Telford College is a

further education college 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. It ...

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It operates from one main site and many in-company training sites and community-based courses spread out across

and the whole of the

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 ...

. During 2017 the college improved its Ofsted rating to Grade 3. Telford College of A&T May 2013

History

The college was founded in 1892 by Charles Walker as the Centre for Art and Science Classes and was originally based in

Oakengates Oakengates is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The towns parish population was recorded as 8,517 in the 2001 census. Etymology The name is not derived from "oak" or "gates" but is derived from the ...

, Shropshire. From 1913 until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was based in the former Coffee House and Recreation Centre in Market Street which was since demolished by the Telford Development Corporation. The college moved to a new site, built in 1926, down Hartsbridge Road becoming the ''Walker Technical College''. In the 1960s it opened a larger campus on Haybridge Road in Wellington which became the part of new town of

. On 1 January 1983 the college was renamed ''Telford College of Arts and Technology'' commonly abbreviated as ''TCAT'' (pronounced ). The Bridge Centre (literacy and numeracy department) opened in 1990 followed by a new Learning Resource Centre and the Haybridge Restaurant in 1997. On 12 November 2004 W Block (Charles Walker Building) Centre of Vocational Excellence was officially opened by Mr Michael Beasley CBE. On 31 October 2005 E Block and S Block (sports and hairdressing) were officially opened by

the Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...

. In 2006 it received very good grades after an

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 2008 the college celebrated the Queens Anniversary Award with a visit to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

to meet Queen Elizabeth and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

. On 16 October 2012 the Construction Centre, converted from the old sports hall, was officially opened by Tony Gray CEO of the Southwater Event Group. In May 2013 the Discovery and Oakdene Centres opened. In January 2014 the Orange Tree Restaurant, purchased by the college and converted from the Telford and Wrekin Council's Social Education Centre within the campus, opened for the teaching of catering courses and is open to the public once a week. In September 2014 the Automotive Engineering centre opened. The official opening was performed on 7 November 2014 by British touring car champion

Matt Neal Matthew Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champion having won the ...

. On 17 October 2015 the college's Willow Tree Centre was officially opened by Councillor Paul Watling, cabinet member for children, young people and families in the

Telford and Wrekin Council Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The district of Telford and Wrekin was grant ...

. In September 2017 the college merged with

New College, Telford New College Telford was a sixth form college situated in Wellington, an area within Telford, Shropshire, England. During December 2017 the merger between Telford College of Arts and Technology, and New College Telford, was officially certified b ...

forming Telford College unveiling the current logo beforehand. The college continued to use two existing campuses until September 2018, with New College keeping its separate identity until then, when all students were moved to the existing Haybridge Road campus with a further £2 million investment in a new facility.

Student numbers

It has over 16,000

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s: 1200 full-time, 15,000 part-time. Students at present include school leavers, individuals taking a second chance at education, employees of multi-national companies and overseas students.

Course provision

The college offers a wide range of vocational courses including

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

al, preparatory degree and tailor-made programmes. Since its merger with

New College Telford New College Telford was a sixth form college situated in Wellington, an area within Telford, Shropshire, England. During December 2017 the merger between Telford College of Arts and Technology, and New College Telford, was officially certified b ...

, it has offered 22 A-level qualifications and became the second largest A-level provider in Shropshire after

Shrewsbury Sixth Form College Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a post-secondary co-educational sixth-form college located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The college currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,650 students, generally ranging between ...

Gallery

File:TCATOakengatesMarch2010.jpg, The old Oakengates Site (now closed) on Hartsbridge Road in March 2010. The building has since been sold. File:Walker Institute building, Oakengates, November 2018.jpg, Old Oakengates site in 2018 following conversion into apartments.

References

External links

Telford College website

Telford College Superdome sports Website

Telford College Activ8 young persons 14-16yrs Website

Orange Tree at Telford College restaurant website
{{Authority control Education in Telford and Wrekin Further education colleges in Shropshire Learning and Skills Beacons Wellington, Shropshire