South Nottingham College

South Nottingham College

Age: 40

History: Founded in 1971 on the site of the old Lutterel Secondary School. It merged with Castle College (formerly Broxtowe College) in July 2011.

Address: Many sites across Nottingham - West Bridgford, Clifton, Ruddington, City Centre, Stapleford and Beeston. Courses are also offered in various outreach centres.

Ambience: A thriving further education college in a modern city with a large student population.

Vital statistics: Expecting 43,000 students in its first intake after the merger. It offers more than 1,000 full and part-time courses.

Added value: Sporty. Athlete performance programmes in men's football, basketball, rugby and hockey. The Charnwood Centre is a National Centre of Excellence for art, design, photography and multimedia. There are modern hairdressing and beauty salons at the West Bridgford and Bingham Centres. There's a Trade Union Academy in the city centre.

Easy to get into? You'll need between 80 and 120 UCAS points for an HND or 120 to 200 points for a foundation degree.

Glittering alumni: Several sports alumni are on lucrative basketball and football scholarships at US universities; footballers Wes Morgan (Nottingham Forest) and Simon Francis (Charlton Athletic) and Jenny Gunn (England Women's Cricket)

Transport links: All main college centres are well provided with a raft of normal bus and occasionally tram services. Trains to London take around an hour and a half, and East Midlands Airport is close by,

Who's the boss? First-time Principal Malcolm Cowgill, who was appointed in 2003.

Teaching: Grade 2 (good) provision across the board in 2008 OFSTED inspection. Student success rates are in the top 10 per cent of colleges nationally and are outstanding for adult learners on level 1 long courses and learners aged 16 to 18 on level 2 long courses.

Foundation Degrees: Foundation degrees in dental technology, computer games and interactive media, sport coaching, criminal justice, production engineering, visual arts practice, photography, textile design

Nightlife: You can easily find cinemas, live music, clubs and bars to suit all tastes. The city has a proud place in pub history - it's home to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, allegedly the oldest drinking den in the country.

Any accommodation? The college has some accommodation for international students

Cheap to live there? Yes - on average, rent is between £60 and £70 per week.

Fees: £1,285 per year for full-time HE courses commencing in 2011. The college is planning to charge £5,995 per year for its HE courses as of 2012.

Bursaries: None offered in 2011, but a scholarship/ bursary scheme will be available in 2012.

Prospectus: 0115 914 6414; www.snc.ac.uk

UCAS code: S46