West Thames College

Last updated

West Thames College
Address
West Thames College
London Road, TW7 4HS

,
Greater London

Information
TypeFurther and Higher Education College
Established1976 (as Hounslow Borough College)
Ofsted Reports
Gender Mixed
Enrollment5,200+ (2014) [1]
Website http://www.west-thames.ac.uk/

West Thames College is a medium-sized college of further and higher education in West London, England. It was formed in 1976, originally named Hounslow Borough College, having gained its current name in 1993. The college has two campuses in the London Borough of Hounslow: a main campus in Isleworth and a smaller Skills Centre in Feltham. As of 2014 there were over 5,200 enrolled students at the college. [1] The college offers a wide range of A Levels and specialist vocational courses up to higher education level: BTECs, NVQs, City & Guilds, Foundation Degrees and HNDs.

Contents

Isleworth Campus

Spring Grove House (formerly Pears House) in 1988 Pears House.jpg
Spring Grove House (formerly Pears House) in 1988
West Thames College Atrium building in 2010 West Thames College Atrium Bldg.jpg
West Thames College Atrium building in 2010

The main college campus in Isleworth includes the Grade II listed Spring Grove House – once the home of 18th century botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Banks – and modern buildings such as the Millennium Building (built 1999, refurbished 2008 and extended 2010), the Atrium Building (opened 2010) and the Sir Joseph Banks Building (opened 2011).

Facilities include the new 140-seat Endeavour Theatre; performance, dance and rehearsal studios; a professional Media and Music Centre with TV studio, recording and editing suites; hair and beauty salons which are open to the public; specialist makeup studios; sports and fitness centre with full-sized sports hall, gym and outdoor pitches; art and design studios; a Learning Resource Centre on three storeys with drop-in IT suites and extensive library; engineering workshops and science laboratories. There are also modern leisure facilities for students including spacious common rooms and cafes.

Feltham Campus

The Feltham Skills Centre was officially opened in 2003 by future Prime Minister Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. [2] Around 650 students study practical vocational skills and training at the Skills Centre, including catering, plumbing, brickwork, painting and decorating, electrical installation, engineering, carpentry and motor vehicle maintenance.

History

Spring Grove House, a Grade II listed building which forms part of the college's Isleworth campus, was the main country residence of Sir Joseph Banks from 1779 to his death in 1820 (he purchased the freehold in 1808). Banks carried out scientific experiments in the grounds of the house and Queen Charlotte visited Banks and his wife there in 1813.

The first recorded house on the site was built around 1645. Elisha Biscoe bought this house in 1754, demolished it and built Spring Grove House. After Biscoe's death, his son leased the house to Banks.

Spring Grove House was substantially rebuilt and extended by its later owners, Henry Pownall in the mid 19th century and Andrew Pears in the late 19th century. It is an excellent example of late Victorian architecture and interior design, with a fine Georgian room as an added bonus. The ground floor rooms of the building were sensitively restored and redecorated in 2011.

In 1922 the house was purchased by Middlesex County Council. It opened in that year as the new site of Hounslow Polytechnic (renamed Spring Grove Polytechnic) which had been established in 1892 and had used premises in Hanworth Road. The following year Spring Grove Secondary School moved to the house, sharing the building with the Polytechnic who offered almost entirely evening classes.

In 1946 Spring Grove Secondary School became Spring Grove Grammar School. It moved to new premises in Lampton in 1959 and Spring Grove House was taken over by Isleworth Polytechnic as a full-time college. Following the merger of Isleworth and Chiswick polytechnics, the college became Hounslow Borough College in 1976. In 1993 the college acquired incorporated status and was renamed West Thames College. [3]

Spring Grove House is open to the public one Saturday every September as part of Open House London.

Honours

West Thames College also gained national Beacon Awards for Equality and Diversity in 2008 and 2009.

