Petroc (college)

Petroc
Established	2009
Type	Public Further Education Higher Education
Principal	David Dodd
Location	Barnstaple and Tiverton, England, United Kingdom 51°04′19″N 4°04′08″W / 51.072°N 4.069°W / 51.072; -4.069 (Petroc-Barnstaple) 50°54′43″N 3°29′31″W / 50.912°N 3.492°W / 50.912; -3.492 (Petroc-Tiverton)
Campus	Barnstaple (administering Brannams, Holsworthy, Bude, The Hair Academy and Braunton Road) Tiverton (administering Tiverton Way and Exeter Music Academy)
Website	www.petroc.ac.uk

Petroc is a further education college in Devon, England, with a catchment area covering more than 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²). It serves up to 20,000 students each year—including distance and work-based learners all over the UK—from entry level courses, through FE, higher education and beyond. The college employs more than 1,000 people. Its main campuses are in Barnstaple and Tiverton. The college also undertakes research and development projects, often working with European partners. The organisation works with thousands of businesses, training apprentices, delivering short courses, facilitating Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and providing conference facilities. Many of its premises are open to the public; including restaurants, hair, beauty and complementary therapies salons and entertainment venues.

The current Principal and Chief Executive as of 2011 is David Dodd who was previously Principal of North Devon College. A 2006 Ofsted inspection accorded North Devon College a Grade 1 (outstanding),^[1] while at East Devon College in 2007 Ofsted judged leadership and management to be inadequate.^[2]

Campuses

Barnstaple

The main Barnstaple Campus (formerly North Devon College) is a large site, on top of Sticklepath Hill overlooking the town with a view across the estuary of the River Taw. A Levels, Foundation Degrees other academic courses, a wide variety of vocational studies (including Apprenticeships), recreational learning opportunities and supported learning activities are provided at the main campus and a number of other sites in Barnstaple (see below). Courses are available in all curriculum areas except land-based studies.

Facilities at the Barnstaple Campus include a theatre, construction, motor vehicle and engineering workshops and a sports hall. The Acorns Nursery, Sanctuary Spa, and Tawstock Restaurant are training facilities that are open to the public. Other sites in Barnstaple include the Braunton Road Campus, Pottington Campus and School of Management (Queens House). The Hair Academy and Brannams Campus (including The Factory – a music venue – and The Goodwin Gallery) at Roundswell include facilities that are open to the public. Recreational learning, such as evening classes and weekend workshops are delivered at most Petroc sites and a number of other locations in the wider community, in and around Barnstaple including Pilton Community College.

The majority of 16-19-year-old students in North Devon attend Petroc and the college collaborates with The Park Community School, Pilton Community College, Braunton Community College, Bideford College, South Molton Community College, Great Torrington Community School, Ilfracombe Arts College, Chulmleigh Community College, Holsworthy Community College and Budehaven School (in Bude, North Cornwall). Around 600 students are enrolled in higher education programmes, studying full and part time degree courses and HE modules. The College is part of the University of Plymouth Colleges partnership.

Tiverton

The Tiverton (Devon) campus with its main site on Bolham Road was formerly East Devon College. It offers A-Levels, other academic courses, a wide variety of vocational studies (including apprenticeships) recreational learning opportunities and supported learning activities.

Facilities include science laboratories, art and design studios, a performance/exhibition space, construction, plumbing and electrical workshops, a lecture theatre, a conference centre, a nursery, a hair, beauty and complementary therapies salon, professional kitchens and a restaurant. The nursery, salon and restaurant are training facilities that are open to the public. Motor vehicle and motorcycle courses are housed in an industrial unit on Tiverton Way, which is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the main campus.

Students are mainly drawn from Tiverton High School, Uffculme School and Cullompton Community College but learners also come from a number of other schools, such as Honiton, Axe Valley in Axminster, West Somerset Community College in Minehead and Court Fields in Wellington, Somerset. Since 2010 Petroc and Tiverton High School work in partnership to raise students' academic achievements at GCSE and A Level through the 'Tiverton Campus Sixth Form' initiative.^[3]

Pené Prior, the Head of College at the Tiverton Campus, is also one of Petroc's Deputy Principals.

Other sites

The College has additional sites in Holsworthy, Brannams Campus and Tiverton Way (which is also in Tiverton) as well as LEAP and NEETS provision offered at the Pottington Campus. Some students are based in Exeter at the Academy of Music and Sound.^[4]

The College used to have a site in Honiton, but this no longer exists. The Students have been re-distributed to Tiverton Way satellite campus.

History

Petroc was formerly North Devon College and East Devon College. The institutions merged on August 1, 2008 and were officially known as North Devon College until renaming as Petroc in 2009. The college is named after St Petroc, the patron saint of the Devon flag. The name was chosen by the governing body, from a shortlist of names that emerged from a branding consultation. It was selected for sounding both ancient and modern and its strong connections to Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.^[5][6] The name was approved by the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2009.^[7] The renaming project won two Transform Awards in 2010,^[8][9] and is a registered trademark.

Petroc Students' Union

The Petroc Students' Union is constitutionally one Student Union, but both sites' Unions operate independently.

Barnstaple and Tiverton both have a Students' Union executive team. These are made up of part-time officers who are students at the college. Each executive team's officers are elected bi-annually by secret ballot which is conducted through the college's intranet system. The officer roles differ between sites, but President and Vice President are positions which constitutionally cannot be abolished or changed. Each site also has a member of staff who serves as their SSLO (Student/Staff Liaison Officer) and Administrator.

While the President and Vice President spend most of their time managing the rest of the team and representing the Student Union at NUS UK events which take place throughout the academic year, the other officers have their own specific areas to run. They each run campaigns throughout the year. Last year these included Go Green Week, LGBT Talk Week, Black History Month and other specific area-orientated campaigns. The point of these campaigns is to encourage students to get involved in helping to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others.

Each site also organises events throughout the academic year. The Barnstaple executive organises parties including 'Tech Dances' and, in 2010, a fundraiser for the Haiti relief effort which was attended by Nick Clegg. The Tiverton executive also organises parties and charity events throughout the year, including an annual Rag Day in October, and a Summer Ball.^[10]

Both Students' Union Sites are affiliated to NUS UK and the officers from each Students' Union site take their campaign ideas from NUS UK Campaigns.

All students who attend the college (including full-time, part-Time, apprenticeship and evening students) automatically become a member of the Students' Union. This entitles them to attend Students' Union events and much more. Individual students can opt out of membership, although this right is rarely exercised. Individual societies within the college can also disaffiliate from the Union, although this right has never been exercised.

The Tiverton site is led by an 11-member Executive Committee, which is made up of part-time officers, who serve while continuing their studies. The Barnstaple site is led by an 12-member Executive Committee, which is made up of part-time officers, who serve while continuing their studies. The satellite campuses of Brannams and Tiverton Way do not yet have student representatives on the main union sites.

The Students' Union also hosts a Learner Voice Forum, where every tutor group sends their own representative to a bi-monthly forum where they put their ideas and concerns to both the Students' Union and also Managers from Petroc's senior management team. The student body then gets published feedback from all parties involved.

Radio broadcasting

Fresh FM is a student-run radio station based at the Barnstaple campus. It broadcasts on 87.7 MHz FM between the hours of 8:30 and 16:30 on college days. It holds a Restricted Service Licence to broadcast on FM.^[11]

Tiverton Site also has its own Music Box, where students can host their own programs for broadcast within the Student Common Room. This is PPL-Licensed but has no broadcasting licence for FM Broadcasting, unlike Barnstaple's Fresh FM.

References

External links

• Official website