Barnfield College

Barnfield College is the largest further education college in Bedfordshire, England, with two campuses in Luton.

Barnfield College
TypeFurther education
Establishedc. 1968
FounderJim Horroks
PrincipalCath Gunn
Location
Luton, Bedfordshire,
England
Websitebarnfield.ac.uk

Campus locations
  • New Bedford Road Campus, New Bedford Road, Luton, LU2 7BF
  • Technology Campus, Enterprise Way, Luton, LU3 4BU

Faculty areas

Faculty of Business Enterprise and Retail

  • Business and Management
  • Hospitality and Catering
  • Accountancy
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Creative Arts

  • Art and Design
  • Hairdressing
  • Media and Communications
  • Beauty and Holistic Therapy
  • Performing Arts and Music
  • Fashion and Textiles
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Technology

  • Construction Trades
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical
  • Computing
  • Engineering
  • Networking
  • Motor Vehicle
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Care, Public Services, Sport and Leisure

  • Child Care
  • Public Services
  • Health and Social Care/HE
  • Sport and Fitness
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Dental
  • Higher Education/Access

Faculty of Skills Development

  • Additional and Learning Support
  • Functional Skills
  • Language Skills

History

Origin

In 1958, Luton Technical School moved to a new building off Barnfield Avenue, and the name of the school was changed to Barnfield Secondary Technical School. With the introduction of comprehensive schools in Luton in 1967, it became Barnfield High School. The number of pupils declined; in 1968 parts of the building were taken over for teaching hairdressing and dressmaking; and in 1970 the College of Further Education took over the whole building.[1]

In 2003, Barnfield College became the first general further education college to be awarded Beacon status.[2]

Barnfield Federation

Peter Birkett was appointed as principal in 2005, and the College became the first further education college in Britain to sponsor an academy school (Barnfield South Academy and Barnfield West Academy).[3] By 2007, the Barnfield Federation included a nursery, primary and secondary schools and a college.[4] In 2010, it opened one of the first studio schools in Britain (Barnfield Skills Academy).[5] The Federation was also the first to launch a 14-18 Law & Accountancy Academy for students who would like to follow a career as an Accountant or Lawyer.[6]

As of October 2013, the federation was under investigation by the Department for Education and the Skills Funding Agency.[7][8][9] A key element of the investigation focussed on a £915,000 funding claim for students that did not study at the college.[10][11] The outcomes of the investigations were jointly announced on 28 February 2014[12] by multiple news sources, which summarised reports from the Further Education Commissioner,[13] the Skills Funding Agency[14] and the Education Funding Agency.[15]

In July 2014 it was announced that the schools would be split from Barnfield College to form their own multi-academy trust. The college would then focus on further and higher education provision.[16] In 2015 the schools split from Barnfield and formed the Shared Learning Trust.

Merger with West Herts College

At the end of January 2019, the college legally became part of West Herts College, although it has continued to operate under the name of Barnfield College.[17]

Notable alumni
  • Rankin, portrait photographer & director
  • Glyn Dillon, graphic artist and costume designer

References
  1. A. Allsopp, Crimson and Gold: Luton Modern School, Luton High School for Girls and Luton Technical School, pages 375-397, ISBN 1-903747-55-4, Book Castle, 2004.
  2. Success for All, May 2003, page 3.
  3. Ex-Barnfield boss talks ghost learners, financial probes and the Audi pay-off, FE Week, 30 May 2014.
  4. Further Education Commissioner assessment summary, 2018.
  5. Barnfield Studio School, Ofsted report, 2014.
  6. "Welcome to the Barnfield Academy of Law & Accountancy website". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  7. "Barnfield Federation investigated over 'grade massaging'". BBC News. 29 October 2013.
  8. "Academy trusts: Notices about poor performance". 8 February 2019.
  9. "Barnfield Federation education company: New inquiry launched". BBC News. 16 January 2014.
  10. "Barnfield investigation referred to police - Luton Today". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  11. "Barnfield College 'wrongly claimed' £1m of funding". BBC News. 26 February 2014.
  12. "Damning report of Barnfield investigation is published - Luton Today". Archived from the original on 5 March 2014.
  13. "Letter" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  14. "ESFA post-16: Intervention and accountability". 21 November 2022.
  15. "Financial management and governance review: Barnfield Federation".
  16. "Barnfield Federation education chain 'to be split up'". BBC News. 24 July 2014.
  17. "West Herts College Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 July 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 14 July 2023.

51.905913°N 0.421939°W / 51.905913; -0.421939

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