Birmingham Metropolitan College

 

Birmingham Metropolitan College (Formerly Matthew Boulton College of Further & Higher Education)

Age: 120

History: Named after the great industrialist, Matthew Boulton College started life in 1890 as a Municipal Technical School meeting the growing needs for technical education. Today the college continues to emulate the good work of its namesake, providing education and training to its local community, schools and businesses. In 2009, it merged with Sutton Coldfield College to become Birmingham Metropolitan College.

Address: Central Birmingham. Moved in 2005 to a brand new building near Millennium Point in Eastside, the city's burgeoning learning quarter. Aston University and UCE Birmingham have campuses a stone's throw away. Once the butt of endless jokes, Britain's second city is undergoing something of a cultural renaissance.

Ambience: A thriving urban college still jubilant about its new £40m premises, the biggest FE development the region has seen. It maintains strong links with the community, such as the 4Ws project providing language support and life skills for women in the Highgate area of Birmingham, which has an increasing number of asylum seekers.

Vital statistics: More than 7,000 students beaver away on 500 courses.

Added value: Already a centre of vocational excellence in print media and graphics, business and professional services and vocational medical sciences, the College has its sights set on achieving the same in electronics and technology, performing arts and information technology in the near future. It won the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2002 and has a new state-of-the-art drop-in learning suite in the Central library's Baskeville learning centre.

Easy to get into? Applications are made directly to the college.

Glittering alumni: Former F1 maestro Nigel Mansell.

Transport links: Birmingham is easy to get to, from and around. Matthew Boulton is in the centre, less than ten minutes' walk from New Street station.

Who's the boss? Christine Braddock, Principal and Chief Executive since 1998. She is a council member of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Teaching: The 2003 Ofsted report rated the teaching as good in science, teacher training, and visual and performing arts and satisfactory in engineering and business.

Foundation Degrees: Business administration, fitness and community health, health and social care, applied computing, law, IT and networking, dental technology, pharmaceutical technology, production management, teaching assistants.

Nightlife: Birmingham has a kicking club scene, a spice rack of curry houses and cultural delights including the Birmingham Rep, Symphony Hall and the NEC.

Any accommodation? None provided by the college, but Birmingham has a wide range of student housing.

Cheap to live there? It can be - some shared student flats went for as little as £40 per week last year.

Prospectus: 0845 155 0101 / www.bmetc.ac.uk

UCAS code: B30

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
       
News in pictures
World news in pictures

Day In a Page

The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...
The 10 Best barbecues

The 10 Best barbecues

Whether you're cooking on gas or are a convert to charcoal we've got the perfect way to cook when the sun is out.
Style icon David Beckham calls time on his long retirement

Style icon calls time on his long retirement

David Beckham never disgraced himself but former England captain ceased to be a major player years ago. Remember him at his United peak
Steve Harper: My darkest times

Steve Harper: My darkest times

As the popular Newcastle goalkeeper bows out after 20 years at the club, he tells Martin Hardy about the private battle with depression that threatened his career
Sir Torquil Norman has designed a flat-pack OX truck for the developing world

The flat-pack truck with big ambitions

After making a fortune from Polly Pocket and a doll's house shaped like a teapot, the entrepreneur has turned his creativity to a transporter truck for the developing world. Simon Usborne meets him.