Kirklees College

Kirklees College main building (flickr: Tim Green aka atoach)

History: At a public meeting in February 1887 it was resolved to open a subscription to build a technical college in Dewsbury as the most suitable manner of marking the Queen's Jubilee. The college was formally opened as Dewsbury and District Technical School on 12 June 1890. In August 2008, Dewsbury College and Huddersfield Technical College merged to become Kirklees College.

Address: There are ten centres across the Kirklees area, but the two main campuses are approximately ten miles away from one another in the centres of Dewsbury and Huddersfield. A new state-of-the-art campus opened at Huddersfield Waterfront in September 2012.

Ambience: Grade II listed buildings make up a large portion of the accommodation. Modern facilities are available throughout the college in the libraries, classrooms and study centres.

Who's the boss? Peter McCann became college principal in spring 2011.

Prospectus: 01924 436 221, download it here and follow on Twitter @kirkleescollege.

UCAS code: K90

What you need to know

Easy to get into? Entry requirements and interview policy varies across disciplines, so you're best to contact them directly, or view their website.

Foundation Degrees: Children's learning and development, computing, ceramics, digital photography, fashion design and manufacture, fashion styling and promotion, and graphic communication.

Vital statistics: One of the biggest colleges in the country, offering HE courses up to degree level that are validated Leeds Metropolitan University. Strongly committed to widening participation and lifelong learning. There are around 20,000 students, of whom approximately 5,000 are full-time.

Added value: Batley School of Art and Design has been awarded Centre for Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status in digital design, and is one of a handful of such centres nationwide. It has state-of-the-art digital resources. The Northern Centre for Digital Imaging was established in May 2000 and now provides a focus for digital imaging training for local businesses within the college's general business training unit - Evolve Business Training. Recently awarded a second CoVE in Early Years and Playwork (in partnership with Doncaster and Harrogate Colleges). The college is the official education partner of Huddersfield AFC.

Teaching: In their recent college survey, 91 per cent of students said their lessons were interesting and varied, and 97 per cent said they were on the right course to gain the qualification they needed.

Any accommodation? None - their accommodation officer helps students search for local places to live and inspects property offered for rent to make sure it is of a suitable standard.

Cheap to live there? Very. Rents vary but Dewsbury is very reasonable, with Huddersfield slightly more pricey. Expect to pay from £65 per week.

Transport links: Frequent bus services, with stations a 10-minute walk from college. The two main sites are a short bus journey away. Leeds and Bradford are close too.

Fees: For HE courses, 2013 entry fees are £5,995 per year.

Bursaries: None offered by the college.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: Plenty of local clubbing and pubbing. Culture vultures can take their pick from some of the North's finest museums, parks, coffee houses, galleries, cinemas and theatres, while Leeds is a major club capital and offers a host of venues delivering a constant, eclectic mix of top quality live music. Manchester and Sheffield are within easy reach.

Sporting reputation: No gym on-site but there's a range of leisure activities which cost nothing to join.

Glittering alumni: Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd, former speaker of the House of Commons; Baroness Lockwood of Dewsbury, deputy speaker of the House of Lords, founding chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission; Baroness Warsi, former chair of the Conservative party.