Westminster College, Oxford

Last updated

Westminster College
The Chapel of Westminster College, Oxford.jpg
Chapel of Westminster College in Oxford
MottoVirtute et Fide
Motto in English
Through Virtue and Faith
Active1851–2000
Affiliation Methodist Church of Great Britain
CampusHorseferry Road, Westminster (1851–1959) / Harcourt Hill, Oxford (1959–2000)

Westminster College, originally the Westminster Training College, was a teacher training college and college of higher education in England. The college was founded in London in 1851 as a training institute for teachers for Wesleyan Methodist schools, but moved to Oxford in 1959. Before the move, it was part of the London Institute for Education. From 1959 to 1981, its qualifications were awarded by Oxford University. From 1981 to 1992, its qualifications were awarded by the CNAA. After 1992, its courses were validated by Oxford University again. In 2000, financial pressures caused the college to close. The Methodist Church subsequently leased the college's site at Harcourt Hill to Oxford Brookes University and it became the home of that university's Westminster Institute of Education.

Contents

Westminster 1851–1959

John Wesley was convinced of the importance of education and, following the advice of his friend Philip Doddridge, opened schools at The Foundery in London, and at Newcastle and Kingswood. With the extension of franchise in 1832, both Church and Government recognised the need for education for the masses. The Methodist Conference commissioned William Atherton, Richard Treffry and Samuel Jackson to report on Wesleyan Methodist (as distinct from Primitive Methodist) schools, coming to the conclusion that if the Church were to prosper the system of Sunday schools (3,339 in number at that time, with 59,277 teachers and 341,442 pupils) must be augmented by day-schools with teachers educated to high school level. The Rev. John Scott (1792–1868), was grandfather of John Scott Lidgett, proposed in 1843 that 700 new Methodist day-schools be established within seven years. Though a steady increase was achieved, that ambitious target could not be reached, in part limited by the number of suitably qualified teachers, mostly Sunday-school teachers sent at considerable cost to David Stow's Free Church Normal Seminary in Glasgow. The outcome of the Wesleyan Education Report for 1844 was the foundation in 1851 of Westminster Training College at Horseferry Road, Westminster, London, with John Scott its first principal. [1]

It remained the primary source of Wesleyan Methodist teachers worldwide until the Methodist Union of 1932.

Its neo-Gothic buildings were requisitioned during the First World War, and used as a station for Australian servicemen.

The site was severely damaged by an incendiary bomb on 4 March 1944 during the blitz in the Second World War, and the buildings were never repaired. They were demolished in the 1960s and the headquarters of the television station Channel 4 now stand on the site.

Oxford 1959–2000

The interior of the college chapel, with the college motto above the altar Interior of the Chapel, Westminster College, Oxford.jpg
The interior of the college chapel, with the college motto above the altar

In 1959, Westminster College moved into a set of purpose-built facilities on Harcourt Hill, Oxford, with buildings designed by Seely & Paget which were noted for their fusion of Oxford quads with a "New England" style of architecture, evident particularly in the large and distinctive chapel.

Following the move, the college's qualifications were validated by the University of Oxford through its Institute of Education and, later, its Department of Education. The qualifications included a Certificate in Education, the Bachelor of Education degree, a postgraduate certificate in education, and some supplementary certificates. Oxford University ended this arrangement in 1981. The college's qualifications were then validated by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) until 1992, when the CNAA ceased to exist. The college then entered into a new arrangement with Oxford University from 1993. Oxford University validated a number of qualifications at the college from this date, including degrees in education and theology.

Westminster College was an "approved society" of the University of Oxford. Those who read for its degrees were entitled to become members of Oxford University Student Union and life members of the Oxford Union, and to attend all lectures at the university. Students received notification of their degree results from the university, not the college, and all examination papers and dissertations were marked by the university. Degree certificates were those of the University of Oxford in toto, and included the coats of arms of both Westminster College and the University of Oxford. Graduation ceremonies were presided over by the vice-chancellor in the Sheldonian Theatre according to the usual form, with slight modifications to allow for the fact that students had not matriculated. (To matriculate is to go through the matriculation ceremony which makes one a member of the university, so students at Westminster College did not have this status in Oxford). Thus, they are nonetheless Oxford graduates, though not Oxford BAs.

In 2000, financial pressures prompted the Methodist Church to cease operating Westminster College, although its students were permitted to continue studying for their degrees through the University of Oxford. A deal was struck to lease the Harcourt Hill site to Oxford Brookes University and the college buildings became the Westminster Institute of Education, a school of Oxford Brookes University, thus continuing the use of the Westminster name. In addition to housing the Westminster Institute of Education, other subjects such as theology, philosophy, and media and communication are also taught at what is now Oxford Brookes University's Harcourt Hill campus. Courses begun before 2000 continued to be validated by Oxford University, including classes taken by international students, during the transition period until students who had begun at Westminster College, rather than Brookes, had graduated. Westminster Institute was eventually absorbed into Oxford Brookes University.

Staff

Principals
Vice-Principals

Notable alumni

Further reading

Arms

Coat of arms of Westminster College, Oxford
Notes
6 September 1956 [2]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours the battlements of a tower triple-towered Argent standing upon the centre tower a peacock Proper ducally gorged Or.
Escutcheon
Or on a chevron Azure three escallops Argent all between in chief two lions rampant guardant the dexter contournee Gules supporting with their forepaws a portcullis chained Sable studded of the fourth and in base a lion rampant guardant also of the fourth.
Motto
Virtute Et Fide

Related Research Articles

James Harrison Rigg was an English nonconformist minister and Methodist educator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordanhill College</span> Architectural structure in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

Jordanhill College was a higher education college in Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland. It opened as a teacher training college in 1921. The college merged with the University of Strathclyde in 1993, becoming its Faculty of Education. In 2012 all educational activities were moved to the John Anderson Campus and the campus closed.

