Coleg Llandrillo Cymru

Age: 42

History: Once a small catering college, then a technical college and now the largest College in North Wales.

Address: A large campus in Colwyn Bay and three more sites in Abergele, Denbigh and Rhyl, where a £4m revamp has just been completed. There is also a specialist business training centre in St. Asaph and up to 170 learning centres across the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire.

Ambience: Rural beauty. On the North Wales coast, near to the Snowdonia National Park. Excellent for outdoor sports of all kinds, even surfing. Good range of services including a conference centre, restaurant, cafe, travel shop, learning centre, library, hair and beauty studios, sports centre, international office and student welfare office.

Vital statistics: There are 27,000 students or so, including FE and HE. The college offers more than 3,000 full and part-time courses, from A-levels, BTECs, Modern Apprenticeships and NVQs to HNCs, HNDs, Foundation Degrees, Degrees and Postgraduate Studies.

Added value: A host of awards, including Seven Beacon Award, Charter Mark Quality Award and the Wales Quality Award for Learning. The only College in Wales with Network of Excellence status in Catering and Hospitality and one of only three UK Centres to hold Centre of Excellence status for Autotronics. In 2000 the College was named Best Hotel School of Europe.

Easy to get into? Should be, but contact them for details on specific courses.

Glittering alumni: None as yet.

Transport links: The college has excellent transport links along the North Wales coast.

Who's the boss? Mr. Huw Evans, OBE.

Teaching: 'Outstanding', according to the most recent Ofsted inspection. It gained the highest possible grades for all seven elements of the inspection process.

Foundation Degrees: Include Automotive Management*; Childhood & Learning Support Studies*; Computer Networks; Creative and Interactive Media;; Information Technology; Internet and Multimedia Computing; Licensed House Management; Management and Business; Management of Hospitality ; Management of Travel and Tourism; Police Studies*; Retail Management.

Nightlife: There is no nightlife on campus. But there is fun to be had in the nearby towns of Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and the city of Bangor.

Any accommodation? None provided by the college.

Cheap to live there? Yes indeed. Shared flats can be found for as little as £55 per week.

Prospectus: 01492 542 338/9; www.llandrillo.ac.uk

UCAS code: L53

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