Wiltshire College is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, which commenced in January 2008. In 2015-16 the college had approximately 3,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students, with over 600 enrolled on degree-level courses. The college's most recent OfSTED report, in June 2015, assessed it as good.
Locations
Wiltshire College Chippenham was founded as North Wilts College of Further Education and later changed its name to Chippenham Technical College, and again to Chippenham College in 1993. It offers a wide range of vocational courses and qualifications, specialising in engineering, commerce and construction trades. Its buildings are in Cocklebury Road, close to the town centre and railway station, and were rebuilt on the existing site in 2015 at a cost of £21 million. There are workshops for motor vehicle, engineering and construction trades, as well as hair and beauty studios, art studios, and a sports science lab.
Wiltshire College Lackham, between Chippenham and Lacock, opened in 1946 as a purely agricultural college. It has a working farm to allow students hands-on experience of the rural economy, and also hosts a Museum of Agriculture and Rural Life. The college offers a number of extramural courses to non-students and also has a full programme of public events throughout the year, such as flower shows, equestrian, and related events. At the annual Lambing Weekend, local children can see lambs being born.
Wiltshire College Trowbridge, in College Road, offers a wide range of vocational courses for school-leavers, and houses the Arc Theatre, a venue for live performances. A Construction Skills Centre was opened in 2015.
Wiltshire College Salisbury was formed in 1992 as the merger of the College of Art & Design and the Technology College. Situated in Southampton Road, it offers degree courses in association with Bournemouth University and vocational courses for school leavers. A-level courses for sixth-form students were also offered at the site until 2013 when the provision was withdrawn.
The Methuen Centre at Corsham, a converted 19th-century school, is used to deliver arts and crafts courses.
Castle Combe, at the Castle Combe Circuit near Chippenham, is the home of Wiltshire College's 6,500 square foot motorsport centre. The centre was the first circuit-based motorsport engineering centre in the UK, and has two classrooms, six car workshops, an engine workshop and a machining workshop. It provides motorsport engineering courses ranging from the BTEC Level 2 Diploma to a Level 6 BSc Honours Degree from the University of Bath.
Until late 2018, the college also had a site in Devizes.
Courses
A wide range of courses are offered to students, either part-time, full-time or as apprenticeships. Vocational qualifications include BTEC Diplomas, NVQ Level 1, and GCSE.
University level
Courses lead to qualifications including Foundation degrees, HNC, HND, and BA/BSc degrees. Chippenham: Business, Computing & Systems Development, Applied Computing, Criminal Justice, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering. Castle Combe: Motorsport Engineering. Salisbury: Art & Design, Film Production & Cinematography, Music, Photography, Education Studies for Teaching Assistants, Professional Certificate in Education. Trowbridge: Art & Design, Early Years & Childhood Studies, Health & Social Care, Social Work. Lackham: land-based courses including Animal Science & Management, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Management, Equine Management, Game & Wildlife Management, Sports Coaching.
Alumni
Jamie Cullum – singer/songwriter
Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes – television presenter
Lewis Haldane – former professional football player
