East Durham & Houghall Community College
Encyclopedia
East Durham College, formerly known as East Durham & Houghall Community College, is a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 with campuses in Peterlee
Peterlee
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...

 and Houghall
Houghall
Houghall is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated approximately to the south of Durham city centre. It is also the location of the Houghall Campus of East Durham College, associated gardens, a small number of houses and a restaurant....

, south-east of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

.

The College has a roll of around two thousand full-time, and four thousand part-time students,.

East Durham College operates across two campus and many local community venues, as well as providing work force development within individual work places across the region.

The Peterlee campus is situated on the B1320 (Burnhope Way) in Peterlee, near the A19. The Houghall
Houghall
Houghall is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated approximately to the south of Durham city centre. It is also the location of the Houghall Campus of East Durham College, associated gardens, a small number of houses and a restaurant....

 campus is situated on the A177 (Stockton Road) to the south-east of Durham, near Shincliffe
Shincliffe
Shincliffe is a village in the County Durham in England. It is situated just over a mile to the south-east of Durham city centre, on the A177 road to Stockton...

. The Peterlee campus includes a variety of facilities including the bistro restaurant Scene1, two functional beauty and hair salons
Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...

, recording studio, IT suites, sports centre and fitness suite, dance studio, theatre and a conference suite.

The 400 acre Houghall Campus includes football and rugby pitches, gardens, woodland, stables, an all weather equine arena, small animal care unit and working farm.

Courses

Houghall Campus: Agriculture, Animal Care, Arboriculture & Forestry, Environmental Conservation, Equine Studies, Floristry, Horticulture and Elite Sport (Football)

Peterlee Campus: Access to Higher Education, Art & Design, Barbering, Beauty Therapy, Brickwork, Business, Carpentry, Catering, Childcare, Computing, Construction, Hairdressing, Health & Social Care, Hospitality, ICT, Media, Music, Outdoor Education, Painting & Decorating, Performing Arts, Sport, Teaching, Travel & Tourism, Uniformed Public Services

The Technical Academy: Electrical, Gas, Fitted Interiors (Kitchen & Bathroom Plumbing and Fitting), Plastering and Tiling (Wall and Floor)

History

The history of Houghall Farm can be traced back through many centuries. In 1260 the manor at Houghall, plus the attached lands were granted to the Priory and Convent of Durham. Although some of the land was leased, most of the area was farmed by the monks themselves. Sheep were a very important part of the farm at this time and also crops, such as oats and barley were grown. The land was very marshy so fish farming took place in the many ponds and the rushes, which grew abundantly, were harvested for use in the Cathedral, Cloisters and Castle.

The Priory let the farm in 1464 to Richard Rackett, and the tenancy remained with the Rackett family until the dissolution of the monasteries. Houghall was then sold to Viscount Lisle, the tenant at that time being Clement Farrowe. The farm was returned to the Church (Dean and Chapter) in 1660.

A survey of the farm was carried out in 1794 and it is interesting to note that many of the fields had the same shape and the same name as they have today. The crops grown at this time were oats, barley, wheat, grass, clover and rape.

In 1836 Houghall and other land in the area was endowed to Durham University. In 1920 Durham County Council then bought the farm to provide the site for an agricultural school and training farm.

The course of the river Wear has changed many times over the centuries, both through natural means and by design. A large area, which is now part of the farm, was once the river bed. The silt deposits left by the river have contributed greatly to the fertility of the farm.

The present college results from the merger in June 1999 of Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture (also known as Houghall College) and East Durham Community College in Peterlee (formerly known as Peterlee Tertiary College in the 1980s and Peterlee College since 1989). The former campus at the town centre on Burnhope Way (B1320) was originally Easington Technical College and the campus at Howletch was originally Peterlee Grammar School.

In 2006, the college was given planning permission to build a new campus at Peterlee because the buildings at the two campuses there did not meet the requirements for access for disabled people. In September 2008 a brand new £36m college building was opened on the Howletch site; the old college building at Howletch has also been demolished to make way for further college buildings and the old college building at Burnhope Way will be demolished to make way for a Tesco Extra. The college's new 220 seat theatre was named after Berthold Lubetkin
Berthold Lubetkin
Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, London Zoo penguin pool, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate.-Early years:Berthold Lubetkin was born in Tiflis into a Jewish...

.

Sport Development Centre

The college also runs a Student Athlete Programme, providing health education to participants. The programme includes boxing, basketball, football and rugby, providing a variety of competitive opportunities (friendly, league, cup fixtures), but the major focus is on individual skill development as opposed to team organisation. The sports hall has 500 seats on the bleachers.

Alumni

  • Shaun Reay, footballer
  • Steve Howey
    Steve Howey (footballer)
    Stephen Norman "Steve" Howey is a former footballer who played for the England national team. At club level, he made more than 300 appearances in the Football League and the Premier League, playing for Newcastle United, Manchester City, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and Hartlepool United...

    , footballer - Steve Howey worked at the East Durham College Football Development Centre from 2007 was Acting Head of the Centre until 2011
  • Tony Jeffries
    Tony Jeffries
    Tony David Jeffries is an English professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics...

    , Tony studied Engineering at East Durham College and was part of the boxing development team
  • Dave Wilson, Bath
    Bath Rugby
    Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...

     and England
    England national rugby union team
    The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

     Rugby Union Prop
  • Gina McKee
    Gina McKee
    Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....

    , Actress best known for her roles in The Lost Prince
    The Lost Prince
    The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...

     and Notting Hill
    Notting Hill (film)
    Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...

  • Steve Harper, Steve studied Sport and attended the Football Development Centre at East Durham College and is now a footballer at Newcastle United
    Newcastle United F.C.
    Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...


Peterlee Grammar School

  • Grahame Morris
    Grahame Morris
    Grahame Mark Morris is a British Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Easington, replacing the previous Labour MP John Cummings, who decided to step down....

    , Labour MP since 2010 for Easington
    Easington (UK Parliament constituency)
    Easington is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....


Easington Technical College

  • John Cummings, Labour MP from 1987-2010 for Easington

External links

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