The college has a reputation for its creative arts courses, especially specialist makeup. Students have won the International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS) 5 times.[ citation needed ]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hounslow</span> Town in the west of London, England

Hounslow is a large suburban district of West London, England, 10+34 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan centres in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Hounslow</span> London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feltham</span> Suburb of West London

Feltham is a town in West London, England, 13 miles (21 km) from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs since 1992. In 2011, the population of the combined census area of Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth was 63,368.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isleworth</span> Suburb of West London

Isleworth is a suburban town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as 'Old Isleworth'. The north-west corner of the town, bordering on Osterley to the north and Lampton to the west, is known as 'Spring Grove'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London South Bank University</span> University in London, United Kingdom

London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Polytechnic Institute, it achieved university status in 1992 under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Margarets, London</span> Human settlement in England

St Margarets is an affluent suburb and neighbourhood in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, about 9 miles (14 km) west-southwest of central London. It is bounded by the Thames Tideway to the north-east, and the River Crane to the north-west and north where the land tapers between these rivers. Land and buildings closer to Richmond Bridge than the eponymous railway station are, traditionally distinctly, known as East Twickenham. Both places go by their post town and traditional parish, Twickenham quite often; in the 19th century the south of St Margarets was marked on maps as Twickenham Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitton, London</span> Human settlement in England

Whitton is an area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically, it was the north-western part of Twickenham manor, bounded by the River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syon Lane railway station</span> National Rail station on the Hounslow Loop Line

Syon Lane railway station in Travelcard Zone 4 is on the Hounslow Loop Line and borders the Spring Grove and New Brentford neighbourhoods of the London Borough of Hounslow in west London. The office and light industrial zone to the north-east, the West Cross Centre, has among other businesses the headquarters and studios of broadcaster and entertainment multinational company Sky. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brentford and Isleworth (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency in England since 1974

Brentford and Isleworth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It forms the eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow. Since 2015, it has been represented by Ruth Cadbury of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feltham and Heston (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Feltham and Heston is a constituency in Greater London created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Its Member of Parliament (MP) since 2011 has been Seema Malhotra of the Labour and Co-operative Party, in political union with the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Crane, London</span> River in England

The River Crane, a tributary of the River Thames, runs 8.5 miles (13.6 km) in West London, England. It forms the lower course of Yeading Brook. It adjoins or passes through three London boroughs: Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames, in the historic county of Middlesex. The drainage basin is heavily urbanised but many of the Hayes to Whitton flood-meadows have been conserved, forming a narrow, green vale, opening out to what remains of Hounslow Heath in the centre – a near-continuous belt of semi-natural habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hounslow</span>

The London Borough of Hounslow is a peripheral London borough in the south-west of the conurbation; as such part of the Metropolitan Green Belt lies within its boundaries. It has one of London's largest Nature reserves as well as many smaller gardens and sports grounds. The major areas are:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth</span>

Heston and Isleworth was a local government district of Middlesex, England from 1894 to 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hounslow Heath</span> Nature reserve located in the London Borough of Hounslow

Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers 200 acres (80 ha), is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). The present day area is bounded by A315 Staines Road, A3063 Wellington Road South, A314 Hanworth Road, and the River Crane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heston and Isleworth (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1945–1974

Heston and Isleworth was a constituency between 1945 and 1974 for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It contained Heston, Hounslow, Isleworth and Osterley in Middlesex which became parts of outer west London in 1965.

Springwest Academy, formerly Feltham Community College, is a Secondary school in Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Grove, London</span> Human settlement in England

Spring Grove is the north-western district of the town of Isleworth within the Borough of Hounslow in London, England. In general terms it lies east of the district of Lampton; north of the district of Woodlands; west of the Barnes-to-Feltham railway loop line; and south of the district of Osterley. Spring water that rose in the area in the eighteenth century was employed for agricultural and horticultural purposes.

References

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Fears Feltham skills centre could fall victim to the recession". 13 February 2009.
  3. [ dead link ]

51°28′31″N0°20′32″W / 51.4753°N 0.3423°W / 51.4753; -0.3423