Bromley College of Further & Higher Education

For the Bromley College founded in 1666, see Bromley & Sheppard’s Colleges. For the art college, see Ravensbourne (college) § History.

Bromley College of Further & Higher Education

Established	c. 1950
Type	Further Education, Higher Education
Principal	Sam Parrett
Location	Rookery Lane Bromley BR2 8HE England
Local authority	Bromley
DfE number	305/8000
DfE URN	130430 Tables
Ofsted	Reports Pre-academy reports
Staff	650+
Students	10,000
Gender	Mixed
Ages	14–99
Website	College homepage

Bromley College of Further and Higher Education is a Further Education and Higher Education college in the London Borough of Bromley, London. It is a partner college of six of the twelve schools of the University of Greenwich.

Educational Institute

Bromley College of Higher and Further Education is an educational institute with nearly 10,000 students studying further and higher Education. The college has two recently developed campus sites; the first is located in Bromley and the second is situated in Orpington, Kent. It is one of six partnership colleges of the 12 schools of the University of Greenwich. Bromley College courses recognise different kinds of learning styles and skills, giving all of its students the chance to build a future in the modern world. It proudly stands on its partnerships with schools, universities, and local employers and the place it holds as a centre of vocational excellence in the local community.

Campus

Bromley campus is just south of Bromley town centre on the A21, Bromley College was founded in 1959. On 1 August 2011, it merged with Orpington College, which became its Orpington campus. Built in 1972, Orpington College’s tower block remains the tallest building in Orpington. Beginning in 2008, it underwent a £26m overhaul. In November, a World War II air-raid shelter was discovered during construction work. This shelter would have housed Orpington residents from German bombing raids, and was buried when the Walnuts Shopping Centre was built. Buildings, dating back more than 30 years were demolished and a new hi-tech, eco-friendly four-storey block built, while the existing 10-storey block was refurbished. The new building houses a study and IT centre with state-of-the-art computer facilities. The new library includes a quiet room and there is a new student common room. Following a competition held by the college, the new building was named "The Ozone" by winning student, Martin Baker. It was officially opened on 14 April 2011 by the mayor, accompanied by Jason Donovan, who unveiled a plaque.

Academic Organisation

In further education the College offers a wide variety of vocational courses A new Hospitality, Food & Enterprise College opened in September 2014 at the Orpington Campus.

Bromley College partnerships with the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University enable them to offer a range of courses providing higher education opportunities.

Bromley Educational Trust: In 2014, Bromley College helped to create a new Educational Trust, a special partnership whose aim is to provide outstanding education and training for children and young adults between the ages of 5-18 within the Bromley Borough. The provision that is established under the Bromley Educational Trust brings together a number of specialist, vocational and technical schools and colleges that provide an alternative to formal mainstream education.

The Bromley Children’s University was launched in September 2014, with initial support from the National Children’s University. This is a national programme aimed at increasing social mobility and aspiration among children. It focuses on providing high quality, innovative learning opportunities for children aged 7–14 outside of school. There are currently 125 CUs operating around the UK – 160,000 children participating in 2013 – and an increasing number of CUs operating across the world.

Following the launch of the Hospitality, Food and Enterprise Career College in September 2014, Bromley College opened up a commercial training restaurant which is now open to the public.

Achievements

The College has twice achieved the Centre of Vocational Excellence status for its business & electrical courses, and has achieved the Matrix Standard and Charter Mark awarded for excellence, accreditations for organisations to assess and measure advice and support services. It is a British Quality Foundation member and positive about disabled people, a commitment to the recruitment and support of new and existing staff with disabilities. Bromley College also achieved a ‘Good’ report from Ofsted in 2013 while endorsing many features of the College’s provision as outstanding.

Notable alumni

• Billy Idol- Musician
• Hanif Kureishi CBE- Writer.
• Siouxsie Sioux- Musician
• Phil Butcher - Musician

External links

• College homepage
• Bromley College’s student-led restaurant
• University of Greenwich/partner- university
• Canterbury Christ Church University/partner- university
• University technical college
• OFSTED