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Birmingham Metropolitan College is a
further Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus * Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * Furthur (band), a band formed in 2009 by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh * ''Further'' (The Chemical Brothers a ...
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 ...
college with 10 campuses distributed within
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England. The college was created in 2009 as an amalgamation of Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College. The main site is Matthew Boulton College based at Jennens Road in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
City Centre. In addition to the existing campuses and facilities, there are proposals for the construction of a new campus in
Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khali ...
, although these plans are currently on hold due to funding issues. The college is a member of the
Collab Group Collab Group is a membership organisation representing a network of 29 colleges and college groups of further education in the United Kingdom. Collab Group offers services to both public and private sector clients. They work with their members to ...
of high performing schools.


History


Matthew Boulton College

The origins of Matthew Boulton College are related to the Municipal Technical School, which was located on Suffolk Street in Birmingham. Construction commenced on the college on 18 November 1893 and it was opened on 16 September 1895. The purpose-built premises were used by 34 staff and approximately 2,000 students. The classes available were
Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Metallurgy,
Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
Handicrafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
and Typography and Drawing. By the mid-1930s, a new site had been acquired in
Gosta Green Gosta Green is an area in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies at the edge of the city centre, northeast of Birmingham New Street station. University Gosta Green is the home of the Aston University campus. The campus is also adjacent to ...
and another college called the College of Technology, Commerce and Art was constructed, although construction was delayed by World War II. The Gosta Green site became the UK's first College of Advanced Technology (CAT), later
Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
, receiving its royal charter in 1966. In 1957, it was decided to rename the separate Suffolk Street building and in November 1957, it became the Matthew Boulton Technical College, named after
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engine ...
, a prominent local industrialist of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. During the 1950s and 1960s, a new college was constructed on Sherlock Street and the courses were moved there in a phased approach throughout the 1960s. By the late 1990s, these premises had become unfit for purpose and it was deemed uneconomic to refurbish them, so Matthew Boulton College sought a new location on Jennens Road in the Eastside area of the city in late 1999 close to the
Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
Campus. The site was purchased by the college from
Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
in 2003 and a three-month demolition programme on the site commenced in September 2003. Construction started in January 2004 and was completed by July 2005 to allow the building to be opened to students for the new academic year in September 2005. The project cost £37.9 million, £13.2 million was given by the Birmingham and Solihull
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...
, the largest awarded in the Midlands and the second largest in the country to a college of further and higher education. Construction cost approximately £23 million. Bond Bryan Architects were commissioned to design the scheme while Davis Langdon were appointed to manage the construction and costs of the project. The Sherlock Street buildings were purchased by the regional development agency
Advantage West Midlands Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a bus ...
and were demolished in late 2008.


Sutton Coldfield College

Sutton Coldfield College originated in 1896 as a technical school, then expanded in 1964 as a further education college. Preparations for the further education college began in the 1950s when its purpose-built facilities at Lichfield Road were constructed. In 2003, plans were submitted to the Government for North Birmingham College, formerly Brooklyn Technical College, to be merged with Sutton Coldfield College. The plans were laid before Parliament on 19 May 2003 and subsequently approved by
Margaret Hodge Dame Margaret Eve Hodge, Lady Hodge, (née Oppenheimer, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking since 1994. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as ...
. North Birmingham College was then dissolved with all of its property being transferred to Sutton Coldfield College on 1 August 2003, with the college buildings becoming the
Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Bir ...
campus (It is now known as BMC's 'James Watt Campus'). In 2006, plans were put before Parliament for the merger of Josiah Mason Sixth Form College and Sutton Coldfield College. They were approved by the Secretary of State and Josiah Mason College was dissolved on 1 August 2006, with its properties being transferred to Sutton Coldfield College. A new Sixth Form Centre, designed by SMC Hickton Madeley Architects, at the Lichfield Road campus was completed in 2001. Also recently completed is an Amenities Building and a new entrance to the Design Centre. The 1950s buildings at the Lichfield Road campus underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2008 which also saw the partial demolition of the Student Services building which was then reconstructed to become the Business Development Centre.


Merger

In 2008, Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College collaborated in providing courses. In the same year, they applied to the Government to allow the two colleges to merge, and also applied for funding from the
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...
for the construction of a new £42 million campus on a former dairy site alongside the River Tame, in
Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khali ...
, named the Riverside. To allow the merger of the two colleges, Matthew Boulton College was dissolved and all of its properties transferred to Sutton Coldfield College. The merger to create 'Birmingham Metropolitan College' was approved by the Secretary of State in June 2009 and came into effect from 1 August 2009. Upon the merger, the new college had a combined student population of 27,000, making it one of the largest further and higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Before the 2013–2014 academic year, the college prohibited garments obscuring the face, for which it was congratulated by the Prime Minister,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
.