The system of academic degrees at the University of Oxford can be confusing. This is not merely because many degree titles date from the Middle Ages, but also because many changes have been haphazardly introduced in recent years. For example, the (medieval) BD, BM, BCL, etc. are postgraduate degrees, while the (modern) MPhys, MEng, etc. are integrated master's degrees, requiring three years of undergraduate study before the postgraduate year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Brookes University</span> Public university in Oxford, England

Oxford Brookes University is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named after its first principal, John Henry Brookes, who played a major role in the development of the institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher Education and Training Awards Council</span> Degree validation and awarding body, Ireland (2001–2012)

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), the legal successor to the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), granted higher education awards in Ireland beyond the university system from 2001 to 2012. HETAC was created in 2001, subject to the policies of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, and, specifically, granted qualifications at many Institutes of Technology and other colleges. HETAC was dissolved and its functions were passed to Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) on 6 November 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council for National Academic Awards</span> Former national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until 1993

The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland</span>

Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland includes all education after second-level, encompassing higher education in universities and colleges and further education on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) and other courses. The degree-awarding institutions which can grant awards at all academic levels are the University of Dublin, National University of Ireland, University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Technological University Dublin, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Munster Technological University, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, Atlantic Technological University and South East Technological University, as well as St Patrick's College, Maynooth. Quality and Qualifications Ireland, a State agency, can grant awards in other institutions directly, or delegate the authority to do so. The King's Inns of Dublin has a limited role in education specialising in the preparation of candidates for the degree of barrister-at-law to practice as barristers. Medical schools in Ireland also have particular regulation. There were seven establishments of higher education within Ireland ranked among the top 500 universities worldwide by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwich University of the Arts</span> Art school in Norwich, England

Norwich University of the Arts is a public university in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom that specialises in art, design and media. It was founded as Norwich School of Design in 1845 and has a long history of arts education. It gained full university status in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazarene Theological College, Manchester</span>

The Nazarene Theological College (NTC), located in Didsbury, south Manchester, is an affiliated college of the University of Manchester. It offers theological degrees in various specialised disciplines across BA, MA, MPhil, and PhD. NTC has its roots in the Church of the Nazarene and belongs to the World Methodist Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Wesleyan University</span> Private university in South Carolina, U.S.A.

Southern Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Central, South Carolina. It was founded in 1906 by what is now the Wesleyan Church. The institution is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

Wesley College was a theological college in the Henbury area of Bristol, England, between 1946 and 2012. As the successor to an institution established in London in 1834, it was the oldest provider of theological education for the Methodist Church of Great Britain. The college was the core institution of the South West Regional Training Network of the Methodist Church, where its partners were the South West Ministerial Training Course in Exeter and the Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme in Salisbury. It was also involved with ecumenical education.

The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cummings</span> American academic

Joseph Cummings was an American academic who served as the 5th president of Wesleyan University from 1857 to 1875, the 5th president of Northwestern University from 1881 to 1890, and the president of Genesee College from 1854 to 1857.

Herbert Brook Workman (1862–1951) was a leading Methodist and secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Secondary Schools Trust when they took over Elmfield College in 1928.

A polytechnic was a tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales and Northern Ireland offering higher diplomas, undergraduate degree and post graduate education that was governed and administered at the national level by the Council for National Academic Awards. At the outset, the focus of polytechnics was on STEM subjects with a special emphasis on engineering. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became independent universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were collectively referred to as Central Institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Scott Lidgett</span> Methodist theologian (1854–1953)

John Scott Lidgett, CH was a British Wesleyan Methodist minister and educationist. He achieved prominence both as a theologian and reformer within British Methodism, stressing the importance of the church's engagement with the whole of society and human culture, and as an effective advocate for education within London. He served as the first President of the Methodist Conference in 1932–33.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the majority Methodist movement in England following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. The word Wesleyan in the title differentiated it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists and from the Primitive Methodist movement, which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, in contrast to the Calvinism held by George Whitefield, by Selina Hastings, and by Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, the pioneers of Welsh Methodism. Its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holder of the property of the original Methodist societies.

Alternative pathways in education are alternative means of obtaining educational qualifications, other than the traditional means of gaining access to or completing the required study to obtain the educational qualifications.

Common Awards are qualifications for ordinands and lay ministers within the Church of England and its partners in the Baptist, Methodist, and United Reformed churches, delivered in a three-way partnership between theological education institutions, the churches, and Durham University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Wilson (theologian)</span> British theologian, philosopher and teacher

Kenneth Brian Wilson OBE was a British theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was a Minister in the Methodist Church of Great Britain; Principal of Westminster College, Oxford; and wrote extensively in the areas of theology, philosophical theology and ecclesiology.

References

  1. F. C. Pritchard The Story of Westminster College 1851–1951 London: The Epworth Press 1951
  2. "The Grant of Arms for Westminster College". Art UK. Retrieved 18 November 2022.

51°44′25″N1°17′31″W / 51.74028°N 1.29194°W / 51.74028; -1.29194