| Established | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Principal | Mr Carl Groves |
| Specialism | Sixth form college |
| Location | Bishopsfield Road Fareham Hampshire PO14 1NH England |
| Local authority | South East England LSC (although in Hampshire LEA) |
| DfE number | ???/8006 |
| DfE URN | 130693 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 16 (GCSE Students Studying Vocational Courses 14 - 16)+ |
| Website | Fareham College |
Fareham College is a further education college situated on a 22-acre (89,000 m2) campus on the western outskirts of the town of Fareham in Hampshire, England.
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It is situated within ten minutes walk west of the local train station and a five minute drive from the local bus station on the A27. The spacious Bishopsfield Road campus is less than five miles from the M27. It is next to St Jude's catholic junior school.
Students who require financial help with their transport costs to College can apply for assistance - which, for those cases approved, represents a firm commitment of support, unlike other Colleges that might offer free transport, but whose small print might indicate that assistance will not be given for every term of study in the year. The college's intake mainly comes from the boroughs of Fareham and Gosport, and the surrounding areas of south-east Hampshire.
Although other Fareham young people study A-levels outside of the town at neighbouring sixth form colleges such as St Vincent, Itchen, Havant or South Downs College, recent data now reveals that student numbers at Fareham College have risen by over 60% over the last five years, reaching an impressive 1,700 16 to 18 year old Full Time students, with 60% coming from Fareham and surrounding areas and 40% coming from Gosport, to study vocational and traditional academic courses. There are also over 1,300 students aged over 19 at Fareham College who study a mix of classroom and 'work based learning' in very up-to-date facilities on the Bishopsfield Road campus.
Fareham College was formed in 1984 as a merger between an earlier technical college (Fareham Technical College) on the same site and the sixth-form college at the historic Price's Grammar School, a boys' grammar school on Park Lane, (before the latter's site was sold to developers) in 1984, and became the sole state provider of tertiary education in Fareham. Price's Grammar School became a sixth form college in 1976.[1] Fareham Grammar School for Girls was on Birdwood Grove, and became Cams Hill School.
Fareham College has a reputation for its quota of vocational courses and a recent Ofsted Report (Dec08) has graded the College overall as 'Grade 2 - Good', which is a marked improvement on the Grade 3 - Satisfactory that was reported in 2005. The college has recently increased its A-level provision and now offers a total of 31 advanced level certificates.
The college offers a wide variety of courses including:
The purpose-built campus has recently updated its hairdressing & beauty therapy salons (open to the public for treatments), training kitchens and restaurant (Chequers) is open to the public for lunch and evening meals on set days of the week. Other facilities include laboratories, an air cabin crew training plane, a theatre, art and drama studios, and music and media suites, an aerospace engineering training helicopter and several motor vehicle workshops.
There is the 'Train to Gain' work based provision with many local and well known employers involved. The College has recently opened a new Construction Centre at the Fareham Reach Business Park on the A32 in Gosport, in response to demand for its successful and popular brickwork and other trades courses. The College is also planning a new capital build programme that will transform educational provision in the Fareham and Gosport area which will not only add to its class leading facilities, but also provide extensive resources and a venue for the communities of Fareham & Gosport. The Hair and Beauty educational provision was graded as 'Grade 1 - Outstanding' in the recent Ofsted December 08 report, with the facilities noted also as 'Outstanding' and on a far larger scale than one traditionally finds in a Further Education College.
Student tutorial and on site pastoral support is very strong and was similarly praised in the recent December 08 Ofsted Report as 'Outstanding' - this reassures those school leavers considering Fareham College who might feel that the College is too large for them - appropriate support but with a far greater mix of students than is possible at other Colleges; this results in an educational experience that goes way beyond the classroom in every positive sense, but ensures that the transition from school to College is as pleasant an experience as possible.