New College Stamford

New College Stamford (New College Stamford)

History: Formerly Stamford College.

Address: Stamford, Lincolnshire. Also has centres in Spalding, Sleaford and Grantham.

Ambience: The college is set in its own attractive campus a short walk from the town centre. It has developed rapidly over the last few years and offers modern facilities.

Who's the boss? Andrew Patience is principal.

Prospectus: 01780 484 311, view it online here and follow @NewCollegeStamf.

UCAS code: N33

What you need to know

Easy to get into? Yes - keen on widening participation. HE applicants should generally have a Level 3 qualification although mature students are accepted based on experience.

Foundation degrees: Learning practitioners; children's services (early childhood); illustration; sports and exercise science; drama practitioner; graphic design; creative and editorial photography; music practitioners; contemporary fine art practice. HNDs in computing and systems development and animal management.

Vital statistics: Around 2,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students mainly studying further education courses, with 200 students following university level programmes. Higher education is validated by the University of Northampton, Bishop Grosseteste University and the University of Bedfordshire.

Added value: The college's £2.7m new build was opened in June 2011. The state-of-the-art building provides new social and recreational space alongside student support services, a bistro and a conference/lecture room. A further new build introducing state of the art sports facilities will be completed in August 2014.

Teaching: A 2011 Ofsted inspection awarded the college an overall grade of 'good'. Provision in skills for life and work was deemed to be 'outstanding'. QAA were confident with the college’s higher education provision.

Any accommodation? None provided by the college.

Cheap to live there? It varies. House shares in Peterborough were available for around £60 to £80 per week last year.

Transport links: The college is a 15-minute walk from the bus and train stations. There are direct trains from Stamford to Peterborough, Leicester and Lincoln.

Fees: As of 2013, £5,999 per year.

Bursaries: The college will not be offering any scholarships or bursaries in 2013 but there are a number of National Scholarships worth £3,000.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: For a little rural town, Stamford is surprisingly well provided with bars and clubs catering for students, and a full quota of ye-olde English pubs and restaurants. If you get tired of it, you can easily escape to nearby Peterborough for the night.

Sporting reputation: Does not compete in the BUCS league, but students can benefit from a sport hall, gym and astro pitch.

Glittering alumni: None as yet.