Rotherham College of Arts and Technology is a further education college with two campus locations in South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, one in Rotherham

Rotherham

Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...

, and one in Dinnington

Dinnington

Dinnington is a town in rural South Yorkshire, England, and part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. It is roughly equidistant from Sheffield, Rotherham and Worksop, and is located at an elevation of about 100 metres above sea level....

. The College has links with industry such as Rother FM

Rother FM

Rother FM is a Independent Local Radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Rother FM is now based in Doncaster United Kingdom. The Station began broadcasting in October 2006 from its studios at Aspen Court in Templeborough...

.

Campus

The college has two main campuses: Rotherham Town Centre Campus (TCC) and Rother Valley Campus (RVC).

• Town Centre Campus — Eastwood Lane, Rotherham, S65 1EG 53.43209°N 1.35269°W

• Rother Valley Campus — Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, via Sheffield, S25 2NF 53.37434°N 1.20702°W

The current principal of Rotherham is Gill Alton. Rother Valley Campus manager is Paul Bloor.

The college has a staff of 700, and an enrolment of 1,100 14–15 year olds and 2,900 16–18 year olds.

History

Rotherham College has provided technical education in Rotherham since the 1930s. In 1981, three individual colleges of arts, technology and adult education were merged into one.

In August 2004, the college merged with Rother Valley College, which is now known as Rother Valley Campus (RVC). RVC takes its name from the Rother Valley which lies about five miles to the west, although the college does lie in the parliamentary constituency of the same name. The clock-towered building was built as a mining college by the Dinnington Colliery Company, and was opened in 1928 as the Chelmsford Mining and Technical Institute. By the turn of the 1960s it was known as Dinnington Technical College, and later adopted the name Rother Valley College.
The campus includes a small livestock farm, and is partially on land acquired from the now demolished Throapham Manor.
In the 1950s, the college offered a secondary technical programme. This aspect of the college was spun off in 1963, merging with the neighbouring secondary modern school to create Dinnington High School.

In 2010 Rotherham College embarked on the first stage of a new build programme. This involved the demolition of the Starting Point building on Eastwood Lane, and construction of the new building has taken place. As of January 2011 the foundations have been laid, the lift shaft has been put in place and the steel frame is nearing completion. The new building, to be called Wentworth, is due to open to students in September 2011.

Degree programmes

The college offers both Higher Education and Apprenticeship programmes.

Foundation Degree

Foundation degree

The Foundation Degree is a vocational qualification introduced by the government of the United Kingdom in September 2001, which is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

s include Business Management, Computing, Graphic Design, and Performing Arts.

The college has Centre of Vocational Excellence

Centre of Vocational Excellence

Centre of Vocational Excellence is a status given to departments in further education colleges in England...

 (CoVE) status in four areas. Cisco and Microsoft ICT Academies Partnership with local radio station Rother FM

Rother FM

Rother FM is a Independent Local Radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Rother FM is now based in Doncaster United Kingdom. The Station began broadcasting in October 2006 from its studios at Aspen Court in Templeborough...

, which has endorsed the radio development course.

Rotherham is an associate college of Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...

 and Huddersfield University.

Facilities

The Catering and Hospitality program runs Wharncliffe Restaurant as a training restaurant.

Student life

The college provides no living accommodations for students. Students may rent shared flats nearby.

Rotherham has a selection of clubs and pubs with Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 and Barnsley

Barnsley

Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...

 being close.

Pulp

Pulp (band)

Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

 played their first gig in Rotherham's Arts Centre in July 1980.

Notable alumni

• Sean Bean
  Sean Bean
  Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
  
  , actor
• Peter Elliott
  Peter Elliott (athlete)
  Peter Elliott is a former middle-distance runner from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1987 World...
  
  , Olympic distance runner

External links

• Rotherham College
• Listing at The Independent
  The Independent
  The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
  
  
• Rother FM