The College of West Anglia (often abbreviated to CoWA or CWA) is a four-campus

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 offerin ...

of further and higher education in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

and

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England. The college has three campuses, located in King's Lynn, Milton and

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

, as well as a sports campus at Alive Lynnsport in King's Lynn. The college has more than 10,000 students and 800 staff. The college is the result of mergers of smaller colleges. King's Lynn Technical School (founded in 1894), King's Lynn, Norfolk. A merger with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture to form the College of West Anglia in 1998. A merger with the Isle College, Wisbech (founded 1955),

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

, Cambridgeshire in 2006, retaining the College of West Anglia name.

Overview

The College of West Anglia educates over 10,000 full-time and part-time students each academic year, across a wide range of vocational and academic fields. In addition to full-time and part-time courses, the college also offers bespoke training for local businesses, apprenticeships and higher education courses, run in partnership with

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

. The college has around 800 members of staff working across the three main campuses, and its other premises. Under the previous Ofsted inspection criteria, the college was rated outstanding (grade 1) in 2007-2008. The most recent Ofsted inspection in 2013 ranks it as good (grade 2), making it one of the best performing colleges in the country under the new criteria.

Campuses

In 2009, building work commenced on the existing sites in King's Lynn, Milton and Wisbech at a cost of over £35 million. The work includes two new technology centres at King's Lynn and Wisbech, both of which opened in 2013, a renovation of the tower block at King's Lynn and redevelopment at the Milton campus, including a bespoke higher education area. In 2012, the college moved its sport provision to Lynnsport and Leisure Centre, in collaboration with King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough council. In association with Freebridge Community Housing and the Benjamin Foundation, the college's foundation studies is provision is located at separate premises in King's Lynn. The college received a £1.75m grant from the government in 2012 to develop a creative arts centre specialising in TV, film and performing arts at the King's Lynn campus. In the same year, the college also announced plans to begin a £10 million refurbishment project on its "Tower Block" building within the King's Lynn campus. The plan includes the replacement of all the windows within the building, re-cladding the exterior and building an extension to the ground floor for a new student restaurant and social area.

History

The college was founded in 1894 as the King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973 it was renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, commonly abbreviated to "Norcat". In 1998, Norcat merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture, which added a land-based provision in Cambridgeshire. The revised institution adopted the name, College of West Anglia. In April 2006, Isle College in

was added in a further merger, to form the current, enlarged College of West Anglia.

Principal

The college's principal is David Pomfret. Pomfret joined the college in 2005, having previously been principal of Boston College. He has a background in education and training, having worked as a lecturer in business studies. Pomfret represents the college on a wide variety of professional and educational boards within Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Notable alumni

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 1 ...

- racing driver and commentator * Barbara Parker - track and field athlete for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

* Dan Ashworth - professional footballer, FA director of elite development *

Dom Dwyer Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward. Born in England, he represented the United States national team. While in England, Dwyer represented, among other teams, Norwich City as a youth ...

- professional footballer, Sporting Kansas City *

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

- comedian and actor * Andy Hunt - former professional footballer *

Deaf Havana Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock band from Hunstanton and King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The band was formed in 2005 at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia. Biography Early days (2005–2008) Deaf Havana was formed ...

- alternative rock band * Samantha Chapman - make-up artist * Sarah Gillespie - Singer Songwriter

References

External links

The College of West Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:College Of West Anglia Further education colleges in Norfolk Educational institutions established in 1894 Learning and Skills Beacons King's Lynn 1894 establishments in England