South Thames College
| Established | 1895 |
|---|---|
| Principal and Chief Executive | Sue Rimmer OBE |
| Location | Wandsworth High Street London SW18 2PP United Kingdom Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Local authority | London Borough of Wandsworth |
| DfE URN | 130420 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Website | www |
South Thames College is a further education college in south west London.
Contents
Today
Today, South Thames College is one of the largest further education colleges in London. It merged with Merton College in 2009 and now concentrates teaching from three campuses: Wandsworth, Merton and Tooting.
Alumni
John Boyega - in 2013 it was announced that he would be a lead role in the seventh Star Wars film. He had already appeared in film and TV roles including Attack the Block with Nick Frost. Boyega studied performing arts at South Thames graduating in 2011.
Nathaniel 'Tonez' Fuller - drummer for several high profile acts, including Jessie J on her Stand Up tour.
History
An educational establishment, which is now known as South Thames College, has existed at the Wandsworth site in south west London for more than 100 years. The institute was founded in 1895 by a tax on whisky. Students had to pay what was then a substantial fee of £1 a term for day classes. When it began there were around 500 students studying there, a large number at those times.
In 1910–11 college regulations stated that "...each boy must wear the school cap or straw hat; he must also provide himself with a satchel, gymnasium shoes and a swimming costume."[citation needed] Apparently, the caps came in different colours depending on what house the student belonged to and, according to one student in 1930, the colours used to run in the rain, staining the students' faces blue, red, green or yellow.
Courses
The college specialises in vocational training in subject areas such as business and computing, hair and beauty, construction, media, music, performing arts, catering and travel and tourism. A-level courses and higher education and Access courses are also available, as well as a wide selection of leisure and taster courses ranging from Swedish massage to motorbike maintenance. It also has several English and maths options for young people and adults including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
It is one of the few colleges in the UK where you can learn how to make and service musical instruments. The others are Glasgow Clyde College, Lincoln College and West Dean College
Investment
The college invests regular in facilities and software to support its general and specialist programmes. Over £150 million has been invested since 2010 including complete refurbishment of the Wandsworth Campus and a Hospitality and Catering Academy and specialist Engineering and Construction Centre at the Merton Campus.
The college’s facilities include:
- Industry-standard hair and beauty salons
- A Sports England standard sports hall, gym and aerobics area - which is also rented to local schools and sports club including to the women's basketball team, the Penguins
- Three training kitchens and a commercial restaurant staffed by hospitality and catering students
- Science laboratories
- Language teaching rooms
- A games development room
- Music and TV recording studios with editing facilities
- Musical instrument making workshops and specialist craft facilities
- Libraries
Ofsted rating
The college was inspected by Ofsted in June 2009 and again in May 2012 and was awarded a ‘Good’ rating in both inspections. Ofsted praised the college’s rising success rates and the “safe and inclusive environment”.[1]
