Coordinates: 50°49′16″N 1°34′12″W / 50.821°N 1.570°W
| Brockenhurst College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Inter silvas quaerere verum (Latin for "To Search for Truth Among the Trees") |
| Established | 1909 |
| Type | Further Education |
| Principal | Di Roberts |
| Staff | 190 teaching staff |
| Students | 2,800 (total; 2006–07) Adult Learning 10,000 (total; 2006-07 |
| Location | Brockenhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom |
| Campus | Rural |
| Nickname | Brock |
| Website | http://www.brock.ac.uk |
Brockenhurst College, or colloquially known as Brock, is in the tertiary sector providing education in a wide range of courses for many different ages. The college is based in the village of Brockenhurst in the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The college motto in Latin is "Inter silvas quaerere verum" which translated to English is "to search for truth among the trees".
The college has over 2800 full time students and over 10,000 part time adult learners as far and wide as The New Forest, Bournemouth, Poole, East Dorset, the Waterside area of Southampton, South Wiltshire, and the Isle of Wight. Brock College has been an accredited Investors in People since 1996, and in 2004 was awarded by the AoC Beacon Award and is also rated one of the top ten colleges in the country and top in the south by Ofsted.
The types of courses the college provides are professional, vocational and AS/A Level courses, Foundation Degrees and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) and Higher National Certificates (HNCs). The college is also one of over 160 schools or colleges within the U.K to offer the International Baccalaureate qualification.
Contents |
College Mission Statement
- To encourage support and enhance learning by responding to the needs and demands of individuals and employers through high quality provision, collaboration and innovative practice.
- To increase and widen participation and achievement in education and skills training for all our learners.
Campus
The College, with its many different buildings and uses, is divided up into A, B, E, M and S blocks. In addition to the Main Hall and Foyer, there are also other blocks given full names, such as the Sports Centre, the Hard Brock Café, the Learning Care Centre, and the LRC (Learning Resources Centre).
There is also the new CoVE Building located between the sports centre and the smoking area for adult education. The college also lets the students smoke as well. The college also has adult learning centres in New Milton, Lymington and Totton.
M Block
M Block, standing for Main Building, is the oldest section of the college which includes the original hall, now called the SEC, used as a secondary room for exams and enrichment programmes. Also within the block, besides the main reception area, are much of the non-teaching staff at Brock as well as the main division offices and the Principal's offices. The offices are also used by Connexions and EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) attendants located at Student Services. Based also in this block is IT Support which is in charge of the college network system and maintenance of all college's IT equipment.
Many of the lessons held in this block are Music courses with their own sound rooms and recording studios, Performing Arts and Theatre with their own Performing Arts Centre, Media which also have sound rooms and digital editing suites, Philosophy, Politics, Archeology, History, and Business which has over five computer suits for its study.
A and S Block
A Block contains the Specialist Art Centre and Mathematics building, and S is the Sciences Centre complete with three-story building of Biology, Chemistry and Physics laboratories on the ground, first and second floor respectively. Both Chemistry and Biology have student accessible prep rooms frequented by staff. Alongside Physics, a GCSE in Astronomy is also offered. On the bottom floor is the staff room used for morning meetings with the Principal and division heads.
B Block
The Beacon Technology Block, named after the college's Beacon Status, is the latest development in the college with new recording studios, media suites and a photo development lab. All top floor classrooms in the block are fitted with flat screens attached to PCs, and some classrooms are fitted with Apple Mac computers.
On the older floor of the building are the Training Kitchens and MJ’s Restaurant, which is open to the public. Tech facilities and workshops are based in the block, as well as the Graphic Design rooms.
E Block
The Errington Block, which was named after an ex-governor of the college, holds additional classrooms for Language, Sociology, Psychology, Business Studies, Child Care, Key Skills and GCSE courses. Each room is fitted with digital projectors and computers.
Sports Centre
The sports centre holds all main functions regarding sports, and also contains a Fitness Suite which is opened to the public and college staff during the day and after college hours.
The Hard Brock Café
The Hard Brock Café is the main social attraction for all college students and also holds the offices of the Students’ Union. The café provides a wide variety of hot and cold meals, quick snacks, drinks and ice creams. The building has two sections, the lower floor containing a coffee area and TVs showing MTV, and the upstairs area holding the Union Office and a jukebox for a more alternative taste in entertainment.
Recently the college have made the beginning of what could be another café placed in the huts called Hard Brocks Little Café.
