The name of Bath and North East Somerset’s merged multi-campus college has been announced to mark a new era of education for the local area.
City of Bath College and Norton Radstock College will move forward under the new name of Bath College.
Bath College will have the City Centre Campus in Avon Street in Bath and the Somer Valley Campus in South Hill Park in Westfield.
The name announcement has been made ahead of the official merger date of Easter Monday, 6th April.
The merger will build on the strengths of the two colleges and their long legacy of quality and professionalism.
The new college will focus on work-ready skills to ensure students are able to meet the demand of the local labour market.
City of Bath College Principal Matt Atkinson, who will become the Principal of Bath College, said the name change was an important milestone for the future of education.
He said: “We are thrilled to begin a new era of education under the Bath College name.
“The merged college will continue with our strong tradition of academic and vocational quality and teaching professionalism.
“We remain dedicated to providing education and training to meet the needs of the region and will continue to do all we can to support the growth of the local economy.
“The launch of the City Centre and Somer Valley campuses is just the start of an enormous vision to transform education and match local students to local jobs.
“The merger will allow the college, its staff and students to face the future from a position of strength.”
Staff, students, governors and community partners from both colleges worked with The House branding agency to come up with the new college and campus names.
They looked at important people and historical events but decided to use locations to make the most of the established brands and good reputation of City of Bath College.
The names were selected to exemplify the strength and historical foundation of each college’s geography, while positioning the merged college for future growth.
Both campuses will be re-branded with new logos and new signs and an updated website for all part-time, full-time and higher education courses will be launched.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills identified the merger as the best possible option following Norton Radstock’s inadequate Ofsted inspection.
The new college will provide vocational and educational training for more than 3,000 full-time students and around 10,000 part-time students across the broadest range of subjects.
The long-term strategy of the merged college will see the Somer Valley Campus focusing on skills for the manufacturing, engineering, construction and land-based sectors.
Somer Valley will also become the new College’s head office, increasing the number of employees working at that campus.
