City of Wolverhampton 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. It ...

college located in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, West Midlands,

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 ...

History

The college was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community College in

Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...

. Upon this merger, it was initially known as Wolverhampton College, but in the aftermath of Wolverhampton gaining city status in December 2000, it adopted its current title. A campus has since opened on Wellington Road in Bilston, replacing the old Bilston Community College buildings nearby which had originally been the buildings of Bilston Girls High School. The college offers courses to students from Wolverhampton and the surrounding area. Courses offered include

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 The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

s, BTECs,

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

s and

Access course The Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is a U.K. qualification which prepares students — usually 19+ — for study as an undergraduate at university. The diploma is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who ...

s. In addition, the college offers some

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 compl ...

courses in conjunction with the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mech ...

Campuses

* Wellington Road Campus, Wellington Road, Bilston () * Paget Road Campus, Paget Road, Wolverhampton () * Metro One Campus, Bilston Street, Wolverhampton () * Telford Campus, Stafford Park 4, Telford, Shropshire () It's intended that the Paget Road site will close in due course with students transferring to an expanded Metro One Campus. Worcester Campus previously located 9-11 Copenhagen Street, Worcester, WR1 2HB, is no longer listed.

Notable students

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series ''The X Factor''. After being ...

, X Factor finalist and member of boyband

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

. Payne studied Music Technology at the college. * Sam Gumbley, known professionally as S-X, producer and singer. Gumbley studied Music Technology at the college. *

Garry Crawford Garry Crawford is a British sociologist. His interests in fans, audiences, and consumption have led Garry Crawford to publish on a wide range of subjects including cultural studies, cosplay, gender, leisure, classical music, and, most notabl ...

, Professor of Sociology and author,

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

* Lesley Whittle was a student at the college when, in 1975, she was kidnapped and murdered by

Donald Neilson Donald Neilson (born Donald Nappey; 1 August 1936 – 18 December 2011), alias the “Black Panther,” was a British armed robber, kidnapper, and multiple murderer. From 1971, he committed a series of robberies of sub-post offices; in 197 ...

. This was one of the most notorious crimes of the 1970s.

References

External links

City of Wolverhampton College homepage
Further education colleges in the West Midlands (county) Education in Wolverhampton Educational institutions established in 1962 1962 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1999 1999 establishments in England {{WestMidlands-school-stub