Cliff College

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Hulme Cliff College was established by Henry Grattan Guinness in 1883 following the success of Harley College, which had outgrown its site in Bromley-by-Bow. It was called Hulme Cliff College in honour of the Elizabeth Hulme, who gave Guinness "Cliff House" in Curbar, Derbyshire, England to further his work.

In the early days, Hulme Cliff College sent many missionaries to work with Hudson Taylor and his China Inland Mission. Today Cliff is involved in training undergraduate and post-graduate students for mission and evangelism in the United Kingdom and internationally. Its campus is based in Calver, Derbyshire and is set in the beautiful Hope Valley in the Peak District National Park close to Sheffield and Chesterfield.

It's about community, and being centred on a common goal, on seeking to live a holy life, sharing our faith and encouraging one another to be the people God wants us to be.

It is a community of Christians living together, building each other up in Christ and learning together to help carry the church forward. Its ideology is built on learning, discipleship, evangelism training and caring for one another.

Our motto: 'Christ for all- all for Christ' sums all this up. We share the gospel of Christ though the training of people, from all walks of life to be better Christians, better evangelists, better disciples and better people. Our approach has changed as society has changed but the calling is the same

The current principal of Cliff College is the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, currently President of Conference of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. As Martyn Atkins is moving to a new post as General Secretary of the Methodist Church, the new principal will be Rev Chris Blake and will take up his post in the summer of 2008.

Cliff has an annual Festival held over May Whitsun Bank Holiday. This is a time where people can engage with a varied programme of events, from Interactive Bible Studies to informative seminars conducted by Cliff tutors, such as Reverend Dr Steven Skuce, Reverend Dr Peter Phillips, Reverend Doctor David Firth and Reverend Doctor Phillip Meadows, whom is also the current Acting Principal of Cliff College. International lecturer, Reverend Ron Willoughby will also be making a valuable contribution to the Festival weekend.

Currently, one of the colleges famous evangelists, Clarence a green cloth frog, lives in a suitcase and travels around the country with the college's Director of Evangelism, Rev Steve Wild. Clarence will be holding a seminar with Rev. Wild at Cliff Festival in May 2008.