Introduction

Chelmsford College was established fifty years ago, beginning life as a day release centre for apprentices to support the engineering industry in the town. When the College moved to its current site in Moulsham Street it also began offering courses for secretarial students. O and A levels were soon in the prospectus as well as courses for Nursing and Police Cadets.

Today the college is based across three sites:

The Moulsham Street campus houses facilities for Art & Design, Media and Science and the majority of our sixth form activity takes place there.

The Princes Road campus houses the majority of our vocational facilities for engineering, electrical, construction and catering.

Copleston Court is based in the centre of Chelmsford, located opposite the bus station. It houses the e-Learning Centre which allows learners to study Skills for Life on a flexible basis. This site is also home to our wholly-owned subsidiary – Chelmsford Training Services, which facilitates all of the Apprenticeship programmes and bespoke courses for local business.

Facilities include spacious, well-equipped teaching rooms, well-resourced learning centres, a multi-purpose sports hall with fitness room, and several areas for refreshments.

What we do:

We are a general Further Education college and that means that we offer programmes at a number of levels across a wide range of academic, professional and vocational disciplines to young people and adults. We have something for everyone, from Entry Level to Extended Diplomas in areas such as: Art & Design, Business & Administration, Construction, Early Years, Electrical Installation, Engineering, Extended Learning, Forensic Science, Hair & Beauty, Health & Social Care, Hospitality & Catering, Humanities, Information Technology, Media, Public Services, Sport, and Travel & Tourism.

With the acquisition of Chelmsford Training Services we now offer a variety of Apprenticeship programmes in areas covering: Accounting, Business & Administration, Childcare, Customer Service, Engineering, Hairdressing & Beauty, Hospitality & Catering, IT, Retail, Sport, Team Leading & Management and Warehousing & Storage.

Our students:

Approximately 2500 of our students are young people between the ages of 16 and 19. They are mainly full time students, but some are following part time courses and Apprenticeship programmes.

These young people are following programmes leading to academic and vocational qualifications: BTEC Diplomas and Certificates, A levels, City and Guilds, ASDAN, Key Skills, Skills for Life and NVQs.

However, some of our students are adults who are studying for personal and work-related reasons. Many of our adult students are sponsored by employers so that they can gain the necessary professional qualifications. Many simply want to develop their personal interests.

Adults and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities are an important part of the student group. We run some discrete programmes, but also support learners in the mainstream as well if that is more appropriate.