Tyne Metropolitan College

Tyne Metropolitan College

Main site off the A1058 - the Coast Road Campus
Established	1 March 2005 (2005-03-01)
Type	FE College with Sixth Form College
Principal	Mr Jon Vincent
Location	Battle Hill Drive Wallsend Tyne & Wear NE28 9NL England
Local authority	North East England YPLA (but in North Tyneside)
DfE URN	134916
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Mixed
Ages	16+
Former name	North Tyneside College, and Tynemouth College
Website	TyneMet

Coordinates: 55°00′25″N 1°30′47″W / 55.007°N 1.513°W / 55.007; -1.513

Tyne Metropolitan College is a large college of further education in North Tyneside, England.

Admissions

The main college site is situated in Willington Square, off the A1058 Coast Road, and a kilometre west of the main A19/A1058 intersection (Silverlink Business Park and Silverlink Retail Park).

History

Tynemouth High School

Tynemouth Municipal High School was administered by the County Borough of Tynemouth Education Committee. After the war it was known as Tynemouth High School, and was a grammar school with around 750 boys and girls.

It became a comprehensive in September 1969, becoming Norham High School on Hawkeys Lane (B1304).^[1] By the early 1970s Norham High School had moved to Alnwick Avenue in Chirton, off the A193, and is now the Norham Community Technology College. The former grammar school site became a sixth form college, Queen Alexandra Sixth Form College, now called the Queen Alexandra Campus.

There was also Tynemouth Grammar Technical School, which became Preston High School on Preston Road in Preston, and is now the John Spence Community High School.

Tynemouth College

Tynemouth College was on Hawkeys Lane - where the sixth form college is. The Principal was Roy Bailey. It took over the former grammar school site when Norham High School left in the early 1970s. From the 1970s it was a sixth form college, administered by North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough from April 1974, and based in North Shields.

North Tyneside College

North Tyneside College was based on Embleton Avenue - where the current site is today. The Principal was Les Walton OBE, who became Principal of Tyne Metropolitan College.

Formation

The college was formed on 1 March 2005 by the merger of Tynemouth College (a sixth form college which was based at Hawkeys Lane, serving the former county borough of Tynemouth where secondary schools only went up to 16) and North Tyneside College (a college of further education which was on the A1058 Coast Road in Wallsend).

Tyne Metropolitan College was opened in 2005 by Tony Blair.

Departments

TyneMet is organised into two Centres and five Directorates:

Academies @ TyneMet

– for 14 to 19-year-olds

• Vocational Academy - Coast Road Campus, Wallsend
• Sixth Form Academy - Queen Alexandra Campus, North Shields

Career Development @ TyneMet

- for 19+

• Pre Employment
• Work Force Development
• Higher Education

North East Sports Academy

Students can enrol as a North East Sports Academy student where they receive coaching in a chosen sport: men's football, women's football, rugby, basketball, netball, golf or badminton. This is unique in the region and is supported by the Newcastle Falcons, Newcastle Eagles and Newcastle United.

Vocational Academy Directorate

• Level 1 and NEET
• Level 2
• Level 3

The TyneMet Vocational Academies is located at the Coast Road Campus. The Coast Road Campus houses both part-time and full-time students studying for and array of vocational courses.

The Coast Road Campus has a dance studio, florists and design studios, working industrial standard training kitchens, a restaurant and hair and beauty salon.

As well as the main Refectory, TyneMet has a separate coffee shop, Café Direct, which is open until late and serves fair trade drinks, snacks and sandwiches to students.

The Coast Road Campus is located across a large site. The Flex Fitness studio is based on the campus.

Sixth Form Academy Directorate

Students choosing to study at TyneMet 6th Form Academy attend the campus located on Hawkeys Lane in North Shields.

The Hawkeys Lane campus features a number of modern IT suites as well as a library with quiet study areas and a large selection of books, DVDs and periodicals.

The 6th Form Academy also houses a sports hall, all weather pitches and a fitness suite as well as classrooms and science labs.

Pre Employment Directorate

• Skills for life
• Pre Employment

Overview

There are programmes in partnership with Princes Trust team programme, consisting of a 12 week full time programme to build team working, personal and employability skills. The programme includes work placement, residential and classroom based tuition. During the programme learners work towards certificate in personal skills and teamwork, key skills, literacy and career planning qualifications.

Get into

The Get into programme is a short sharp, sector specific, demand-led programme, to lead to employment. The vocational element depends on local labour market analysis and includes carework and customer service. All programmes include certification in employment skills and a national test in literacy. Programmes are usually 3–5 weeks in duration with lunch and travel allowance provided.

