Leeds City College

Leeds City College
Established 1 April 2009 (merged)
Type Further Education college
Principal & CEO Peter Roberts
Location Cookridge Street
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS2 8BL
England
Coordinates: 53°48′04″N 1°33′29″W / 53.801°N 1.558°W / 53.801; -1.558
DfE URN 135771 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Students c57,000
Gender Mixed
Ages 14+
Website www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk

Leeds City College is the largest Further education establishment in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with around 57,000 students, 2,300 staff and an annual turnover of £78 million.[1] It officially opened on 1 April 2009.[2][3] The College was granted official status in January 2009 and was formed from three large colleges, Park Lane College, Leeds Thomas Danby College and Leeds College of Technology.[1] The college is a member of the 157 Group of 28 high performing state sixth form colleges and colleges of further education.[4]

On 1 August 2011 the college expanded further with the merger of the three sites of Joseph Priestley College in Rothwell, Beeston and Morley.[5] On the same day it also became the owner of a newly re-constituted Leeds College of Music which will maintain a level of independence as a wholly owned company of the City College.[6]

Sites

Keighley Campus

The existing five sites of the three forming colleges continued in use, and were named as follows:[7]

In September 2011 a new site was opened after a college merger:

In September 2013 a new site was opened:

The college also operates from 12 other centres in Leeds.[10]

Reasons for merger

The technology campus in Leeds city centre

The decision to merge the three colleges was agreed by the three institutions involved with the joint aim being:[11]

"...to raise achievement levels in Leeds and Keighley, offer more courses to suit the needs of everyone from school leavers to employers, and enhance our facilities to be amongst the best in the country".

With the three colleges offering many similar courses, one of the major advantages of having a unified education institution in the city is that duplication of courses is eliminated and the provision of centralised services to learners.

Timeline

According to the Leeds College Merger website,[12] the Secretary of State gave official approval of the merger in January 2009 with the three colleges being dissolved on 31 March 2009. From 1 April 2009, Leeds City College would come into force with a new identity and from then on, publicity campaigns would run to extend the awareness of the new college. New students will be enrolled to the new Leeds City College from September 2009.

Funding for the merger

It was assumed that the primary funding body for Further Education in England, The Learning and Skills Council, had ring-fenced a capital grant to help fund the merger. Although no actual figure was published, an article that appeared in the Yorkshire Evening Post in December 2006 spoke of up to £200 million being made available.[13]

However, news hit the headlines in spring 2009 of a serious and unexpected financial deficit within their national Building Colleges for the Future program,[14] from where the grant would normally have been allocated. This has cast doubts on how just how much money (if any) will be made available for this merger, and when it would be released.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ofsted report March 2010 Retrieved 29 June 2010
  2. ↑ 'Keeping you in touch with merger news'
  3. ↑ "Leeds City College open for business". The Leeds college merger. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  4. ↑ 157 Group Retrieved 29 July 2010
  5. ↑ 'Merger News'
  6. ↑ 'Strategic Alliance receives approval'
  7. ↑ "College merger". Leeds City College. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  8. ↑ "Thomas Danby Campus". Leeds City College. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Printworks Campus". Leeds City College. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "College Centres". Leeds City College. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "College Merger". Leeds City College. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  12. ↑ The Leeds College Merger
  13. ↑ £200m colleges merger proposal
  14. ↑ College Building scheme 'flawed'
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