Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness

Furness College
Channelside Campus
Address
Channelside Campus, Channelside, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, LA14 2PJ Sixth Form Campus, Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, LA13 9LE
Information
Type	Further Education
Chair	John Butler
Principal/Chief Executive	Andrew Wren
Gender	Mixed
Age	16+
Enrolment	5,000
Website	Furness College

Furness College is a college of further education in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It provides a wide range of A levels, vocational education and skills training to over 16s, notably working with BAE Systems to train apprentices for their shipyard in Barrow. The college also offers courses for adults, and runs HNDs and other higher education programmes including foundation degrees, degrees and masters degrees. These are offered in association with the University of Cumbria, the University of Central Lancashire and Lancaster University. It is the only college in Barrow and the largest further education college in Cumbria. On 1 August 2016, Furness College merged with Barrow Sixth Form College.

In August 2016, Furness College gained chartered college status when it became a member of the Chartered Institution for Further Education. This membership is awarded to the higher performing further education colleges and training providers in the UK. The college is also a member of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear.

Furness College is a further education college based on two campuses in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. It is the largest provider of education and training in south Cumbria offering a wide range of vocational courses to its students. The college has over 1400 students aged 16–18, and over 700 adult students. In addition, over 1000 apprentices are trained through the college each year.

The college currently has over 500 students studying degrees and other higher education courses. The degrees are validated by the University of Cumbria, the University of Central Lancashire and Lancaster University.

The college underwent a campus transformation with a £42 million rebuild which opened in 2012. The remodelled campus provides the people of Furness and South Cumbria with an educational environment where their experience of study will be related to the real world. The building provides workshops, salons, restaurant and a dedicated university centre. A major new part of this project was the development of the college’s sport facilities to house a dedicated gym and an all-weather sports pitch.