College Background

Background Information About South Thames College

GENERAL
South Thames College is a general Further Education (FE) college situated in south-west London. The college has recently merged with Merton College and now has four main sites in Wandsworth, Merton, Tooting and Roehampton. The college also delivers courses in community centres.

The college has an annual turnover of around £50 million a year and is in a stable financial position (a 'category B' college for those familiar with the previous LSC financial health assessments).

STAFF
South Thames College has over 1100 members of staff of which over 700 are salaried and the remaining are hourly paid members of staff. The College is managed at the most senior level by the Principal and her Executive Team  The College is structured into five 'directorates' each headed by a member of the Executive Team.

As a place to work, the college is a complex, stimulating and demanding environment. It has the capacity to throw up issues and pressures on a daily basis but it has an equivalent capacity to generate a high level of job satisfaction for those who find it rewarding to meet and deal with management challenges.

STATISTICS AND COURSES
Over 21,000 people enrol at the college each year representing all age ranges and abilities. The college is proud to reflect the diverse and multi-cultural character of London.

  • 3,500 learners are aged 16 - 18 (including 200 young people who were
    previously not in employment, education or training).
  • Over 17,000 adults study at South Thames to retrain or up-skill on
    vocationally related courses.
  • We provide for over 200 international students and over 300 higher education
    students.
  • The college works closely with nearly 100 employers across Greater London
    and beyond
  • Over 100 apprenticeships are delivered across the college sites.

There are almost 3,000 full and part-time courses on offer across the further, higher and adult education categories. Course types include Business & Administration, Catering, Construction & Engineering, Computing & IT, Design & Graphics, English, Film & TV, Hair & Beauty, Health & Care, Languages, Mathematics & IT, Media, Music & Performing Arts, Motorcycle Maintenance, Travel & Tourism, Skills for life, Sports & Recreation, as well as Access for Higher Education, Degree and Professional Courses in Business, Computing, Music, Healthcare, Media and Design.

Students can join an apprenticeship in Hairdressing, Electro-technical Services, Plumbing, Carpentry, Hospitality, Catering, Library and Information Services, Motorcycle Engineering and Accounting.

COLLEGE NEW BUILDINGS
The college has recently undergone a £140 million transformation. The Wandsworth campus has been redeveloped providing students with top of the range facilities including:

  • Sport England standard sports hall
  • Industry standard hair and beauty salons
  • Forensic Science and Biology Labs
  • Games Development Room
  • Music and TV Recording Studios
  • Photography Studio and Dark Rooms

In March 2010 the Merton campus officially opened a brand new technology block which houses courses in Motorcycle Engineering and Musical Instrument Technology. The new facilities include:

  • Innovative technology such as a micro-camera for studying detailed motorcycle parts
  • A rolling-road to test motorcycles
  • CAD (computer aided design) facilities
  • Electronics Lab
  • Musical Instrument Workshops / Motorcycle Workshops / Mechanical Workshops
  • Practical / DIY Workshops

The final stage of the investment in facilities will be the completion of the £30 million refurbished Grade II listed building in Wandsworth. This will house Performing Arts school and provide a brand new performance theatre as well as general class rooms and office space.

South Thames College was rated ‘Good' by Ofsted in the June 2009 inspection and is working towards becoming an ‘outstanding' and inclusive college.