Wirral Met College is a Further and Higher Education College situated on the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to ...

, in the north-west of England.

Overview

Wirral Met is the largest provider of post 16 learning on the Wirral and is divided into five career-based Campuses: * Twelve Quays,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

* Wirral Waters,

* Conway Park,

* The Oval,

Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. ...

* Hamilton Campus The college has invested £29m in refurbishing and building the campuses, including new facilities at the Oval campus, where it supports delivery of Public Services, Sports and Outdoor Education. The campuses at Conway Park and Twelve Quays in the centre of Birkenhead have been refurbished and they support a whole range of vocational education from entry level to higher education. The campus completed at Tower Road in Birkenhead, opened in September 2015, the

Wirral Waters Wirral Waters is a large scale £4.5bn development currently being built by the Peel Group for Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is the sister programme of the Liverpool Waters project. Since 2012 the two projects have enjoyed ...

campus, of approximately , provides courses focusing on construction. Wirral Metropolitan College, Conway Park

Hamilton Campus was opened in September 2021 as the University Campus also housing Trade Union Education.

Profile

Wirral Met College, located in the north-west of England, is a state-funded educational institute of further and higher education. It operates through three main campuses in Wirral, two of which are situated in Birkenhead. Its Twelve Quays Campus, which opened in September 2003, offers recreational facilities for students and comprises a state of the art Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Media STEAM Centre, library facilities, study zone, animal care suite, science labs, media and photography studios and art studios. Further education at Wirral Met College is designed to prepare students for university education or enable them to acquire necessary skills in their chosen areas, such as engineering, accounting, business, and tourism. Additionally, the college also offers a wide range of English language course for students outside the UK, particularly those, who do not have it as their first language. The college has partnerships with the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancell ...

, the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, and the University of Central Lancashire. The current Principal and Chief Executive is Sue Higginson, who started her role as Principal in September 2012, having worked at Wirral Metropolitan College previously.

History

The college's roots go back to 1855 when Birkenhead Arts School was launched. In the 1970s it merged with Birkenhead College of Technology on Borough Road, Carlett Park College and Withens Lane College in

Liscard Liscard is an area of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The most centrally located of Wallasey's townships, it is the main shopping area of the town, with many shops located in the Cherry Tree Sh ...

, which all originated in the 1950s. Wirral Met College was formed in 1982 when all the further education colleges in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, ...

were amalgamated. The Glenda Jackson Theatre, on the Borough Road campus of the college in Birkenhead, opened in 1983. It closed in 2003, and was demolished by

Wirral Council Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, or simply Wirral Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Merseyside and one of 36 in the metropolit ...

, to make way for a new housing estate, in 2004.

Statistics

The college has 10,000 students with over 2,000 16- to 18-year-olds and 8,000 adults studying full and part-time. c300 students study degree and professional qualifications and the college provides a range of access courses for adults who need to prepare for university level study.

Notable students

* Phil Davies, leader of

Christian Furr Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England) is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II. Education Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He lat ...

, artist *

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady MBE DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, very popular in ...

, TV personality * Tom Palin, artist * Ray Stubbs, sports broadcaster *

Pete Price Peter Lawrence Price (the Lizard) (born 04 February 1946) is a British radio presenter best known for his work in Liverpool. He hosted the Sunday night talk radio show ''Pete Price: Unzipped'', which was broadcast across Liverpool sister stat ...

, broadcaster

References

{{Coord, 53.3929, -3.0216, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Education in Birkenhead Educational institutions established in 1982 1982 establishments in England