Runshaw College is a Higher and Further Education

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

based in Leyland, England.

History

Runshaw College was established in 1974. It initially catered solely for school leavers from Balshaw's High School in Leyland, and Parklands High School in Chorley. In 1983 it became a

tertiary college In England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both teenagers and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...

following a reorganisation by Lancashire's education authority. On 17 January 2023, Runshaw opened a new building called Buttermere. The building is used to house

T Level T Levels are technical-based qualifications in England, developed in collaboration with employers and businesses, with content that meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training, or study. T Levels are two-year cou ...

courses. Construction began in February 2022. The new building was built by Collinson Construction and cost £3 million. Buttermere is 2-storeys and has an area of 1,000m² for 12 classrooms and a study space.

Locations

Runshaw's current campus in Leyland, is a sixth form college primarily catering for students aged 16–19, as well as hosting adult education and apprenticeship courses. The Euxton Lane, Chorley, campus was the centre for adult and higher education.

Leyland Campus

The Leyland Campus has 13 buildings plus a student services centre, three sports courts and a public restaurant alongside the numerous student restaurants. Runshaw's buildings are named after areas of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

. There are currently 11 educational buildings and two student services and study buildings. Dalehead is also the home to the Foxholes restaurant, which closed in 2018 due to budget cuts.

Chorley Campus

Runshaw operated a campus in Chorley until the end of 2022. This campus used to be where many of the Apprenticeship and Adult Education courses were held. The site also hosted the Runshaw Business Centre, meeting the needs of local small and medium-sized enterprises; and Runshaw Training, offering apprenticeships and vocational training. On 5 December 2022, Runshaw announced they would sell the campus to

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...

and move the courses that were held there to the main Leyland campus. Lancashire Constabulary plan to turn the old campus into a new training centre and operations centre where Chorley's response team, and other specialist teams will be relocated to from the old town centre police station.

Facilities

The college has a number of specialist labs and facilities including a cabin crew set, media and makeup rooms, photography studios, stage and green rooms, and sports facilities housing a gym and three sports courts. In addition to education facilities, Runshaw also has a number of rooms that students can use in their free time, such as the Runshaw Radio broadcasting room, which broadcasts across campus and is frequently operated by students. In May 2022, Runshaw announced that they were beginning

Esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

as a course, and opened a new Esports centre in 2022 which is fitted with 15

Alienware Alienware Corporation is an American computer hardware subsidiary brand, but not of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers and accessories and can be identified by their Extraterrestrial life, alien-themed designs. Alienware ...

PCs. In 2023, Runshaw opened its new educational building Buttermere which is home to the college's Professional Engineering School which will include courses at

in Digital and Civil Engineering, as well as a new Architecture Academy opening in March 2023.

Notable students

* Graeme Ballard, Paralympian athlete * Holly Bradshaw, pole vaulter * Tom Cahill, footballer *

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He ...

, songwriter was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions *

Liv Cooke Liv Cooke (born 20 April 1999) is a British freestyle football world champion, seven-time world record holder and entrepreneur. Rising to fame following her freestyle football success, she became a prime-time BBC Sport presenter on 'MOTDx' and a ...

, professional football freestyler * Melissa-Jane Daniel, archery world record-holder *

Derek Draper Derek William Draper (15 August 1967 – 3 January 2024) was an English political lobbyist and psychotherapist. As a political advisor, he was involved in two political scandals: " Lobbygate" in 1998, and another in 2009 while he was edito ...

, New Labour spin doctor *

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since ...

, MP for

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland and Lonsdale is a constituency in the south of Cumbria, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats (2015–2017). Westmorland and Lonsdale is the Lib ...

and former leader of the Liberal Democrats *

Joe Gilgun Joseph William Gilgun (born 9 March 1984) is an English actor and producer known for several roles, including that of Vinnie O'Neill in the Sky Max series ''Brassic (TV series), Brassic'', which he also co-created, Marcus in ''Hollyoaks'', Eli ...

, actor * Michael Jennings, former British champion welterweight boxer * Monty Lord, British author * Rachel McCarthy, scientist, poet and broadcaster *

Steve Pemberton Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC's ''The League of Gentlemen'' with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also ...

, actor, writer and comedian * Samantha Robinson, actress * Amanda Roocroft, opera singer * Dave Ryding, alpine ski racer *

Kevin Simm Kevin Ian Simm (born 5 September 1980) is an English singer and songwriter. He was a member of Liberty X (2001–2007) and is the vocalist of Wet Wet Wet. Simm also won ''The Voice UK'' in 2016. Career 2001–2007: Liberty X In 2001, Simm a ...

and Jessica Taylor, singers with Liberty X * Tom Smith, England national cricketer * John Thomson, actor and comedian * David Unsworth, footballer

References

External links

Runshaw College official website
{{Authority control Education in the Borough of Chorley Education in South Ribble Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley Buildings and structures in South Ribble Further education colleges in Lancashire Learning and Skills Beacons Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Leyland, Lancashire