Priestley College Explained

Priestley College
Coordinates:53.3794°N -2.5834°W
Pushpin Map:Cheshire
Established:1979
Type:Sixth form college
Head Label:Principal
Head:James Gresty
Address:Loushers Lane
City:Warrington, Cheshire, England
Postcode:WA4 6RD
Local Authority:Warrington
Ofsted:yes
Urn:130624
Enrolment:2,588 (March 2007)
Gender:Mixed
Lower Age:16
Upper Age:18
Colours:Medium blue, white
Website:http://www.priestley.ac.uk

Priestley Sixth Form and Community College is a sixth form college in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It also offers adult courses and professional training on another site, and is an associate college of the University of Salford. The college offers a range of courses, including AS/A2 Levels, BTECs, Advanced Diplomas, functional skills, and pre-university foundation courses.[1]

History

The college opened in 1979, though it was originally a female-only grammar school called Warrington Girls' High School (and later Warrington High School for Girls) until 1974, and was administered by Warrington Education Committee. It was addressed as being on Menin Avenue until 1998, when it became administered by Warrington borough, previously being under Cheshire Education Committee. The college's current name is in honour of clergyman, chemist, and educator Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), a pioneer in teaching modern history and the sciences who is perhaps best known for discovering oxygen in 1774. A statue of him now stands inside the main entrance of the college.

Structure

It is a single campus college with seven buildings:

Academic performance

In 2007, the college was ranked "Outstanding" after an Ofsted inspection.[4]

In 2016, 89% of those graduating stayed in education or employment for at least two terms after studying at A level or level 3 vocational courses. 3.5% of students achieved AAB or higher in at least two facilitating subjects at A level, 12.7% below the national average.[5]

In 2018, the A* to B pass rate at the college was 38.2% and 68% of vocational grades were Distinction or Distinction*.[6]

Transport connections

The college is an approximately 20 minute walk from the town centre.

Cheshire Cat Buses serve Wilderspool Causeway, which passes the college. Services operate to Warrington Bus Interchange and in the opposite direction to Altrincham, Grappenhall, Hatton, Northwich, and Stockton Heath. These services combine to provide buses from the college to the Bus Interchange and Stockton Heath every 10 minutes.[7] The service 62 operates to Runcorn Shopping City and Warrington Bus Interchange in the opposite direction.[8] This route is operated jointly between Warrington's Own Buses and Halton Transport.

The College also operates its own buses for students in conjunction with Warrington's Own Buses:[9]

Services 18, 19, and 25 are regular passenger services that see their routes extended at certain times so that they originate or terminate at Priestley College rather than Warrington Interchange. From the 2018/19 academic year, services P3 and P4 were removed. The P4 was replaced by services 19 and 25.

Notable alumni

References

  1. Web site: Prospectus 2019. Priestley College.
  2. Web site: Remembering Viola Beach and band manager Craig Tarry on second anniversary of tragedy. Warrington Guardian. en. 2019-05-25.
  3. Web site: Priestley opens £1.5million technology centre. 2014-11-07. Priestley College Warrington - Your 'Outstanding' Sixth Form. en-US. 2019-05-25.
  4. Web site: Priestley College Inspection Report. Ofsted. 25 May 2019.
  5. Web site: Priestley College - GOV.UK. Find and compare schools in England. en. 2019-05-25.
  6. Web site: Results Success. Priestley College Warrington - Your 'Outstanding' Sixth Form. en-US. 2019-05-25.
  7. Web site: Cheshire Cat Bus Timetable. Warrington's Own Buses. 25 May 2019.
  8. Web site: Bus Times Services 62, 62A and 62C. Halton Transport. https://web.archive.org/web/20190525161104/http://home.btconnect.com/haltontransport/times/core/62_201904.pdf. 2019-05-25. dead. 25 May 2019.
  9. Web site: Priestley College Bus Leaflet. Warrington's Own Buses. 25 May 2019.

External links