Further and higher education college in Blackpool, UK From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blackpool and The Fylde College (B&FC) is a further and higher education college in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
| |
| Established | 1892 |
|---|---|
| Principal | Alun Francis |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Bispham, University Centre, Gateway, Fleetwood Nautical, Lancashire Energy HQ |
| Website | www.blackpool.ac.uk |
The college is a Regional Teaching Partner of Lancaster University and offers full and part-time further education, higher education and vocational courses along with apprenticeships. From September 2016 the college also holds its own foundation degree awarding powers.[1]
Facilities include four main campuses located across the Fylde Coast.[citation needed] The sites in Fleetwood form a specialised Nautical campus, which teaches courses for merchant seafarers and offshore workers. As well as delivering a broad portfolio of accredited safety, survival and fire training courses, qualifications are also awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Lancaster University as well as the college itself.
In Fleetwood, a school for fisherman was opened in 1892.[2] The history of B&FC dates back to 1892's opening of Fleetwood's School for Fishermen, which later developed into the Nautical campus.[3] A technical college was built in 1936.[2] Blackpool Technical College (B&FC's Palatine Road site, later expanded into Blackpool Technical College and School of Art) opened in 1937, and expanded again to include the Bispham site c.1970 (Hall, A Hundred Years of Blackpool Education, Blackpool Education Committee, 1970). The Fleetwood and Blackpool colleges combined into B&FC in 1987.[3] In 1987, the nautical college merged with Blackpool and Fylde College, becoming Blackpool and The Fylde College.[2]
The college's Lytham site has been converted to provide sixth form facilities, in conjunction with Lytham St Annes Technology and Performing Arts College.[4] In 2009, it opened a new facility. In 2013, it had four main campuses and 70 learning centers. It had around 16,000 students.[2]
In 2025, it had 9 locations listed on its website.[5] Also in 2025, the city of Blackpool finalized a plan to begin construction on a new campus for the university in its town centre, meant to bring up to 3,000 people and set to open in 2027.[6] The city had started purchasing land for the project in 2024, with both Blackpool and the Fylde College and Lancaster University to use the buildings.[7]
B&FC Students' Union is affiliated with the NUS and works in partnership with the college. The SU represents students on a range of issues, including equality and diversity, education and social activities.
Located across England, IoTs are a national network of partnerships between local colleges, universities and leading employers of which B&FC is now a part of.[8] Backed by a £290 million government investment, IoTs deliver the high quality technical education, providing skills-based training for careers across multiple technical industries.
B&FC as of 2023 was a partner with Lancashire and Cumbria's Institute of Technology, delivering a variety of technical IoT courses.[9]
 | This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (August 2024) |
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