Campuses

Birmingham Metropolitan College manages eight campuses within Birmingham, most of them the result of previous college mergers. The main site is Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham City Centre. Sutton Coldfield College at Lichfield Road in Sutton Coldfield is home to the college's administrative offices, a
sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
and further education facilities. The buildings were mostly constructed in the 1950s as purpose-built structure although the college also obtained the
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
Moat House which was built in the 17th century by Sir William Wilson. They also obtained the Old Art School, further up Lichfield Road adjacent to
Bishop Vesey's Grammar School Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (BVGS) is a selective state grammar school with academy status in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. Founded in 1527, it is one of the oldest schools in Britain, the oldest state school in the West Midlands and th ...
, which is now being used as a performing arts centre. On Sutton Coldfield High Street is the college's Media Centre which is based within the Emmanuel Court office complex. The college has a separate campus in The Mall Sutton Coldfield, also known as the Gracechurch Shopping Centre, in Sutton Coldfield town centre that serves as the college's IT campus. Another campus in Sutton Coldfield is the Design Centre, a specially converted building on the periphery of Sutton Coldfield town centre. There are two campuses in the
Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...
area of north Birmingham; Slade Road and Mason Road. The Slade Road campus was originally occupied by Josiah Mason College until it merged with Sutton Coldfield College. Josiah Mason College also occupied another campus in
Castle Vale Castle Vale is a housing estate located between Erdington, Minworth and Castle Bromwich. Currently Castle Vale makes up the Castle Vale Ward of Birmingham City Council which is part of Erdington constituency (having previously been part of Hod ...
that is now occupied by Birmingham Metropolitan College. The Castle Vale campus was completed as part of the C3 complex on the High Street in December 2005 at a cost of £3.7 million and shares the building with Castle Vale Library. The building was designed by
Associated Architects Associated Architects' Birmingham Offices are located in The Mailbox, which was designed by the practice RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson Library Associated Architects is a leadinAJ100 architectural firm with offices in Birmingham and Le ...
and was officially opened on 6 March 2006. The building received funding from the council,
European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
and the
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...
. There are 27 public computer terminals and an additional 60 study places in the building. The distinctive building features a curved double-height corner feature, topped by a sharp Tecu Bronze-clad apex. The other campus, ''James Watt Campus'', located in north Birmingham is the
Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Bir ...
facility that was formerly North Birmingham College, and before that Brooklyn Technical College. Matthew Boulton campus, formerly the main Matthew Boulton College building, serves as the second largest campus for Birmingham Metropolitan College. The nine-storey building is located on Jennens Road in the Eastside district of
Birmingham City Centre Birmingham City Centre, also known as Central Birmingham and often known locally as town, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area wi ...
, adjacent to
Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
.


Riverside campus

Plans for a new campus for Sutton Coldfield College in the
Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khali ...
area of Birmingham came to light in 2005. The site chosen was the former Express and Avonmore Dairy complex on Aldridge Road and the initial plans included the construction of a four-storey building, which received approval from Birmingham City Council in November 2005. The services offered at the Great Barr and Mason Road campuses were to be consolidated into the single campus at Aldridge Road. The sale of the campuses would fund the construction and plans were put forward for the construction of 89 houses and 31 flats of two and three storeys on the Great Barr campus site. The merger of Josiah Mason College and Sutton Coldfield College led to the plans being put on hold in 2006. Work towards the start of construction of the campus were due to commence in 2007 following the appointment of Christine Braddock as college principal from Matthew Boulton College. However, the college decided to change the plans following the merger so that the services at the Josiah Mason campus and Castle Vale campus could be incorporated onto the site. Tendering for a contractor commenced in March 2008. The new designs by Nicholas Hare Architects LLP for the campus were unveiled in mid-2008 and the project progressed with appointment of various companies to help manage the project. In August 2008, Concept were appointed as project managers while BAM Construction were appointed to construct the scheme and BAM Design were appointed as structural engineers. and the planning application was submitted on 16 October 2008. The planning application was approved by the city council on 18 December 2008. The approved designs included a six-storey building with of space on the site. The scheme is estimated to cost £44 million. It was believed that construction would commence in April 2009 with completion due for the start of the new academic year in September 2010. Construction of the campus was reliant on the college being able to obtain a £21 million grant from the Learning and Skills Council. However, in early 2009, the Learning and Skills Council announced that they were putting a freeze on capital programmes due to a lack of funds. LSC then announced that they would launch a cost-cutting programme. There were worries that the Riverside scheme could be classed as a "rebuild" by LSC, who had announced that a small number of "rebuild" projects would receive full funding. In July 2009, Sutton Coldfield College learned that it was not one of the thirteen shortlisted colleges to receive funding, placing the Riverside project in jeopardy as the college would only be able to apply for funding next in 2011.


