Stow College was a college in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

History

The college was named after David Stow, whose primary teaching seminary was founded close to the college at Dundasvale. Stow was the first purpose-built Further Education college in Glasgow, it celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009. Traditionally an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

college, Stow diversified into ICT,

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the o ...

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

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The college offered courses from introductory to Higher National Diploma level within the six departments, namely Music & Creative Industries, Management & General Education, Computing & Internet Technologies, Engineering Technology, Science & Health and Trade Union Education. It also offered online and distance learning and a large range of commercial short courses. The Trade Union Education Department was the largest of its type in Scotland and one of the most successful in the UK. It was also the only college in the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...

to offer a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

immersion course. The college won a number of Star Awards from the Scottish Qualifications Authority including their top award, the Pride o' Worth Award. This was awarded due to the internationally renowned success of their record labels, Electric Honey, Gdansk and Root8 which were run by Music Business Administration students. Acts which have been launched through the Electric Honey label include

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (d ...

(then known as Polar Bear),

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

and

Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have ...

. Belle & Sebastian's first album, '' Tigermilk'', was released on the label in 1996. The college was the first in Scotland to devise and offer a Higher National Certificate course in Computer Games Development which helped to support Scotland's thriving computer games industry. Extensive links with local universities including the University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian University and Strathclyde University ensured that students could progress to second or third year of degree courses. Originally, the college's Music and Creative Industries department included a number of former professional musicians including Stuart Woody Wood, formerly of the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

Alan Rankine Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 3 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s. Early ...

( The Associates)and Ken McCluskey (

The Bluebells The Bluebells are a Scottish indie new wave band, active between 1981 and 1986 (later briefly reforming in 1993, 2008–2009, 2011 and 2018). Career The Bluebells performed jangly guitar-based pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contempora ...

). Additionally, lecturing staff were drawn from within the creative industries including ''active professionals'' from within Musical Theatre, Television, Composition, Music and Events Management and recording disciplines. A highly innovative department, in 2009, 2010 and 2011 Students from the college's TV production course provided official coverage of the Glasgow Film Festival. A public information film (Doorstoppers, produced b
Matt Quinn
o
Caledonian Television
who at one time lectured in TV production at the college), featuring material gathered by Stow College TV students, opened the 2009 Stirling Film Festival at the MacRobert Arts Centre. Stow West was an additional campus in the Maryhill area in the north of Glasgow that opened in 2000. Latterly home to the Musical Theatre section (part of the MCI department) as well as an innovative business academy, it was approximately from the main City campus. The campus was a totally refurbished building, previously Shakespeare Street Primary School. The college merged with John Wheatley College and

North Glasgow College North Glasgow College was a college located at Springburn in Glasgow and was one of the main providers of further education in the city. Due to financial difficulties experienced by the North British Locomotive Company in 1961, the main admi ...

on 1 November 2013 to form

Glasgow Kelvin College Glasgow Kelvin College is a further education college in Glasgow, Scotland, which was formed 1 November 2013 from the merger of John Wheatley College, Stow College and North Glasgow College. The college is named after the scientist Lord Kel ...

. Stow College closed down and was sold in 2016 to The Glasgow School of Art. After a major refurbishment it is now known as the Stow Building.

Notable alumni

* James Johnston * Ben Johnston * W. S. Graham * John Reid (Former manager of Elton John and Queen) * Craig A. Russell (Scottish Businessman * J.R. Holmes (Marine Engineer)

References

External links

Official website

TES article discussing women's studies course at Stow

Social Science @ Stow website

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