Reading College is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

college based in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It has over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. The Kings Road site that is the principal location of Reading College has been used for further education since 1955, when the Reading Technical College was opened. This was renamed the Reading College of Technology in 1967 and the Reading College of Arts and Technology during the 1970s. Thanks to a merger with the Berkshire College of Art and Design (in Maidenhead), it became the Reading College and School of Arts and Design in 1997. It was taken over and became part of

Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a Public university, public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, ...

in 2004. Thames Valley University continued to offer further education courses at the site, whilst also offering

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

courses more in keeping with its status as a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. In 2009, the Thames Valley University decided to concentrate on higher education. In 2010 the responsibility for further education, along with the Kings Road site, were transferred to a relaunched Reading College. The college is a partnership between Activate Learning, (an educational group working alongside City of Oxford College and Banbury and Bicester College) and the Learning and Skills Network (LSN), a

not-for-profit organisation A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NPO ...

active in education and training. Reading College and Activate Learning are lead sponsors of

UTC Reading UTC Reading is an Ofsted 'Good' rated university technical college (UTC) that opened in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshire, England in September 2013. The University of Reading, Reading College and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the ...

, a

university technical college A university technical college (UTC) is a type of secondary school in England that is sponsored by a Universities in the United Kingdom, university and has close ties to local business and industry. University technical colleges specialise in su ...

which opened in September 2013.

Notable alumni

Derek Brockway Derek Clifford Brockway (born 29 October 1967) is a Welsh meteorologist. He joined the BBC in 1995. Brockway is based at BBC Cymru Wales in Cardiff, Wales and presents weather forecasts on radio, television and online as well as appearing in ot ...

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

meteorologist and TV presenter

References

External links

*
Official website
Education in Reading, Berkshire Educational institutions established in 2010 2010 establishments in England {{UK-university-stub