Suffolk New College
 | |
| Established | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | Further education college |
| Principal | Viv Gillespie |
| Location |
Rope Walk Ipswich Suffolk IP4 1LT England Coordinates: 52°03′20″N 1°09′55″E / 52.05542°N 1.165275°E |
| Local authority | Suffolk |
| DfE number | 935/8003 |
| DfE URN | 130820 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | Approx. 3,900 as of November 2015 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 16+ |
| Website |
www |
Suffolk New College (formerly Suffolk College) is a further education college in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. In 2009 it constructed a new building costing £70 million.[1]
Overview
Suffolk New College is a mixed general further education college located in central Ipswich and offers secondary & further education courses such as vocational programmes, AS levels, A levels, GCSEs and apprenticeships, as well as some higher education and adult learning courses. The college currently has approximately 4,000 students enrolled and 650 staff.
The College was formed in 2009, after higher and further education in the Ipswich area was largely separated by the formation of two new institutions from the then Suffolk College; Suffolk New College (further education) and University Campus Suffolk (higher education).
In August 2009 a new building costing £70 million was created for Suffolk New College. The 22,000 square metre building consists of four floors designed to meet the needs of twenty-first-century education and training.
The new college has been designed on the principle of low rise construction, with a maximum of four storeys (in part of the southern block), in order for it to be easier and quicker for students to move between classrooms, or to go for a break.
The heart of the new building is the central atrium, a meeting, eating, exhibition and learning space which rises to three storeys, the same height as the surrounding educational provision in the northern block. Adjacent to the atrium at ground level is the learning resource centre and a public performance space that is used by the whole college for events and presentations.
On the floor above is the fine dining facility backed up by three training kitchens, further facilities including the photography studios, the beauty salon and spa facilities. On the second floor are classrooms and ICT rooms and clusters of rooms for other department use. Also on this floor is the open plan office for business support staff (MIU and others), and one of the clusters is designated for staff workspaces.
In the southern block are workshops (construction and motor vehicle) with further construction and electrical workshops on the floor above. There is also a second staff cluster on the first floor of the workshop block. The rest of the southern building is taken up with general purpose and specialist teaching rooms, ICT rooms and laboratories.
Numerous other essential college functions are spread throughout the building including meeting rooms, server rooms, the print shop and students' support facilities. The food court off the atrium includes a bakery to enhance the learning experiences of catering students and some innovative food service choices including Shelly's restaurant, a restaurant run by students attending the college which is open to the public.
Suffolk New College has outline planning permission for a four-court sports hall in the education quarter east of Ipswich town centre. Working with Sports England and with ITFC Community Trust the sports centre will be available for community use outside of college hours.
The college is also the sponsor of Suffolk New Academy, a secondary school in Ipswich.
The current principal for Suffolk New College is Viv Gillespie.
From the 1960s through to the 1990s, the former Suffolk College was a major provider of training for technicians in radiation protection.
Notable alumni
- Stuart Humphryes - film and video colouriser (enrolled 1988-1991)
- Asami Zdrenka - member of girl group Neon Jungle
See also
References
- ↑ "Suffolk New College". BBC News. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2010-05-24.