Birmingham Community College is an inspired educational partnership delivering more effective further and higher education in Birmingham, promoting excellence and widening participation. The partnership consists of seven colleges Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, which joins Matthew Boulton College North Birmingham College Josiah Mason College Sutton Coldfield College South Birmingham College and Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies. Since BCC was formed four years ago, it has become firmly established as a collaborative and successful organisation. It has played a leading role in providing a coherent and coordinated approach to the lifelong learning partnership in Birmingham. Within the group the characteristics of each individual college are celebrated and this diversity means that the Community College can offer opportunities for education and training, which are responsive to all the needs and expectations of students across a wide range of programmes. School leavers will find a variety of full and part-time courses available to enrol on now. With independent and impartial advice available at all BCC colleges, you know you can get the right help and be able to make the right decision choosing the right course for you. Students at the seven Birmingham colleges have recently celebrated outstanding A-level results in a range of subjects across the partnership, with pass rates of 100 per cent in some subjects. Graham Jones, chancellor of Birmingham Community College, went on to say: ÒIn the modern working world, interchangeable skills and qualifications are essential to all, regardless of age and experience. "So, the more skills you have the easier it is to find work, gain promotion and earn more, but learning also makes life more rewarding too. "It makes you more interesting, more confident, and more sought after. "Many school leavers will have the chance to develop these skills attending college, and with seven colleges to choose from, Birmingham Community College offers the best possible choice. "Learning is for everyone. "Whatever you want from adventure tourism to beauty therapy, furniture restoration to information technology, or sports coaching to the performing arts or management you can find it at the individual colleges within Birmingham Community College partnership." The partners of Birmingham Community College offer an unbeatable portfolio of full and part-time courses at all levels, from basic education through to degrees and professional development. We are open at times to suit your lifestyle and ,with magnificent study facilities, we can help you make the most of your talents. Lynne Morris, principal of Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, said: "BCC has become firmly established as a collaborative and successful organisation. "It has played a leading role in providing a coherent and coordinated approach to the lifelong learning partnership in Birmingham. "Within the group the characteristics of each individual college are celebrated and this diversity means that the Community College can offer opportunities for education and training which are responsive to all the needs and expectations of students across a wide range of programmes. "Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College works mainly with full-time school-leavers but also provides a wide range of courses for adults in the community and is very pleased to be associated with." Examples of how the partnership of college's work together include the Gala Awards diner and ceremony. The Five Star Awards evening is an important part of the celebrating the partnerships success where students will be chosen from the 60,000 students who attend the seven partner college's who make up Birmingham Community College, and will receive awards for their academic achievements. The aim of the awards is to promote, encourage and recognise excellence or outstanding commitment and progression by students of the partnership. Fifteen of the prestigious awards will be made, silver, gold and overall award winner, recognising individual and group achievements in each of five categories (hence the name, Five Star). Christine Braddock, principal of Matthew Boulton College went on to say: "We want to ensure that through the Birmingham Community College partnership everyone in Birmingham has a chance to succeed and progress through education. "Some students will achieve excellence, others will have worked equally hard to progress or to overcome often severe personal, physical or social barriers and whilst all have grown as individuals through studies, some have also helped improve the lives of others. "It is this outstanding commitment and achievement that we want to reward and encourage through the awards." Mrs Braddock added that another way the partnership of college's works is by pulling resources together to promote the city of Birmingham as a key centre for learning. She said: "A good example of this is when a delegation from Birmingham Community College recently headed to mainland China, promoting the fact that Birmingham is a major centre for the Chinese community and these links make it a natural choice for the Chinese students looking to study here. "We know that in China there are many students each year who won't be able to obtain a place at university in their own country and who want to study abroad. "We see the addition of international students to the Birmingham Community Colleges as a positive contribution to enrich the college's culture." Visit the Birmingham Community College website and find links to each of our partner colleges, www.bcomcol.ac.uk or better still, find the college advert that interests you the most and contact them direct on the telephone number given.
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