LRC (Learning Resources Centre)
The LRC was originally the college main hall and is now the main study area for students at Brock. The LRC has a large library containing a wide selection of course books and relevant course DVDs and CDs, as well as a wide selection of magazines from the NME to The Economist. As well as this on the top floor is a large ILT Suite. In this building there is also Reprographics and private study rooms.
History
Pupil Teachers’ Centre 1909-21
Brockenhurst College began its existence in 1909 as a Pupil Teachers’ Centre - a school where promising young girls as young as 13 learned to be teachers. The classes were held in the Wesleyan Church Sunday School, with only 18 children attending under the head mistress, Miss More. Although classes were first held in the church Sunday School, Brockenhurst never had any religious affiliation or received any funding from ecclesiastical authorities. It was always funded by the Hampshire Education Authority, and the Sunday School room was used simply because it offered suitable accommodation. Between 1913 and 1935 the school moved location twice and changed head mistress to Miss E C Ward. During this time the school increased further with more problems continuing for teaching space.
County School 1921-39
Taking in both boys and girls, the school was still expanding further with more pupils joining, by now numbering 150. Along with this the education board granted more funding and further building work; this was followed by a new hall, kitchen and a woodwork room. Miss Ward died in October 1935 to be replaced by the former head of Farnborough Grammar School, Mr R H May.
County High School 1939-50
The school by this time had grown even further to a High School enrolling 400 students and as young as eleven.
Grammar School 1950-53
In 1950 the headmaster decided that the school should be turned into a Grammar School and students would therefore have to pass the eleven plus examination to join. At this stage the School was still taking in both sexes and was resisting the change wanted by the local community. It was also at this time that the Headmaster changed Brocks motto to what it is today without any warning to staff or pupils.
County High School (again) 1953-60
In 1953 the Headmaster made another unexpected decision changed the name back to a High School. The reason for this is unsure but the name remained for seven years until the Hampshire Education Authority sanctioned the change to a Grammar School.
Grammar School 1960-70
Finally the name of Grammar School remained for the following ten years after being reinstated by the Education Authority.
College 1970-
The School was converted into a college in 1969 leaving all the surrounding schools to continue lower school education in the area. This is different from many other 6th form college’s that are also secondary schools or combined elementary schools, but Brock instead decided to become a full college.
Over subsequent years the college has seen many different changes in its structure depending on changes in courses that the college provides; the latest change being the construction of the new Beacon Block.
Head Masters/Mistresses and Principals
- Miss Moore 1909-1913 (Head Mistress)[1]
- Miss M. A. Ward 1913-1935 (Head Mistress)[1]
- Mr Green 1935 (Acting Head Master)[1]
- Mr R. H. May 1935-1949 (Head Master)[1]
- Dr L. R. Wood 1949-1970 (Head Master to 1969, then Principal)[1]
- Mr A. J. Baker 1970-1989 (Principal)[1]
- Mike Snell 1989-2006 (Principal)[1]
- Di Roberts 2006- (Principal)[1]
Notable former pupils
- Sir Raymond Carr (born 1919), historian[2]
- Ian Wooldridge (1932-2007), Daily Mail sports journalist
- Jonathan Raban (born 1942), travel writer and novelist
- Dame Heather Hallett (born 1949), judge of the Court of Appeal
- Patrick Harverson (born 1962), personal assistant to Charles, Prince of Wales
Students' Union
The students of Brock also have their own Students' union which is elected every year in November. The Union stays in place for one year and is then re-elected again. (Previous Union executives cannot contend again).
Executive Positions:
- President - Rosie Tayleur
- Vice President - Ben Rogers
- Secretary - Jack W. Warr
- Treasurer - Glen Dighton
- Social Secretary - Charlotte E. Standley
- Charity Co-ordinator - Laurence H. C. de Lussy Kubisa
- Co-opted Members
- Patrick J. Bettle
- Jonquil M. Peck
- Harry G. Clayton
- Amber Cunningham
- Louise Webb
The Union itself participates in many different boards within the college, the most important being the Board of Governors of which the elected President is a member. As well as this, and liaising with the Principal, the Union puts together throughout their year in office many different events from which they raise money for their charity of the year. The most popular event that the Union organises is the Freshers' Event which has been held in Elements in Bournemouth for a number of years.
See also
External links
References
- Old School Association
- www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/Brockenhurst
- http://www.beaconstatus.org/opencms/opencms/www/about/abou02_1.html?activityId=1611&letter=b
- http://www.rm.com/FE/CaseStudies/Article.asp?cref=MCASE627035
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