Ada, the National College for Digital Skills

At Ada, the National College for Digital Skills, we have a mission to work with industry to design and deliver an education that empowers all our students, especially women and those from low-income backgrounds, to progress into highly skilled digital roles and lead flourishing lives. Through our social mission and excellent digital skills provision, we are changing the face of the tech sector, expanding the talent pipeline and transforming lives.

The College focuses on achieving three aims:

1. To be a centre of excellence for the teaching and learning of advanced digital skills
2. To offer students a viable, high-quality alternative to university
3. To be a beacon of best practice for employment-focused provision

Ada was announced by the Prime Minister in December 2014; England’s first new FE College since 1993, we opened our doors at our main campus in Tottenham Hale for the first time in September 2016. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength including a Good with Outstanding features in our first and second Ofsted inspections.

The digital industry is experiencing epic growth but there is a talent shortage. Over 130,000 tech jobs are available each year in the UK but students are leaving education without sufficient knowledge and experience to get the job. We want to change this.

With Ada, students can learn relevant digital skills to pursue their dream job in tech. We are a unique community which puts computer programming at the heart of everything we do. Our students are the future game changers: challenging the norm, excited by change, and resilient in the face of adversity.

We want to remove the glass ceiling for women and individuals from low-income backgrounds in the tech industry. Everyone, from any background, is entitled to a quality education and a better future. Our community is united by digital so we work closely with Haringey Council and the local community to ensure the inclusion extends beyond the walls of Ada.

Location & Provision:

As of May 2021, we have 145 16-19 students enrolled, these students study the academically stretching BTEC in Computer Science along with a range of complimentary A-Levels.

Our Higher and Degree Level Apprenticeships in Digital Innovation (aligned to the Software Developer Standard) and Data Analytics and Visualisation (aligned to the Data Analyst Standard) have almost 200 apprentices enrolled from a range of organisations.

Our curriculum is academically stretching but practically rigorous and truly embedded with industry. Students are provided with a one on one coach from industry and employers help design and deliver our curriculum and careers advice. The positive impact to students and employers is demonstrable.

We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved in just four years, we have had some fantastic successes and plans for more to come. There are many ways to help make a difference to these young people and to the tech sector by volunteering, taking apprentices and philanthropy; for more information on working with us please visit www.ada.ac.uk