College of West Anglia

The College of West Anglia (often abbreviated to CoWA or CWA) is a three-campus college of further and higher education in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, England. The college has three campuses, located in King's Lynn, Wisbech and Milton, Cambridgeshire, as well as a sports campus at Alive Lynnsport in King's Lynn. The college has more than 10,000 students and 800 staff.

The College of West Anglia
Former names
King's Lynn Technical School
Norfolk College of Arts and Technology
Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture
Isle College
MottoChanging lives through learning
Established1894
PrincipalDavid Pomfret
Students10,000
Location
King's Lynn in Norfolk, Wisbech and Milton in Cambridgeshire
,
United Kingdom
Websitecwa.ac.uk

Founded in 1894 as the King's Lynn Technical School in the port town of King's Lynn, Norfolk, it merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture to form the College of West Anglia in 1998. The college then merged with the Isle College in Wisbech in 2006, retaining the College of West Anglia name.[1]

Overview

The College of West Anglia educates over 10,000 full-time and part-time students each academic year, across a wide range of vocational and academic fields. In addition to full-time and part-time courses, the college also offers bespoke training for local businesses, apprenticeships and higher education courses, run in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University. The college has around 800 members of staff working across the three main campuses, and its other premises.[2]

Under the previous Ofsted inspection criteria, the college was rated outstanding (grade 1) in 2007-2008. The most recent Ofsted inspection in 2013 ranks it as good (grade 2), making it one of the best performing colleges in the country under the new criteria.[3]

Campuses

In 2009, building work commenced on the existing sites in King's Lynn, Wisbech and Cambridge, at a cost of over £35million.[4] The work includes two new technology centres at King's Lynn and Wisbech, both of which opened in 2013, a renovation of the tower block at King's Lynn and redevelopment at the Cambridge campus, including a bespoke higher education area.

In 2012, the college moved its sport provision to Lynnsport and Leisure Centre, in collaboration with King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough council. In association with Freebridge Community Housing and the Benjamin Foundation, the college's foundation studies is provision is located at separate premises in King's Lynn.[5] The college received a £1.75m grant from the government in 2012 to develop a creative arts centre specialising in TV, film and performing arts at the King's Lynn campus.[6]

In the same year, the college also announced plans to begin a £10 million refurbishment project on its "Tower Block" building within the King's Lynn campus. The plan includes the replacement of all the windows within the building, re-cladding the exterior and building an extension to the ground floor for a new student restaurant and social area.[7]

History
Stephen Fry, right, rehearsing A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Norcat in 1975

The college was founded in 1894 as the King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973 it was renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, commonly abbreviated to "Norcat". In 1998, Norcat merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture, which added a land-based provision in Cambridgeshire. The revised institution adopted the name, College of West Anglia. In April 2006, Isle College in Wisbech was added in a further merger, to form the current, enlarged College of West Anglia.[8]

Principal

The college's principal is David Pomfret. Pomfret joined the college in 2005, having previously been principal of Boston College. He has a background in education and training, having worked as a lecturer in business studies. Pomfret represents the college on a wide variety of professional and educational boards within Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.[9]

Notable alumni
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References
  1. "History of CWA". College of West Anglia. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  2. "Candidate information about CWA" (PDF). College of West Anglia. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. "College delight at good rating in Ofsted report". Lynn News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  4. "CWA starts £35m building work". BBC News. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  5. "Our campuses". College of West Anglia. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  6. "CWA to build £2.5m arts centre". BBC News. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. "King's Lynn college in £10m revamp for tower block". Eastern Daily Press. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  8. "History of College". College of West Anglia. Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  9. "Big Interview". KL Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
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