Bury College

Bury College

Established	1987
Type	Further Education College
Religion	Non-denominational
Principal	Lauran Chatburn
Location	Market Street Bury Greater Manchester BL9 0BG England
Local authority	Bury
DfE number	???/8000
DfE URN	130498
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	14+
Website	Official Website

Bury College is an institute of higher learning for the borough of Bury, England.

Admissions

Age range

Bury College is a sixth form college catering for school leavers pursuing A Levels, vocational qualifications or apprenticeships. The college has approximately 8,000 adult learners and focuses on employability skills and work-based learning. There is a Business Solutions team and an Apprenticeship team that support this activity and liaise with employers. Bury College also caters for 14–16 year old students studying for 'applied' GCSEs when sponsored by their schools.

Bury College has been recognised as a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in two areas:

• Early Years Development and Childcare
• Management Skills and Business Services

Bury College was awarded Learning and Skills Beacon Status in September 2004, a national award for recognition of innovation and excellence in the learning and skills sector.

History

The Stand Grammar School on Church Lane in Whitefield had the motto Sto ut Serviam. Its buildings were demolished in 2001 and converted into housing for Alfred McAlpine Homes. It was originally founded in 1688 by Henry Siddall in Ringley Road. In September 1937 the girls' grammar school was built on Higher Lane (A665). It is now the Philips High School. In April 1974, administration moved from the Lancashire Education Committee to the Metropolitan Borough of Bury. It became Stand Sixth Form College in September 1979.

The college was originally formed from a merger of Peel Sixth Form College on Wellington Street, Bury Technical College on Market Street and Stand Sixth Form College in Whitefield. It became a Tertiary College in 1987.

Structure

Bury College has invested £25 million in recent years in buildings and facilities that now form a large, single campus on Market Street, Bury. The main site is situated just south of the A58 in central Bury, near the junction with the B6218.

Sites

• The Beacon Centre, opened in 2005, provides first class facilities for Performance Arts, Humanities, Languages, Health and Social Care and Pre-entry to Uniformed Services. It accommodates the College's Centre of Vocational Excellence in Early Years Development and Childcare, together with a theatre, dance and rehearsal studios, a new recording studio, language lab and coffee bar.

• The Millennium Centre provides a modern learning environment equipped with excellent studios, laboratories, IT suites, Learning Resource Centres and classrooms and is primarily the sixth form A level centre of the college.

• The Prospects Centre is the technology centre of the College. It has specialist laboratories, workshops and IT suites to accommodate a wide range of technology based subjects.

• The Woodbury Centre houses considerable vocational facilities including hairdressing and beauty salons, restaurant and catering facilities and art and design studios as well as specialist facilities for the College’s Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Management Skills and Business Services.

• Bury College Nursery is a fifty-place nursery which opened in September 2004 and provides places for students with young children, and the local community.

• Aspire Building currently contains sports facilities and is used for examinations.

Academic performance

In 2006 the college’s A level pass rate was above the national average at 99.1%. It has recently been rewarded 'Level 1' status for all aspects of the college. This award is reserved for exceptional colleges within the UK.

Alumni

Whitefield Stand Grammar School

• Geoffrey Bullough, Professor of English Language and Literature from 1946-68 at King's College London (1912-9)
• Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
• Barry Dixon CBE, Chief Executive from 2002-9 of the Greater Manchester County Fire Service (1962-7)
• Jack Howlett CBE, computer scientist and Director from 1961-75 of the Atlas Computer Laboratory (produced many computer software innovations) (1923-30)
• Paul Hughes, Director of Finance from 1971-84 at the BBC (1928-33)
• Howard Jacobson, author (1953-60)
• Martin Kelner, radio broadcaster (1960-7)
• Prof William Kershaw CMG, Professor of Biology from 1966-76 at the University of Salford (1922-9)
• Henry Livings, playwright (1941-8)
• Lawrence McGinty, medical and science correspondent (since 1989) for ITN (1959-66)
• Al Read, radio comedian
• Audrey Slaughter (née Smith), journalist and former wife of Evening Standard editor Charles Wintour
• John Spencer, snooker player
• Julie Stevens, actress (1948-53)
• Leslie Turnberg, Baron Turnberg, Professor of Medicine from 1973-97 at the University of Manchester (1945-52)

Stand Sixth-Form College

• Ivan Lewis, Labour MP since 1997 for Bury South

External links

• Bury College
• Stand Grammar School
• EduBase

News items

• Former grammar school knocked down in 2001