STOW COLLEGE: a great place to learn

Stow College opened in 1934 and was the first purpose-built Further Education College in Glasgow.

The College takes its name from David Stow (1793-1864), a Victorian philanthropist and one of the greatest pioneers and innovators in the history of Scottish education. He introduced what at the time were revolutionary innovations in teaching such as visual aids, the concept of a 'playground' and the establishment in 1836 of the first teacher training College in Great Britain. This building still stands today adjacent to Stow College's City campus in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow.

Stow College initially provided evening courses to help the workers and companies of Clydeside towards economic recovery by ensuring that they were equipped with the very best technology skills and theory of the time.

Nowadays Stow is one of the main providers of quality learning and teaching in Scotland and is formally acknowledged as 'Glasgow's Centre of Excellence'.

The College offers potential students a diverse and exciting range of courses in the following curriculum areas:

• Management and General Education
• Computing and Internet Technologies
• Music and Creative Industries
• Engineering Technology
• Science and Health
• Trade Union Education Studies

Virtually all of Stow College's courses are linked to national qualifications recognised by employers and other educational institutions nationally and internationally. Many are awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) which as described previously the SQA is the national body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees.

SQA qualifications are recognised worldwide and those available at Stow College include:

• Higher National Diplomas (HND)
• Higher National Certificates (HNC)
• National Qualifications (NQ)
• National Certificates (NC)
• Professional Development Awards (PDA)

An explanation of these qualifications can be found by clicking here.

Stow College also enjoys strong links with many universities. These links offer students a more secure means of reaching their most appropriate level of qualification with the option of transferring to a university course as and when it is most appropriate.

Stow College is committed to supporting students both before and during their learning experience. A wide variety of support services is available starting from the time a student enquires about a course and continuing throughout their time at Stow.

It should be noted that all Stow College courses require an appropriate level of competence in spoken and written English as a pre-condition of entry as success in students' studies will depend upon this.

Once accepted onto a course international students can access an extensive range of support mechanisms to help them make the most of their learning experience at Stow.

In particular these support mechanisms provide help and assistance for students whose first language is not English and include free full-time and part-time ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses.