Lambeth College

Lambeth College

Motto	The Careers College
Type	Further Education College
Principal	Richard Chambers (2006-2011) Mark Silverman (2012-2016) Monica Box (2016 - Present)
Location	London England
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
DfE URN	130413 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	c.14000
Ages	16+
Colours	Purple      Grey
Campuses	3
Website	www.lambethcollege.ac.uk

Lambeth College is a Further Education college in the London Borough of Lambeth. It was formed in 1992 from three former institutions – Vauxhall College, Brixton College of Further Education, and South London College. The college has three sites:

• Clapham (main site) 51°27′31″N 0°08′28″W / 51.45861°N 0.14098°W / 51.45861; -0.14098
• Brixton 51°27′24″N 0°07′09″W / 51.4566°N 0.11929°W / 51.4566; -0.11929
• Vauxhall 51°28′33″N 0°07′59″W / 51.47596°N 0.13297°W / 51.47596; -0.13297

At its last full inspection of the college in 2012, Ofsted gave Lambeth College a grade of 4 (defined as "Inadequate").^[1] In a re-inspection monitoring visit in the same year, Ofsted concluded that the college had made "reasonable progress" in the areas explored during the visit, with "self-assessment and improvement planning" making "significant progress".^[2] At a Learning and Skills inspection of the college in 2013, Ofsted gave Lambeth College a grade of 3 (defined as "requires improvement").^[3]

Starting in 2012, Lambeth College underwent an overhaul, becoming an employability focused college with the priority of finding students employment in Lambeth. This change came complete with a new logo and motto for the college along with the planned addition of many new courses and removal of A-levels. The planned additions to the curriculum included hospitality and catering, motor vehicle maintenance, spa therapy, and uniformed public services.^[4]

The Clapham site is currently undergoing renovation to accommodate the provision of the new courses. Building work at Clapham began in February 2013, while building work at the Vauxhall site will begin later in the year.

On 3 June 2014, members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Lambeth College began indefinite strike action over plans by management to introduce a new contract for staff joining after 1 April 2014. UCU members claim that the new contract will leave them with bigger workloads, but less sick pay and fewer holidays.^[5] In addition to the contracts dispute, activists also claimed erroneously that there were plans to permanently close the Brixton centre when in fact a rebuild is planned. The new Brixton site will be shared with two new free schools the first of which opened in September 2014.^[6] The college sold the land to the Department of Education to reduce debts, which were created due to the redevelopment the clapham site in 2012 to include a mock beauty salon, mock restaurant and swimming pool. Supporters of the strikers include Neil Tennant and Ken Loach.^[7] Striking staff returned to work on 9 July 2014, although the dispute had not been resolved. This was due to a court case which the college management took against the strikers, ruling that the Strike did not have legal grounds to continue indefinitely.^[8]

Courses

The college offers NVQ, ESOL, Foundation Degree, Access and BTEC courses in many subjects. GCSEs in English and Maths are also offered for students who lack these qualifications or wish to retake them.

Prior to 2012, A-level courses were also offered at the college. The rebranding of Lambeth College as a vocational institution has since led to A-levels being gradually phased out of the curriculum.

External links

• Lambeth College website

References