV talent show ''Popstars' ...

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...

, songwriter was lead singer of

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countries in ...

Melissa-Jane Daniel Melissa-Jane Daniel (born 19 August 1988) is a British archer who is currently studying a degree in Sociology at The University of Nottingham. Daniel, born in Preston, Lancashire, is a member of the Bowmen of Skelmersdale and has been a partici ...

, archery world record-holder * Michael Jennings, former British champion welterweight boxer *

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked ...

, MP for

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and former leader of the Liberal Democrats * Rachel McCarthy, scientist, poet and broadcaster * Tom Cahill, footballer * Tom Smith, England national cricketer * Samantha Robinson, actress *

Amanda Roocroft Amanda Jane Roocroft (born 9 February 1966) is an English operatic soprano, who in the course of her career has sung leading roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. She is also a voice professor at London's Royal College of Music ...

, opera singer *

Dave Ryding David Ryding (born 5 December 1986) is an English World Cup alpine ski racer who specialises in slalom. Widely considered to be the greatest British skier of all time, he has competed for Great Britain in four Olympics, seven World Championshi ...

, alpine ski racer * Steve Pemberton, actor, writer and comedian *

Liv Cooke Liv Cooke (born 20 April 1999) is a British freestyle football world champion, and current six-time world record holder. She was also a BBC Sport presenter on the prime-time show ' MOTDx' and UEFA ambassador, who has previously been awarded the P ...

, professional football freestyler *

Monty Lord Montgomery Lord (born 2005) is a British author, mnemonist, and researcher. Lord has been described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as a "something of a polymath". He holds five Guinness World Records for memory challenges. Early life and education ...

, British author

References

External links

Runshaw College official website
{{Authority control Education in the Borough of Chorley Education in South Ribble Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley Buildings and structures in South Ribble Further education colleges in Lancashire Learning and Skills Beacons Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Leyland, Lancashire