South Thames College
Overview
Welcome to South Thames College.
From MBAs to accountancy exams, from A-levels to HNDs and from apprenticeships to leisure courses in topics as diverse as art appreciation and investing on the stock exchange, we offer more than you think from our centres in London.
The student enrichment team, welfare services, careers advisers and tutors are here to guide, support and help you. And that includes how to find funding or manage your studies.
Be a part of our diverse student population, enter a World Skills competition as part of one of our award-winning teams, volunteer to help local community groups, hang out in the cafes, enrichment room and other social areas, have a massage in one of our commercial salons or eat at the new restaurant at our flagship Hospitality and Catering Academy, join one of our sports teams and get to know the other students.
Whatever you want to do, South Thames College can take you further.
Sue Rimmer OBE, Principal and Chief Executive
Why choose South Thames College?
We’ve already spent over £140 million updating our Wandsworth and Merton campuses and will keep on improving what we offer. You can make great use of the study areas, lecture theatres, libraries, PCs and Macs, sports hall and cafes and social areas.
So if you want to study in a forward-looking college with the latest technology and facilities, we will offer you a warm welcome.
When you arrive in the UK and while you are studying with us, you will need a place to stay. It is one of the first things we will confirm with you when you are first here.
We do not have accommodation on our campuses but we can help you find somewhere to live. Information and advice about accommodation is part of our Welcome and Induction process.
If you find somewhere close to the College, you can avoid the expensive central areas and also spend less time and money travelling.
This course is an introductory course so you do not need experience or previous study in digital media. Your English should be equivalent to IELTS 4.5 overall — or you can take our basic English test when you apply. The course is suitable for anyone aged 18 or older.
London is one of the world’s greatest cities and our College is home to a diverse group of over 20,000 students every year. When you study with us, you will get a taste of our vibrant capital city and leave with qualifications recognised all over the world.
Our main campuses in Wandsworth and Merton are where the busy inner-city merges with London’s parkland making it a great place to see the best of London. We are close to iconic landmarks and cultural spots, great shopping, bars, nightlife and restaurants.
We offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in all areas – and our short courses on the evening and weekend mean that you can learn something extra just for fun and make more friends while you’re doing your main course.
HISTORY OF SOUTH THAMES COLLEGE
There has been an educational establishment on our Wandsworth site in south west London for more than 100 years.
It was founded in 1895, funded by a tax on whiskey! Students had to pay what was then a substantial fee of £1 a term for day classes. There were around 500 students studying there, a large number for those times.
1910-11 College regulations stated that “…each boy must wear the school cap or straw hat; he must also provide himself with a satchel, gymnasium shoes and a swimming costume.” Apparently, the caps came in different colours depending on what “House” the student belonged to and, according to one student in 1930, the colours used to run in the rain, staining the students’ faces blue, red, green or yellow.
Today, over 21,000 students are enrolled at South Thames College, and government funded courses like BTEC Nationals and A-levels are free for 16-19 year olds.
In 2009, the College merged with Merton College, another thriving education establishment in South West London.
Interestingly, while many things have changed dramatically over the last 100+ years, the focus of what is now South Thames College has not.
In 1895, students were enrolled on ‘Trade Classes’ designed to train and, maximise the potential of, people looking for skilled work, including Carpentry, Brickwork, Plumbing and Hygiene.
Today our vocational courses are still designed to give excellent training and maximise the potential of students looking for skills. These still include Carpentry, Brickwork, Plumbing, and Hygiene, but we have expanded into many other areas too.
ACADEMICS
- A-levels
- Access to Higher Education Art
- Craft and Graphic Design Business and Administration Childcare
- Health
- Care and Science Computing and IT
- Construction
- ESOL
- Engineering English for International Students Film
- Media and Multimedia GCSEs
- Games Design and Development Hair
- Beauty and Complementary Therapy
- Hospitality and Catering
- Languages and Writing
- Leisure and Wellbeing
- Music and Performing Arts
- Musical Instrument Making and Repair
- Professional and Personal Skills
- Public Services
- Sport Teaching and Training
- The Prince’s Trust Programme
- Trade Union Studies
- Travel and Tourism