Learndirect

In the Learndirect contract, Pre-Employment provides literacy, numeracy, ICT courses as well as brush-up and skill development courses. The Learndirect model is portable, being delivered anywhere with IT access. The programmes are flexible via the internet. Learners usually attend weekly and work through the web in between. Other methods of delivery can be arranged. Currently Learndirect is available at the Coast Road, Howden and other local venues.

Bespoke Provision

Pre-employment has bespoke demand-led provision. It can be tailored to meet the needs of the learners to improve employability. These programmes are sometimes non-accredited, charged at full cost. At other times they are funded by the Skills Funding Agency through delivery of qualifications

Work Force Development Directorate

Work Force Development, at the Coast Road Campus, provides alternative routes to training and development. It works with a range of employers and government agencies to meet the needs of local industry.

The cost of the provision ranges from fully funded government pilots and European Social Fund (ESF) provision to individually priced specialised training, for the exact requirements of individuals.

• Work Based Learning
• National Employer Programme - Train to Gain
• Co-financing / European Social Funded Projects
• Delivery of courses at employer premises
• Bespoke courses to suit times and individual requirements of employers and employees
• Short part time courses based at TyneMet

Help for SMEs

Work Force Development can support SMEs through their ESF-funded activity which enables companies to develop the potential of their staff.

ESF finances training and projects to improve both job and company performance with all programmes tailored to employer needs.

A Skills and Training Needs Analysis is available on a selection of programmes.

Higher Education Directorate

• Higher Education Foundation Course
• Higher National Diplomas
• Foundation Degrees

Higher Education Foundation Course

Some people wish to enter higher education from a different direction and the HEFC provides an opportunity to return to study, usually in preparation for a subsequent entry on to a university degree programme, for those who have taken a career or family break away from education. The HEFC also employability prospects and addresses gaps in key skills.

Higher National Certificates and Diplomas

These qualifications have for many years provided the main vocational platform for learners to start and develop a career plan. HNC/Ds provide students with the skills employers want by combining practical, vocational-style learning with the development of requisite knowledge and understanding. It permits further study, enabling entry to the second year of a degree programme.

Foundation degrees

The content is largely influenced by local industry and employers. The Foundation Degrees are designed through collaboration amongst organisations, including employers, higher education institutions and colleges, enabling students to make an immediate contribution to the workplace.

Delivery methods are flexible and successful completion provides automatic right of entry to the third year of an honours degree.

Academic performance

Overall the A levels at the college are fairly low, but many FE colleges do have low results. There are no separate results for the sixth form college, which would be expected to be much better. The best place for A level results in North Tyneside LEA in 2010 was Seaton Burn College, an 11-18 school. Unlike many areas of Tyne and Wear, in North Tyneside there is a good choice of 11-18 schools.

Alumni

Tynemouth High School

• Prof James Atkinson, Professor of Biblical Studies from 1967 to 1979 at the University of Sheffield
• Prof James Cragg, Professor of Zoology from 1950 to 1961 at Durham University, and President from 1960 to 1961 of the British Ecological Society
• Stanley Dennison, economist, Vice-Chancellor from 1972 to 1979 of the University of Hull, and David Dale Professor of Economics from 1962 to 1972 at Newcastle University
• Prof Gordon Dickson, Professor of Agriculture from 1973 to 1997 at Newcastle University, and Principal from 1971 to 1973 of the Royal Agricultural College
• Prof Kenneth Jack OBE, Professor of Applied Crystal Chemistry from 1964 to 1984 at Newcastle University
• Rev Thomas Manson, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis in the University of Manchester from 1936 to 1958
• Peter Milne, Managing Director from 1990 to 1994 of BMT Cortec, and from 1974 to 1977 of Swan Hunter
• Bryan Purvis, Headmaster from 1997 to 1999 of William Hulme's Grammar School, and from 1993 to 1997 of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
• Thomas Rutherford CBE, Chairman from 1977 to 1989 of the North Eastern Electricity Board, and from 1975 to 1977 of the South Eastern Electricity Board
• RAdm Philip Sharp CB DSC, Flag Officer Sea Training from 1965 to 1967, and Director General from 1978 to 1986 of the International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Associations
• Prof Leslie Valiant, award-winning computer scientist, T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics since 2001 at Harvard University, and Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from 1982 to 2001
• Robert Westall, author who wrote the children's story The Machine Gunners

References

1. ^ Comprehensive 1969

External links

• Tyne Met
• Queen Alexandra Sixth Form College
• EduBase
• North Tyneside College
• Tynemouth College

News items

• Bad reports in March 2009
• Tony Blair opens the college in July 2005
• Mechatronics centre at North Tyneside College in October 2004
• Deal with Northumbria University in September 2004