Matthew Boulton College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matthew Boulton College is a Further and Higher Education college situated in the Eastside of Birmingham, West Midlands. It has Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status in Print Media & Graphics, Business & Professional Services and Vocational Medical Sciences. The college also hopes to achieve CoVE status in Electronics & Technology, Performing Arts and Information Technology.[1] It currently offers 500 courses and teaches over 7000 students.[2]
The college used to be on Sherlock street, however a new £40 million site was constructed and opened in 2005 on Jennens Road, Eastside.
Contents |
[edit] The College Vision and Mission
The College Vision is: "Inspire learning and achieve excellence."
The College Mission is: "To contribute to the economic development and regeneration of the Birmingham conurbation through the provision of high quality education and skills development."[1]
[edit] History
[edit] Pre 20th century
Construction commenced on the college in 1893 and the classes began in 1895. It was then known as the Municipal Technical School, and taught around 2000 students, with 34 staff. The classes available were Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Metallurgy, Mathematics, Handicrafts and Typography and Drawing.[3]
[edit] 1930s
By the mid-1930s a new site had been acquired in Gosta Green. This was to become the College of Technology, Commerce and Art.[3]
[edit] 1950s
In 1951 the Suffolk Street building was renamed the Matthew Boulton Technical College, after the industrialist Matthew Boulton, and the Gosta Green building, the College of Advanced Technology.[3]
[edit] 1960s
A new site was built on Sherlock Street and through the 1960s all of the courses were gradually moved there.[3]
[edit] 2005
In 2005, work began on the new site which currently stands on Jennens Road. It cost £40 million and includes facilities such as a Fitness Suite, a Sound Studio as well as hundreds of classrooms are workshops.
[edit] 2007
The Birmingham Mail on 5 February covered the first eighteen months of the college's opening. The article compared the exam results in the final eighteen months of the old college, with the exam results in the first eighteen months of the current college. The comparison reveals that successful exam passes had gone down by 60% since moving into the Jennens Road building. The journalist accuses the colleges of wasting money "making the building look pretty, but neglecting to improve the face of teaching quality."[citation needed]
On 6 January, Mail readers voiced their opinion on the article. Many slammed the college, saying that their children were struggling to succeed at the college, criticising the decision to enforce an iMedia course so students only studying one course were not part-time, and branding the college a flop.[citation needed]. This could be because some teachers can't be bothered to teach the students.[citation needed].
On 5 March, a stabbing took place outside the college. The victim was believed to be a student of the college, however this is as yet unofficial. The incident caused traffic delays in the city for many hours. However the victim did not survive.
[edit] Awards
The college has received Investors in People, the Beacon Award for Dental Health, Quality Standards ISO 9001 and The Queens Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Matthew Boulton College - About Us
- ^ The Independent
- ^ a b c d Matthew Boulton College - Our History
- ^ UK IT Association
