Kingston College (England)

Kingston College
Motto for further, higher and adult education
Type Public
Established 1962
Principal Peter Mayhew-Smith
Students 9,500 [1]
Location Kingston upon Thames, London.
Website kingston-college.ac.uk

Kingston College is a College of Further, Higher and Adult Education based in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England. It has four campuses in the town of Kingston. The main campus is the tallest building in the town and is based on Kingston Hall Road. The second campus is based on Richmond Road and is primarily used for the Arts. The third campus is at Anstee House on Wood Street and houses the Fashion and Media curriculum areas. The fourth, Draper Court, is adjacent to Kingston Hall Road.

In February 2013, Ofsted awarded Kingston College Grade 2 – ‘Good’, making the College one of only a few London colleges with rising academic standards.

Situated in a thriving town centre, the College offers both academic and vocational courses from Levels 1 to 6 and provides students with a friendly, stimulating environment for study. From over 11,000 current students more than 600 take up places at university each year.

History

The origins of the College go back to 1899, when the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames built Science and Art Schools and a Technical Institute on the present main site of the College in Kingston Hall Road. The Victorian home of Kingston Technical College (as the institution was then known) survived till the 1960s, when major reconstruction work followed a local reorganisation of further and higher education.

In 1962 Kingston Technical College split into the present college of further education and a college of technology, now Kingston University. Because Kingston College and Kingston University have this common heritage, there remains a strong bond between them today. Jointly run courses and close staff relations ensure that a ladder of educational opportunity is available for both full-time and part-time students from post-GCSE to first degree levels, and beyond.[2] So as to respond to growing student demand, Kingston College has over the past few years broadened the range of courses on offer.

Organisation

Principal

Peter Mayhew-Smith

Schools

The College is organised into 8 Schools:

Facilities

Deli KC

Deli KC is the College canteen and regular meeting spot for students. The canteen offers food for students and staff only and is usually open throughout the college day.

Arena

Arena is a gym and sports complex available to the students of Kingston College as well as employees of Kingston Council. The facility is adjoined to the Kingston Hall Road Campus and is open between 12-3pm and 5-8pm Monday-Friday. The College uses these facilities for their Dance and Sport classes during the regular timetabled day.

As well as the sports complex, there is the Arena Hair & Beauty facility which offers a working hairdressers and salon. The latest training facility for the hair and beauty sector has been launched in central Kingston at Arena.

Theatre

The College also houses two theatres with the main being the Arthur Cotterell Theatre which the drama faculty uses to stage productions. The theatre is also used to greet and induct students at the beginning of the year.

Anstee House Centre

The Anstee House is a building dedicated to fashion and media students. It provides a fully equipped printed textile studio and industrial knitting machines, allowing for the further development of textile design within the National Diploma and Degree programmes. It is located at Wood Street, Kingston upon Thames. Lately, there are further plans to create a TV studio space to help create an industrial environment for the students.

Creative Industries Centre

A dramatic, curved £10million Creative Industries Centre, built alongside the Richmond Road Centre building, was opened by then MP for Twickenham, Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on March 27 2015, providing new facilities for programmes in Art & Design, Digital Arts, Fashion, Photography, Media and Interactive Media, Music, Music Technology, and Games Design. [3] Many programmes have transferred their classes to the new building, helping create an up-to-date environment for the Creative Industries. It replaced the satellite institution the Penny School Gallery, demolished in 2013.

Showcases

Digital Arts

Annually BA (Hons) Digital Arts third year undergraduates showcase their artworks in a gallery or exhibition as an end of year finale. The most recent showcase 2015's degree show "Pixl15" ran from May 21st 2015 for private view and 22nd and 23rd for public view. [4] The showcase was located at the Hoxton Square, the showcase was within the Digital Shoreditch festival during the 2nd week. Previous showcases were listed from 2005 "prime05", "pixel06", "mouseup.us", "cre08", "five09", "10byten", "un/orthodoxii", "axiiis" and 2014 "Decahedron". [5]

Notable alumni

Proximity to Kingston

Kingston campuses are located 5 minutes walk from the centre of Kingston.

Satellite institutions

References

  1. ↑ http://www.kingston-college.ac.uk/component/k2/item/378-college-history| College's History
  2. ↑ http://www.kingston-college.ac.uk/component/k2/item/378-college-history| College's History
  3. ↑ http://kingston-college.ac.uk/component/k2/college-celebrates-opening-of-new-centre
  4. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20150614053906/http://www.pixl15.london/. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140717055227/http://kcdigitalarts.net/. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

Coordinates: 51°24′25″N 0°18′18″W / 51.4069°N 0.3050°W / 51.4069; -0.3050

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