Harrogate College

53.978°N 1.523°W / 53.978; -1.523

This article is about the further education college. For the private girls' school and its predecessor, a Victorian boy's school, see Harrogate Ladies' College.

Buildings of the college

Harrogate College, formerly known as Harrogate College of Further Education and later Harrogate College of Arts and Technology, is a further education college in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It offers several levels of qualifications, including further and higher education courses. Since August 2019 it is a member of the Luminate Education Group.

History

Harrogate College traces its origins to the University Extension movement, which began in 1873 under the auspices of Cambridge University.^[1][2]

The college was known as Harrogate College of Further Education and later Harrogate College of Arts and Technology prior to 1 September 1994, when the name was shortened to Harrogate College.^[3]

Harrogate College relocated in 1985 to Hornbeam Park, after the older Bower Road location of the college in Harrogate closed.^[2] The college is on the former Harrogate ICI Fibres site in four buildings. The college merged with Leeds Metropolitan University in August 1998 and was classified as a university; the Harrogate College statutory corporation was dissolved on 1 August 1998.^[3]

On 1 August 2008 management of the college was transferred to Hull College.^[2]

By 2016 it had 3,000 full- and part-time students, including young people over 16, as well as adults and apprentices.^[2]

On 1 August 2019 it transferred from Hull College Group to Luminate Education Group (formerly Leeds City College Group),^[4] with Danny Wild as principal.^[2] As of February 2024^[update] it is still a member of this group.^[5]

Notable former students

• Andrew Brons, British National Party (BNP) MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, former politics lecturer and student^[6][7]
• Leon Doyle, candidate on Series 7 of The Apprentice^[8]
• Richard Hammond, Top Gear presenter and television personality^{[citation needed]}
• Lewis Kaberry (1879–1962), Australian theatre architect^[9]
• Charles Wilson (1857–1932), New Zealand member of parliament^[10]
• Jenny Vaughan (artist) (1944–2022)