Rotherham College of Arts and Technology

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View of Rotherham College main building

Rotherham College of Arts and Technology (RCAT) is the largest further education college based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, with two campus locations, one in Rotherham, and one in Dinnington. The College has links with industry's such as Rother FM, Roland Corporation and the BBC. The college is home to the Roland Music Academy which is one of 11 in the country and the first in the North of England.

Campus

View of Rother Valley Campus main building

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°25′56″N 1°21′10″W / 53.43209°N 1.35269°W / 53.43209; -1.35269

• Rother Valley Campus — Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, via Sheffield, S25 2NF 53°22′28″N 1°12′25″W / 53.37434°N 1.20702°W / 53.37434; -1.20702

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

View of Rother Valley Campus from the pit tip, 2004

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. In March 2012 Prince Andrew, The Duke of York took part in the official opening of the Wentworth Building.

Admissions

The college provides a range of different courses for students between the age of 16-18 to choose at GCSE, BTEC, and AS level. It also provides Night classes for Adult learners. Courses for Adult learners are part-time, but courses for students are full-time.

Degree programmes

The college offers both Higher Education and Apprenticeship programmes.

Foundation Degrees include Business Management, Computing, Graphic Design, and Performing Arts.

The college has Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status in four areas. Cisco and Microsoft ICT Academies Partnership with local radio station Rother FM, which has endorsed the media course.

Rotherham is an associate college of Sheffield Hallam University, Huddersfield University and The University of Hull.

Facilities

The Catering and Hospitality program runs Wharncliffe Restaurant as a training restaurant. The college has 92 general classrooms and 124-specialist classrooms and 2,312 courses. The new^[when?] Wentworth building has classrooms with state-of-the-art facilities.^{[citation needed]}

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, Doncaster and Barnsley being close.

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

Rotherham is within close proximity to international venues which have hosted acts such as Rihanna, Madonna, Metallica and Bruno Mars

Notable alumni

• Sean Bean, actor
• Peter Elliott, Olympic distance runner
• Rob McVeigh, singer

External links

• Rotherham College
• Listing at The Independent
• Rother FM