York College

York College, situated in the historic city of York, is the largest provider of A Level and vocational programmes for 16 - 19 year olds in the region, offering over 40 A Level subjects and 80 vocational programmes. It has profited from a £60 million redevelopment and is a member of the '157 Group' of esteemed colleges in the UK.

Background and history

The College has a comparatively short history and was established in 1999 by a merger of York Sixth Form College and York College of Further and Higher Education. A major redevelopment of the former Sixth Form College site began in 2005, and the new campus opened in September 2007.

Location and accessibility

The five-floor main college building has excellent transport links, with access easily obtainable by rail and road. The nearest train station is two miles from the college but there is a direct 'Park and Ride' bus every 8 minutes.Car parking is available on site, with day tickets costing 50p, but the number of spaces is limited, with the site often reaching full capacity by mid-morning.Additionally, for cyclists there are cycle racks near the college nursery and covered cycle storage in the rear car park. There are plenty of new 'safe cycle' lanes on main routes to the College.

What's on offer?

The college is the largest further education provider in the region and boasts over 40 A-level subjects and 80 vocational programmes. Additionally, there are business training, apprenticeships and adult learning courses available through the college.In 2012, over 900 students applied to Higher Education after studying at York College.

York College has a wide variety of traditional and vocational courses on offer, as well as some adult education and work-based services.

Subject areas include:

Business Professional Studies, Child Studies, Construction Trades, Education Teaching, Engineering, English, Fine Art, Design Crafts, Hair, Beauty Holistic Therapy, Hospitality, Travel Tourism, Health Social Care, Humanities Social Science, ICT Computing, Languages, Maths, Media Performing Arts, Music, Sciences, Skills for Life, Sport Public Services, Entry requirements and qualification achievements are listed for each individual course on the college website.

There is a comprehensive fees and benefit service running at the college which offers help and advice concerning the cost of courses, payment schemes and financial help for exceptional cases.

Alan Ayckbourn Theatre hosts a wide variety of performance styles including theatre, dance and music events. The auditorium seats 200 people and the venue is usedprimarily for workshops, rehearsals and regular productions by York College Acting, Dance and Musical Theatre students.

Ashfields Restaurant is an on-site training restaurant and is located on the ground floor of the central atrium. Day-time and evening menus are all presented in true cordon bleu style by the trainee students of the college. Bookings can be made on01904 770253.

Music Development Centre is only open to students wishing to follow either an A Level or Vocational Qualification in Music.The facilities provide high quality music tuition for students wishing to pursue a career in music or aiming to progress onto a music related university degree/conservatoire.

The £60 million York College building offers state of the art sports facilities for hire to the public, including a synthetic turf pitch, sports hall and multi-use games area. There is also a sports hall catering for many activities as well as many tailored sports programmes, the men's football of which was in partnership with York City FC.

Beauty treatments are available from trainee students and professional staff and facilities include:a spa pool, sauna and steam capsule. There are a range of treatments on offer ranging from eye treatments, waxing, facials, aromatherapy and much more.In addition to these, there is a multi-million pound learning centre, sports therapy clinic, art shop and Yorkshire Rail Academy partnership on offer at the college.