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About the College

At Kendal College we specialise in Further and Higher Education and Apprenticeships. We have achieved numerous accolades in recent years including:

• Being judged Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2011
• Beacon Status for excellence and innovation
• Matrix Award for Advice and Guidance
  
• IQER Confidence Rating for our Higher Education
• Training Quality Standard (TQS) for our work with employers

Over the past four years we have spent over £24 million on new buildings and facilities, both at our main site on Milnthorpe Road and our Arts and Media campus on Beezon Road. This year, on the Arts and Media Campus, we are opening The Box, a purpose-built performance and theatre space for performing arts and technical theatre students and the Castle Dairy, a grade one listed building that will open as a restaurant and art gallery, providing real working experiences for students.

Our aim is to achieve high academic standards, to offer outstanding facilities, a broad range of courses and to give every student the chance to succeed.
We aim to enable students to realise their full learning and skills potential through an exciting, quality curriculum that prepares them for the world of work or for higher levels of study.

The college consists of two sites:

Main Site - Milnthorpe Road, Kendal
The majority of our courses are based at our main site. The college completed a £12.9 million new build project in 2008, which includes a reception block, and conference and seminar suites, hairdressing salons and 250-seat cafe with external balcony. The site also features the stunning Construction and Heritage Centre, which features cutting edge facilities for carpentry and joinery, brickwork, plumbing and electrical installation.

In October 2010 the College opened the South Lakeland Design Engineering Centre, which has brought engineering back to Kendal College. The Centre, designed in conjunction with local engineering firms including Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Limited, features state of the art computer numerical control (CNC) machinery, including a 3D printer, which prints out solid models directly from CAD Drawings.

The Arts and Media Campus
The Arts and Media Campus is where our very broad range of creative arts courses are based. This year has seen significant investment in the new Arts and Media Campus, situated on the North side of Kendal.
A £1.7 million purpose-built performance space, The Box, provides performing arts and technical theatre students with an iconic, professional theatre space.

The hub of the Arts and Media campus is The Allen, where Kendal College originated in the early twentieth century. The Allen hosts creative courses and has unrivalled facilities including music rehearsal booths, a fully equipped recording studio with Midas mixing desk, a music venue, photographic studio and darkroom, Mac studios and art studios.

The Box: Kendal College's new performance space

The College has opened the Castle Dairy building as a restaurant and art gallery, complementing Wildman Street Studios next door, where our foundation degree in art and design is based. The Castle Dairy also provides refreshments for Kendal Museum visitors and pre-theatre drinks for performing arts and music shows in The Box. The Castle Dairy building will operate as a real-world training environment for hospitality and catering students.

One of the many exhibits at Kendal Museum

Kendal College manages Kendal Museum as part of a ten-year partnership agreement with South Lakeland District Council. The Museum has submitted a Heritage Lottery bid of over £½ million to invest in the museum and its exhibits. For more information about Kendal Museum see their website

Completing the Arts and Media campus is The Allen, where Kendal College originated in the early twentieth century. The Allen hosts creative courses and has unrivalled facilities including music rehearsal booths, a fully equipped recording studio with Midas mixing desk, a music venue, photographic studio and darkroom, Mac studios and art studios.

Facilities

The Learning Centre
The Learning Centre is the 'information hub' of the College, containing both traditional and modern resources to enhance your learning.
It is a place where you can study with friends or on your own, read in your own time and have access to the latest journals and magazines.
Available resources:

• PC user zones - Internet access, laptops, wireless access
• The College has WiFi access throughout the Milnthorpe Road site so you can connect your own laptop, tablet or iPad to our network
• Reference and loan books which are updated annually
• Periodicals including daily newspapers, business magazines and academic journals
• E-books and other online journals and resources

Computers
There is a large bank of computers allowing you to research your work through a variety of means, including multimedia and the Internet.
There is also a virtual learning environment (VLE) packed with learning resources for College courses and used for course communication between student and tutor and the college is at the forefront of using new ways of interactive tools such as tumblr and augmented reality as teaching resources.

University Centre
For students studying on degree-level programmes there is access to the University Centre. This is equipped with PCs where you can access university VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments), WiFi network access, quiet study booths, relaxed reading areas and the HE library.

The Restaurant and Cafés
The College has a café which provides brasserie-style food throughout the day, with hot breakfasts, lunches and evening meals also available. The Café also features comfy sofas, a large balcony and vending services, including bean to cup coffee machines and snacks.

The College restaurant provides lunchtime and evening dining experiences throughout the year, with seasonal menus and fine dining experiences.
The College aims to develop your understanding of healthy eating with its delicious and healthy menus. Food in the Restaurant and Café is all cooked by hospitality and catering students. Where possible ingredients are sourced locally, including organic produce and milk. Our cookery demonstration room also doubles as an additional restaurant, allowing food to be prepared in front of restaurant guests for an outstanding private dining experience.
At the Allen Building on the Arts and Media Campus, a small café serves tasty breakfasts, snacks and full meals, whilst the Castle Dairy on Wildman Street provides a range of catering facilities to the general public as well as visitors to The Box. The college offers free porridge breakfasts during the colder months.

To find out more about the restaurant, including the full calendar of events click here.