Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness
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Furness College is a college of further education in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It provides a wide range of vocational education and training to over 16s, notably working with BAE Systems to train apprentices for their shipyard in Barrow. The college also offers evening classes for the local community and runs HNDs in association with the University of Central Lancashire. It is the only further education college in Barrow and the largest provide of education in South Cumbria.
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[edit] Campus
Furness College is based at its campus beside Walney Channel, on old industrial land near five minutes from the centre of Barrow. It moved there gradually during the 1990s, away from an old tower block on opposite Craven Park in Barrow's centre. The campus includes a library and small shop, and has a range of lecture halls, workshops and offices. It also provides day care with its own nursery, and a has a restaurant and hair salon open to the public, in which its trainee chefs and hairdressers work.
[edit] Courses
Furness College offers a wide range of courses, the majority of which are vocational. Broadly speaking, they can be categorized as:
- Business training - courses run for companies that train their employees in particular fields. The best example of this is its marine engineering course which is run alongside BAE. This has given the college the status of 'centre of excellence for shipbuilding and marine engineering training.'
- Vocational qualifications - a wide range of courses from car mechanics to restaurant management, providing qualifications and training for entry into certain fields
- Basic skills - courses to improve basic literacy and mathematics skills and providing Key skills qualifications
- Interest courses - often evening classes on a wide range of topics, providing different skills such as painting and decorating
- Degree entry level courses - HNDs and courses that provide a foundation for teacher training
These can be taken on a part-time or full-time basis. Although the majority of students are school levers between 16 and 21, a large number are also mature students. The college does not offer A Levels or GCSEs to under 21s, these being provided for by Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College and Ulverston Victoria High School.
[edit] Students
The college's students union is affiliated to the National Union of Students, and all students are members unless they chose to opt out. The college also has a wide-reaching welfare service for its heterogeneous student body.
[edit] Governance
The College is ran by seventeen governors, whose role it is to run the college. In addition, it has a principal who is the head of the teaching staff; this is currently Anne Attwood. The college's finances have been the subject of speculation in the local press, with stories of staff cutbacks and mismanagement [1].
The college will also be a teaching centre for the recently-approved 'University of Cumbria' [2]. Under current plans, the university's administration centre will be in Carlisle, with degrees taken at various institutions and colleges across Cumbria. Furness College would be one such institution, allowing it to increase staff and student levels.
