Furness College

About

Whether you are looking to learn new skills, progress on to a degree or thinking of a career change, Furness College in the heart of Barrow has it all. Here, excellent teaching and support, world-class facilities and outstanding links with our many employer partners come as standard. Following our merger with Barrow Sixth Form College, we now offer the largest choice of courses in Cumbria ranging from professional and technical courses, such as CTECs, BTECs and apprenticeships, through to a range of more than 20 A Level subjects, new T Levels and higher education courses.

At the £47million Channelside campus we offer apprenticeships in 20 sectors, from accounting to applied science, business to beauty and barbering, construction to customer services and management to motor vehicle. There are also apprenticeships in early years education, engineering, hairdressing, health and social care, information technology, retail and team leading.  After completing their apprenticeship, some 90 per cent will stay in employment (including 2 per cent self-employed), with seven in ten (71 per cent) staying with the same employer so apprenticeships are a proven way into the world of work. 

Our T Level offer includes Health, Education, Digital, Science and we will launch Engineering and Manufacturing in September 2022 to help bridge the higher level skills gap across Cumbria.

We are Ofsted rated Good and have also been judged to have outstanding financial health by the Education and Skills Funding Agency which enables us to continue investing in our world-class facilities. We are one of the first colleges in the country to hold chartered status recognising us as a leading national performer for further education and our higher education is graded as the best in the county with a silver award under the national Teaching Excellence Framework.

In addition to curriculum developments, there has been significant investment recently across both of our fantastic campuses at Channelside and Rating Lane so the quality of the learning environment can match our excellent teaching. In its leafy environment at Rating Lane, the sixth form has a university feel and a solid reputation for academic excellence. Our experience shows that whatever your GCSE grades, you will go on to achieve better A Level results with us. Our Channelside campus provides outstanding technical and vocational facilities, recognised as state of the art by the employers with whom we work.

Outside of the classrooms and workshops, we also offer a range of extra-curricular opportunities including trips, sports, clubs, guest speakers, work experience and volunteering opportunities to get involved in community life. 

Follow us on social media:

Instagram   Facebook   Twitter