Welcome

York College & University Centre’s origins date back to 1827 when forerunning establishment, the York Mechanics’ Institute, was founded in Bedern.

Its purpose was to provide art, maths, writing and science classes to help make education to people of all social statuses more accessible. 

William Hargrove, the then proprietor of the York Courant and York Herald newspapers, and Charles Wellbeloved, a church minister and principal of the then York-based Manchester College, were key driving forces behind the Institute’s inception. 

A library followed soon afterwards, as did vocational training and day and night classes.

Some lectures were also held in the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall during those early days and, by March 1828, the growing Institute had moved to bigger premises in St Saviourgate.

In 1838, the name was changed to York Institute of Popular Science & Literature, while lectures also took place in Minster Yard and Goodramgate as expansion work was carried out on the St Saviourgate site during the 1840s.

Recognised national qualifications began to be introduced during the next decade and, by the early 1880s, art classes had become so popular in numbers that they needed to move to another premises on King Street, near the river below Ouse Bridge – a building that was subsequently named the School of Art. 

The need for a bigger premises then led to relocation to what would become Clifford Street in 1885 and led to another new name - the York Institute of Art, Science and Literature.

By 1892, local authorities were taking over the administration of education and, subsequently, the name was changed to Technical Institute and, during the Second World War, Technical College of Further Education recognition resulted in another new title - York College of Arts and Technology.

After the War, it was decided that a move to the 55-acre Ashfield Estate, straddling Tadcaster Road and Sim Balk Lane, could accommodate a more modern college with playing fields and space for the development of higher-level courses, as well as scope for better workshops and laboratories.

The Junior School of Building was the first course to relocate from Clifford Street in 1946 and the new building – now known as Central College – was added to during four development phases throughout the 1950s and 1960s as more and more departments gradually made the move across the city. 

In the late 1980s, Access courses providing a route into degree-level Higher Education for adults with little or no academic experience were added to the curriculum offering and, by the 1990s, another change of name – to York College of Further and Higher Education – had taken place.

A merger with York Sixth Form College (formerly part of Ashfield Secondary School) on Sim Balk Lane followed in 1999, which then provided the site for a new building to accommodate all students eight years later.

That building has become the impressive home for an institution that, for almost two centuries, has responded to educational developments, economic booms and depressions, war-time conditions and skills shortages affecting both the local and national populations.

The provision of education and training for employment, self-improvement and pleasure - all aims of the founders back in 1827 - still apply today but are now offered in a far more inclusive manner.

College’s impressive roster of high-achieving alumni grows by the year too and, in 2024, our Media Make-up department completed an impressive hat-trick when former students Nadia Stacey, Freda Ellis and Lisa Parkinson won Oscar, Emmy and Bafta awards respectively.

The BA (Hons) Media Make-up, Special Effects & Hair Design degree and Foundation Degree are among the Undergraduate, Access to Higher Education and Adult Evening courses we offer as part of our distinguished York School of Art provision. 

Rachel Daly – a member of the England Lionesses’ Euro 2022-winning football team – is also one of our former students, along with much-heralded fashion designer Matty Bovan, Line of Duty actress Taj Atwal, Sampdoria professional footballer Ronaldo Vieira and Cricket World Cup winner Lauren Winfield-Hill.

Our reputation for nurturing talented sporting students continues to expand with England Colleges’ goalkeeper Becky Sidwell winning an eight-nation international tournament in Italy earlier this year during her Sport and Exercise Science course. 

Team GB youth handball international Freya Murty, three-time world kickboxing champion Lauren Greenwood and Jamaican international rugby league player Chevelle Clarke are also current students excelling on and off Campus. 

Architectural Joinery apprentice Harrison Blackham having won two prestigious national awards – the British Woodworking Federation’s Apprentice of the Year and the Institute of Carpenter’s Third Year prize – during the 2023/24 academic year.

Professional Cookery student Jasmine Ferdinando, meanwhile, enjoyed national recognition in the same year when she won the prestigious Nestle Professional Toque D’or Front-of-House award, which saw her compete at the world-famous Savoy Hotel in London. 

During 2023/24, our Esports team York College Vikings were also crowned national champions and Shelby McCloud was named the Association of Colleges’ (AOC) Young Student of the Year after her campaign to change perceptions and laws regarding Down Syndrome even received support from then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Two of our Language students, meanwhile, secured scholarship trips to Germany and our Carpentry and Joinery students completed a community project on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

Our University Centre has an overall Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) rating of Silver, which signifies that the student experience and student outcomes are of a "typically very high quality".

In 2023, the College also became only the 25^th FE provider in the UK to be awarded Chartered Institute for Further Education membership status.

The recognition means the national body considers our FE provision to be of an exemplary standard with a strong track record of delivering the skills needed in modern Britain.

With a most recent Ofsted Inspection rating of “Good”, the College received a top Ministry of Defence honour in 2024, too, with the granting of Silver status by the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA) as part of the MoD’s Employer Recognition Scheme.

That award acknowledges the level of support in the workplace for current and former military personnel, as well as their family members. 

Guided by our core values of Ambition, Care, Respect and Success, our commitment to excellence is showcased through our state-of-the-art facilities, expert teaching and the additional student support and extra-curricular activities that we offer.

We offer a number of exciting and innovative facilities including professional hairdressing salons and beauty therapy treatment rooms, engineering and motor vehicle workshops, an award-winning onsite training kitchen, a theatre, a construction and skills centre and many more.

You can explore our fantastic facilities in our immersive virtual tour.

Our students continue to benefit from long-standing business partnerships with a wide variety of organisations, including the likes of York Minster, Bettys, Barratt Homes and many, many more.

The student experience is regularly enhanced by the invitation of guest speakers into the building, with the Archbishop of York, Rugby League Super League Grand Final winner Stevie Ward and Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, among those who have paid recent visits.

Student experience is also enhanced by a number of trips, visits, workshops, competitions and extra-curricular activities.