Harlow College

The locality

Harlow is strategically placed on the West Essex/Hertfordshire border at the centre of the London, Stansted, Cambridge corridor, one of the fastest growing and economically important areas in the UK. Significant local employers include GlaxoSmith Kline, Raytheon UK, Stansted Airport and Public Health England who are soon to relocate to Harlow. The area also has a thriving manufacturing industry that sits within the supply chain of many large multi-national companies. This means that Harlow College is at the forefront of providing the pipeline for the future workforce in scientific and technical disciplines, as well as, the service economy that supports any thriving region.   

The surrounding area includes many attractive villages, which, like the town itself, also serve as dormitory suburbs of London.  

About the College

 Harlow College is a strong and successful further education college which aims to provide our students with “Not just courses, careers”, providing them with the skills to achieve 1st class destinations and employment.  

We place learners at the heart of all we do, and were graded as good by Ofsted who commented that ‘Learners make good progress because their teachers plan lessons and good resources that make learning challenging and stimulating’. Our progress measure (value-added) places us as the top college in the country for A Level progress and in the top 1% for academic and vocational progress.  

We offer the widest range of post-16 courses in the area and we have excellent links with employers - giving access to work placements that genuinely help improve career prospects. We also run an extensive range of Apprenticeships including higher apprenticeships which complement our degrees and foundation degrees offered through Anglia Ruskin University and our own Higher National Certificate and Diploma provision. In addition, we work extensively across the area working with adults by providing short vocational courses leading directly to employment.  

The College is a multi-million pound campus and substantial investment has resulted in buildings are which are truly inspirational and have cutting edge facilities. These include salons, restaurants, broadcast facilities, a theatre, recording and multimedia studios, a category C biohazard science lab, a healthcare mobility suite and a creche. The most recent of these is our Harlow Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Centre opening in January 2016 an £11 million investment.   

Curriculum

The College has a strong reputation for the quality of its provision and for the richness and breadth of its curriculum. It also has a reputation for the care it gives to its students and for the attention it gives to their personal growth.  The college is at the forefront of curriculum innovation, working closely with employers to ensure students leave with the qualifications and the knowledge and competence needed for future life and a career.