Colleges join forces to provide new centre with excellent opportunities for learners

TWO of Birmingham’s biggest providers of further education joined forces earlier this week in a merger that sees them operating together under the new name of Birmingham Metropolitan College. Sutton Coldfield College and Matthew Boulton College were given the go-ahead to merge by Government Ministers earlier this summer and marked the launch with a host of special events outside their main campus and in the city centre.

The new institution will provide exceptional opportunities for an increasing number of 16-19-year-old learners including A-Levels, Vocational Qualifications, Diplomas and Apprenticeships and also offer re-skilling and professional development opportunities for adult learners and employers, particularly through its tailored workplace based METtraining directorate. The merger is also expected to enable the college to develop their provision for higher level and professional qualifications even further so that . there is an even wider choice of qualifications available.

During the launch event, Birmingham Metropolitan College paid tribute to city forefathers, Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch by re-naming the college’s Great Barr Campus as the James Watt Campus and one of the buildings at the Sutton Coldfield Campus after William Murdoch. The Eastside campus which was formerly Matthew Boulton College will now be known as the Matthew Boulton Campus. Human gold statues of ‘Matthew Boulton’, ‘James Watt’ and ‘William Murdoch’ also participated in the launch celebrations in acknowledgement of the combined investment and entrepreneurial spirit that helped make Birmingham a centre for industry, technology and innovation during the Industrial Revolution. Today, Birmingham Metropolitan College is uniquely placed to emulate their excellence and vision in the 21st century, providing state of the art facilities and unrivalled access to learning for 27,000 learners across all levels of study.

Enrolment for 2009/10 courses is already under way for the start of term from 7th September, 2009.