Spelthorne College

Spelthorne College was a single-site sixth form college on High Street, Ashford, Surrey, England as post-1975 successor to Ashford Sixth Form College in turn post-1965 partial successor to Ashford County Grammar School which occupied its original building and further buildings which are today replaced over its history and following its merger with Brooklands College.

Former school

The school was founded in 1911 as Ashford County Grammar School, for 11- to 18-year-olds by Middlesex County Council with support of the combined county and district local rates collected by Staines Rural District Council. In 1965 when the administrative area of Middlesex was divided between London, Surrey and Hertfordshire, its 11- to 15-year-old pupils were re-assigned to expanded other schools and it was re-designated by Surrey County Council as an Ashford Sixth Form College. When Ashford County Grammar School closed in 1975, education authorities having been encouraged by Rt Hon Reg Prentice (Secretary of State for Education) to disband Grammar Schools, the opportunity was taken to rename the College as Spelthorne College, named after its borough created in the previous year on the basis of the medieval hundred of the same name and in taking over the smaller number of pupils and staff from Sunbury Sixth Form College. The institution's archive is lodged with Spelthorne Museum.

Merger

Being a post 16-years-of-age education provider in England and Wales, the college's funding in 1992 passed to the Further Education Funding Council for England, later replaced by the Learning and Skills Council. The college performed well in external reviews, for instance gaining 23-24 points in the Quality Assurance Agency's (QAA) review of its higher education provision in business studies.

Brooklands College

A Strategic Area Review in 2004 by the Learning Skills Council recommended that to expand and modernise the college's premises it merge with a larger institution. On 1 August 2007 the merger with Brooklands College was completed, to operate as the Ashford Campus, the other campus being the Brooklands College's Weybridge campus.

Alumni

Ashford County Grammar School, Sunbury and Ashford Sixth Form Colleges and Spelthorne College:

• Don Bennett, who played cricket for Middlesex from 1950 until 1968
• Susannah Clapp, Theatre Critic since 1997 of The Observer
• Gary Numan, musician
• Arthur Palmer, MP from 1945–50 for Wimbledon, from 1952-9 for Cleveland, from 1964–74 for Bristol Central, and from 1974-83 for Bristol North East (L)^[1]
• Irene Thomas, radio personality^[2]
• Norman Willis, General Secretary from 1984–93 of the TUC
• Robert Evans (politician) MEP for London Region 1994–2009 (L)
• Richard Johnson, who played cricket for Middlesex and England from 1992 and retired 2007
• Brian Capron, actor in Coronation Street from the Sunbury Sixth Form College
• Wendy Smith-Sly, athlete who competed mainly in the 3,000 metres. Silver medallist at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles; 1983 World Champion in the World 10 km road race championship
• Nicholas Bond-Owen, child actor of the 1970s and 80s, best known for playing Tristram Fourmile in five series of the popular comedy George and Mildred
• Sidney E J Russell (4 October 1937 – 18 June 1994), a cricketer and footballer for Middlesex (1960-1964) and Gloucestershire (1965-1968) playing 54 matches for Brentford F.C. between 1956 and 1961

References

External links

• Spelthorne Museum
• Capital Bid Minutes
• Dissolution Order
• FE Focus on 18 September, 2009
• FE Focus on 13 November, 2009
• FE Focus on 4 December, 2009
• FE Focus on 29 January, 2010

Borough of Spelthorne
Towns, villages and localities	Ashford Ashford Common Charlton Laleham Littleton Lower Halliford Lower Sunbury Shepperton Staines-upon-Thames Stanwell Stanwell Moor Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury Common Upper Halliford
Key parks	Ashford Park Rec. Ground Beechwood Rec. Ground Bishop Duppas Park Knowle Green Laleham Park Spelthorne Sports Ground Long Lane Rec. Ground Shortwood Common Staines Moor (Staines) Lammas Staines Park Sunbury Park Town Lane Rec. Ground Walled Garden, Sunbury
Large listed buildings	Churches All Saints, Laleham St Mary's, Staines St Matthews, Ashford St Mary, Stanwell St Mary Magdalene, Littleton St Nicholas, Shepperton Other Halliford School Laleham Abbey Littleton Manor The Old Manor House, Shepperton Shepperton Manor St Paul's College St James Senior Boys School Sunbury Court
Education	The Bishop Wand Church of England School Halliford School Matthew Arnold School St James Senior Boys School St. Paul's College, Sunbury-on-Thames Spelthorne College Sunbury Manor School Thamesmead School
Railway stations	Ashford Kempton Park Shepperton Staines Sunbury Upper Halliford
Buildings and structures	Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Reservoirs Kempton Park Steam Engines King George VI Reservoir Queen Mary Reservoir Shepperton Studios Staines Reservoirs Wraysbury Reservoir Thames Water Ring Main M3 motorway and Thames Crossing Staines Bridge Chertsey Bridge Walton Bridge
Sport	Football Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C. Spelthorne Sports F.C. Staines Lammas F.C. Staines Town F.C. Rugby London Irish RFC Staines Rugby Football Club Other Staines Boat Club Sunbury Cricket Club West Surrey Racing
Destroyed landmarks	Ashford Manor Astleham Church Stanwell Place Kempton Manor Sunbury Manor