Edinburgh's Telford College


Edinburgh's Telford College was a further education college in Edinburgh, Scotland. In October 2012, the college merged with Jewel & Esk College and Stevenson College to form a new entity called Edinburgh College. The Telford College campus, in the Granton area of north Edinburgh, now forms one of the four main sites of the new college and is called Edinburgh College .
Edinburgh's Telford College was named after Thomas Telford, the great Scottish civil engineer, and was established in 1968 at Crewe Toll. On 15 September 2006, Telford College's purpose-built main campus in Granton was formally opened by the First Minister of Scotland, the Rt. Hon. Jack McConnell. The "Construction Centre of Excellence" at the Forthside Building on West Shore Road opened on 29 October 2007. The college hosted the Jisc Regional Support Centre Scotland North & East.

Principals

Past principals of the college include:
Edinburgh College offers 1,000 courses including areas from business and I.T. to sports and fitness and performing arts. It provides learning through technology such as "virtual learning" using Internet access for assignments.
The courses are diverse with many routes of progression such as introductory courses to higher national courses offering students higher levels of understanding and practical work that will enable them to find employment after graduation or to continue further by entering into degree courses at year 2 or 3 at partner universities. In spring 2009, Edinburgh College was to be the only college in Scotland offering dental technology training which seemed to be an increasing profession within the health care sector. Edinburgh College offers course flexibility in which students can learn at their own pace from full-time, part-time, open learning, work based, block release, day release, evenings and weekends and on-line. Most courses offer variations between two or three study choice options.
Course areas
Jamie Bell, SVQ Level 2 Performing Engineering Operations at Edinburgh College won the award of Best in Engineering and was congratulated with a glass trophy and a £250 cash prize.

Food and hospitality

A new partnership between Edinburgh College and entrepreneur and the celebrity chef Tommy Miah will offer foreign students a unique opportunity to learn the tricks of the hospitality trade in both Bangladesh and Edinburgh. Miah, owner of the award-winning Raj Restaurant and founder and promoter of the International Indian Chef of the Year competition which is held annually at the college, will promote the partnership in Bangladesh and help to recruit applicants.

Performing arts

The River City star Jenny Ryan,a former student of Edinburgh College, conducted an acting workshop for students in sharing their experiences of acting iwith the students and gave them advice on acting for camera, auditioning and contacting casting directors. Karen Gillan, a former acting student at the college, is best known for her portrayal of Amy Pond in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who. Keith Jack, runner-up in BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, was a student in the Performing Arts Department.

WorldSkills competition

Four students from Edinburgh College are preparing to showcase their skills on the national stage after achieving success at the Scottish heats of the WorldSkills UK competitions.

Facilities and services

College facilities and services include:

The Apprentice

A restaurant operated by Edinburgh College students and staff. It provides a platform for them to show their professional skills. The restaurant is open to all students and staff as well as the public.

Studio

A place where students are able to practice their skills in hairdressing. As part of promoting and encouraging students to be inventive, an X-Factor style event was hald to show how talented and creative the students can be. It was based on the television series concept butfor hair design and innovation. A video documents the contestants' preparation and the winning result as well as some guest interviews.

Spa

Edinburgh College has its own spa centre offering skilled practitioners in beauty services for pedicures, facials, airbrush tanning, waxing to body massage, aromatherapy and leading on to more advanced treatments such as facial lifting, micro-dermabrasion and presso-therapy. Additional facilities include a jacuzzi and a sauna.

Waterfront nursery

Waterfront nursery offers childcare services for students, staff and the public.

JobZone Plus

JobZone Plus is an on-campus facility for students to gain free expert employment advice, access to job opportunities, confidential one-to-one support and help in finding jobs for people who want to work. Jobzone Plus also helps with writing CVs and filling in application forms and prepares candidates for interviews and talks to the employer on their behalf. It also provides student services in areas such as finance, counselling, child care, accommodation, careers guidance and learning support.

Local economy

Construction of a £70 million project north of West Granton Road in the Edinburgh Waterfront development brought the existing four campuses on to a single site in North Edinburgh. The new development was designed by HOK Architects and Buro Happold.

Other information

The Hub

The Hub is the main social area within the college campus. It can seat up to 300 people and is used for events that the college promotes or for event hire by external companies.
International learning

Since the 1990s there have been international students commencing their enrolment at the college. Joint partnerships have been formed with educational institutes in India and China to develop a learning bridge for students overseas to gain internationally credited and recognised qualifications. Telford has won an award for ‘Outstanding International Achievement in Scotland’s Colleges’ from the Scottish Council for Development and Industry Award. In relation to the commandment from the Association of College’s Beacon Awards for ‘International Student Support’.
Merging process

On 21 November 2011, after a Board meeting, Edinburgh’s Telford College announced its decision to start merger talks with the two other Edinburgh colleges: Jewel and Esk Valley College and Stevenson College. This followed a consultation process with staff and students. The establishment of a new College for the Edinburgh City Region will take place from 1 July 2012 and would be operational from October 2012.