Priestley College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Priestley Sixth-Form And Community College | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Loushers Lane, Warrington |
|
| Information | |
| Affiliation(s) | Secular |
| Principal | Mike Southworth |
| Students | 2,588 (at March 2007) |
| Type | Sixth-Form |
| Grades | 16+ |
| Motto | We Realise Your Potential |
| Color(s) | Medium Blue and Gold |
| Established | 1970s |
| Homepage | www.priestley.ac.uk |
Priestley Sixth Form and Community College is a sixth form college for 16-19 year olds, located on Loushers Lance, adjacent to Wilderspool and close to Stockton Heath and Latchford. It is the principle sixth form of the town of Warrington, England. It also offers adult courses, as well as professional training (albeit on another site), and is an associate college of the University of Salford.
Contents |
[edit] The Priestley Motto
We Realise Your Potential
[edit] Namesake
Priestley College is named in the honour of Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 - February 8, 1804), a clergyman, chemist and educator who spent some time in Warrington and was a pioneer in teaching modern history and the sciences. Priestley was a Protestant dissenter and non-conformist who help establish the reputation of Warrington Academy as one of the foremost educational centres in Britain. The Academy, now home to the local nespaper 'The Warrington Guardian', was one of the first educational centres in the country be nonsecterian, offering education to all despite religious beliefs.
Priestley was a close friend on Sir Thomas Botler, who also has a school named in his honour close by.
A statue of Priestley now stands proudly inside the main entrance of the college in honour of the man himself.
[edit] History of the College and Structure
The College opened in 1979, however it was the site of a girl's school previous to it becoming a mixed Sixth-Form.
It is a single campus college with 5 buildings,
- The Priestley building (rooms prefixed with P) holds the administrative facilities (finance etc.), social facilities(The Café Bar and Mezzanine), History, Graphics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Performing Arts, ICT, and Modern Foreign Languages.
- The Adamson Centre (rooms prefixed with A) currently holds Maths, English, Vocational Courses, Law, Business Studies, Accounts, Geography and Geology.
- The Art and Design centre (rooms prefixed with D) holds 3D-Design, Woodwork, Art and Textiles.
- The sports centre (rooms prefixed with S) holds sports and physical education.
- The learning resource centre (or library) (rooms prefixed with L) holds offices, the library and a communal IT cluster.
- A new building has been recently constructed and was completed in September 2007, and is known as The Crescent. This building is to replace the Adamson building which is set to be knocked down after the completion of the new building. The Crescent building now holds the colleges Humanities department as well as public services, accounting, geography and geology.
The college is close to the town centre of Warrington, situated on Wilderspool Causeway, and thus is well served by public transport, which most students get free or at a half-fare. This is dependent on linear distance from their household, and whether the students live in areas under Warrington Borough Council control. Students are able to enjoy a polite service from bus drivers.
[1]. Busses serving the college are the number 5, 6, 6A, 7, 7A, 8, 8A, 8X, 9, 45, 46 and 62. These busses serve the Wilderspool Causeway entrance, while the 11, 11A, 12, 12A, and 95 (contract) serve the Loushers Lane entrance. However, on a clear day a short walk from the centre of the town to the college is most attractive(approx. 15-20 minutes)
Priestley offers AS/A2 Levels, BTEC, AVCE, GCSE resits, foundation, key skills and pre-University foundation courses.
In March 2007 the college was inspected by a team Ofstead inspectors and achieved "outstanding" status making it a leading centre of education in the North West of England. The success was undoubtedly down to the hard work of the students, and the determination of the college's senior staff, Mike Southworth, Matthew Grant and Fran Evans.
