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Wedgwood Memorial
College
The Wedgwood Memorial College opened
in 1945 in Barlaston Hall (the College adopted its name to
acknowledge early Wedgwood support through Lord 'Joss' Wedgwood) but
moved to the Limes and Estoril in the late in
the 1940's and early 1950's after dry rot was discovered in the main
beams at the Hall. It was the first college of its kind to be
founded in Britain. It embodies the principle of lifelong
learning by offering short residential courses for young people and
adults of all ages.
Our aim is to provide inspiring
education environment at prices people can afford. The College
is owned by the City of Stoke-on-Trent Council and runs in
partnership between the City LEA, Staffordshire LEA, the WEA, Keele
and Staffordshire Universities and Stoke-on-Trent College. This
partnership ensures that a diversity and a depth of teaching talent
and resources are available to the College for its open courses.
A roll call of Lecturers/Tutors over the decades includes
distinguished and even famous authors and academics (Iris Murdoch and
Nobel Prize winner Dorothy Hodgkin taught here in the 1950's the
Professors of English from Oxford University and Cambridge have
taught on weekend courses in the 1990's).
The College's aims and ethos are
very much in the tradition represented by the WEA - a voluntary
democratic movement (with charitable status) committed to liberal
education and pioneering work with the educationally disadvantaged.
Our open courses, which attract
adults from all over the UK and abroad, covery a very wide range -
art, literature, music and history feature prominently. Other
especially strong spheres of work include modern languages and the
College is now the national centre for Esperanto in Britain, with the
prestigious Esperanto Butler Library shortly to be housed in the
renovated and extended former Coach House at Estoril.
The College is open with hardly a
break, seven days a week, for the whole year for every kind of short
residential course, seminar or small conference booking. In
recent years the College has increased its one-day-schools and 'away
day' bookings especially for public service and charity organisations
in North Staffs.
The College is a member of several
Tourist Boards and provides B & B and self catering accommodation
(when not fully booked for residential education) These
bookings 'fill the gaps'. assisting the College's financial position.
We have always tried to operate a
'good neighbour' policy with the village by, whenever possible,
offering its lecture/seminar rooms for bookings by local
organisations - the Barlaston Proscenium Players and the Parish
Council itself regularly use the College in this way.
For any further information, please
contact the College - we're keen to help Barlaston and its residents
any time.
The Principal, Jill Ward and
The Officer Manager, Jackie Lane
01782 372105 e-mail wedgwood.college@staffordshire.gov.uk
Website:
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/wedgwoodcollege/index.htm Back
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