North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College is a Further Education College with main campuses in Nuneaton, Hinckley and Harrowbrook. The College offers apprenticeships, full-time, part-time further and higher education courses. Since the start of the academic year of 2017, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College merged with South Leicestershire College to form North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire college.
History
The College began in 1910 as the 'Nuneaton Technical College' and the 'Nuneaton School of Art' respectively, with the Technical College catering mainly to mining students. In 1913 the College moved to a larger building containing a laboratory, lecture room, drawing room and handicraft room only for the College to close between 1914 and 1919 due to the First World War. When the College reopened after the war it changed its structure to include general education courses. The College grew further and relocated again in 1923 and became the 'County Mining and Technical School' in 1932. The size and scope of the education provided continued to grow over the next two decades and in 1952 the Art School was amalgamated with the College to form the 'Nuneaton Technical College and School of Art' and in 1958 the main campus was relocated to Hinckley Road where it remains. The college was subsequently renamed to 'North Warwickshire College of Technology and Art" until the merger with Hinckley College to become North Warwickshire and Hinckley College in 1996.
Campus developments
New Hinckley Campus In September 2011, the College opened a new Hinckley Campus located on Lower Bond Street in the town centre. The £13m campus is home to the College’s Creative Arts provision. Engineering Centre In September 2011, a £1.5m investment from Warwickshire County Council funded the development of a new engineering facility at the College's Nuneaton Campus. The Advanced Engineering Centre has workshop space, conference facilities and classrooms, as well as specialist equipment. Harrowbrook Construction Centre The Construction Centre is home to the College's Brickwork, Carpentry, Environmental Technologies, Painting and Decorating and Forklift Truck Engineering.
Competitions
In November 2013, 29 students from North Warwickshire & Hinckley College competed in the WorldSkills UK finals at the Skills Show held in Birmingham. The College took part in the UK Young Restaurant Team of the Year competition in July 2018. Students, Callum Wood, Dean Burnham and Caitlan Holland secured the top spot prize as well as the Best Service Award and the Ignite for Innovation Award. As part of their prize, they travelled to Colombia in September 2018 on a week-long study trip visiting the capital, Bogotá, the Granjer Luker cocoa research centre and plantation, and a coffee plantation. North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College’s catering department has won 55 awards during the Welsh International Culinary Championships, between 26 and 28 February 2019 – including Best College 2019.
Campus locations
The college has three campuses.
Nuneaton Campus - located on Hinckley Road, Nuneaton
Hinckley Campus - located on Lower Bond Street, Hinckley
Construction Centre - located on Harrowbrook Industrial Estate, Hinckley
An apprenticeship is a work-based learning programme for an employee who gains a nationally recognised qualification. There are over 250 different types of apprenticeship frameworks nationally covering 1,400 job roles; available at three levels: intermediate, advanced and higher. Apprenticeships are available to those who are leaving school, already in employment or looking to start a new career. The college offers apprenticeships in a range of industries from business, teaching, engineering and media.
Employers
It works with over 1,000 local, regional and national employers in a range of sectors. The College currently works with over 350 employers to deliver a variety of apprenticeships, including MIRA, Triumph and Toyota Material Handlings.