Stourbridge campus

Stourbridge College was formed in 1958 as the Foley College of Further Education and College of Art, through the merger of the Stourbridge College of Art (founded in 1848) and the Stourbridge Technical School (founded in 1891). It was renamed Stourbridge College of Technology and Art in 1979. The college became a further education corporation in 1992, after the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been ...
. The college merged with BMET in 2013. The main campus, built during the 1970s, is situated south of Stourbridge Town Centre. A second campus opened in 1990 within the buildings of the former
Longlands School This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. For details of currently operating schools in the area, please see: '' List of schools in Dudley''. The Blue Coat School Cradley High ...
, after the school had closed to merge with
High Park School This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. For details of currently operating schools in the area, please see: '' List of schools in Dudley''. The Blue Coat School Cradley High ...
to form the Ridgewood High School. A third campus opened in 2001 at the Merry Hill Waterfront, some four miles away in
Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a pop ...
. An additional Brierley Hill campus opened in September 2011, housing a new Art and Design centre, with a new technology centre currently being planned for the same site. Stourbridge College was closed down in 2019, leading to a call for enquiry from Stourbridge's MP, Margot James, alongside students being transferred to nearby
Dudley College Dudley College of Technology is a further and higher education college based in Dudley, England. The college's history dates to 1862, when the Dudley Public Hall and Mechanics Institute was first built. Since that date the college has continued ...
and
Halesowen College Halesowen College is a further and higher education college in Whittingham Road, Halesowen, West Midlands. It was established in 1982 as a tertiary college. The college also has a Business Centre about a mile away at Coombswood that opened in Se ...
, although many students chose not to - many citing issues with travel time and cost.


Alumni

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Scott Adkins Scott Edward Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is a British actor, film producer, screenwriter, gymnast, and martial artist. He is best known for his role as the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the ''Undisputed franchise''. He has played Yuri Boy ...
† *
David Benson David Benson (born David Hodgson on 11 January 1962) is an English theatre actor, writer and comedian. He was born in Oxford, England, and has a twin sister, Miranda, and an older brother, Jonathan. Educated at Park Hall Secondary Modern in C ...
† *
Ashley Blake Ashley Blake (born 1969 in Lozells, Birmingham, England) is a British former television presenter and newsreader. A well-known personality in the English Midlands, he worked mostly for the BBC, where his credits include reporting and presenting ...
*
Frederick Carder Frederick Carder (September 18, 1863 – December 10, 1963) was a glassmaker, glass designer, and glass artist who was active in the glass industry in both England and the United States, notably for Stevens & Williams and Steuben, respective ...
‡ *
Gideon London Gideon "Gid" London (1961–2010) was a British artist. Early years London was born on 18 March 1961 in Hampstead, London. He studied fine art at Stourbridge College. Career He was a successful film maker and collage artist, in addition to be ...
‡ *
Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...
* *
David Reekie David Reekie is an eminent English glass sculptor who uses drawing and glass casting to express his unique vision of the human condition. His art can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsbur ...
‡ * Mike Skinner * Samantha Tross*Blog citing Caribbean Britain: The Cultural and Biographical Directory
Marjorie H. Morgan, Historical Geographies
*
Ian Walters Ian Homer Walters (9 April 1930 – 6 August 2006) was an English sculptor. Biography Born in Solihull, Walters was educated at Yardley Grammar school and under William Bloye at the Birmingham School of Art. After National Service in the Royal ...
‡ *
Neville Weston Neville Weston (1936–2017) was a figurative painter, academic and writer. Based in Australia for many years, before relocating to the UK in 2005 he held a number of Australia's top academic posts in the field of performing and visual arts, as ...
* - Matthew Boulton College † - Sutton Coldfield College ‡ - Stourbridge College


See also

*
Education in Birmingham This article is about education in Birmingham, England. Primary and secondary education State schools As in the rest of England and Wales, education is compulsory in Birmingham between the ages of 5 and 16. The majority of children are educated ...


References


External links


Birmingham Metropolitan College
{{Coord, 52, 34, 3, N, 1, 49, 18, W, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Sutton Coldfield Further education colleges in the Collab Group Further education colleges in Birmingham, West Midlands Educational institutions established in 2009 2009 establishments in England