Malvern Hills College
Malvern Hills College is a general college of further education in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. Known for a short while from 2009 to 2016 as South Worcestershire College (Malvern Campus), in August 2016 the college merged with Warwickshire College Group and reverted to its historical name. The college, which also includes the Malvern School of Art, provides full and part-time vocational education for students aged 14–18 and a variety of courses and activities for adults. The total number of enrolled students for the Evesham and Malvern campuses of the former South Worcestrshire College, together with the outreach  locations, was about 7,000 of which about 10% were students aged 16–18 pursuing full-time education. The college was independently financed by the Worcestershire Local Authority which in turn was partly funded by a grant from the European Social Fund (ESF) to provide level 1 recognised national qualifications in Hairdressing, Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Engineering, Animal Care and Construction. The college had an Acquired Brain Injury Centre and also offered students NVQs and BTEC First, National and Higher National diplomas and certificates. and access to higher education programmes. ESOL courses are provided for Migrant workers and students needing English  language support. A 2006 Ofsted report accorded the school, under its former name of Evesham and Malvern Hills College, a Grade 2 (good), while a 2007 follow up report disclosed the college's firm intention to purchase the Malvern site and extend the facilities. Many of the suggestions in the 2006 report had also been addressed. The Evesham campus, now returned to its former name of Evesham College following the 2016 merger with the Warwickshire College Group and is located in Davies Road, Evesham. The Malvern campus, now also returned to its former name, is located in Albert Road North , Malvern, Worcestershire. It was first constructed as Malvern Technical College and School of Art in 1928, and has been known as Malvern College of Further Education, (around 1965) then Malvern Hills College, until merging with Evesham College in September 2000 to become the Malvern campus for Evesham and Malvern Hills College in 2000, renamed South Worcestershire College in 2009. The college was operated by the Wyvern Trust, which was formed 1982 to manage and maintain the existence of Malvern Hills College when the site was purchased by Malvern Hills District Council following an unsuccessful attempt by the council of the  former Hereford and Worcester county to sell the land and buildings. The trust was dissolved on the merger with Evesham College. The complex contains special teaching facilities and salons for hair and beauty therapy, art and crafts studios, workshops and the Malvern Community Learning Centre for adults. Closure. In November 2020 it was announced that the school would close down in the Summer of 2021. A covenant on the buildings requires the site to be used for educational purposes, and there is a proposal to transfer the site to the local community. Some of the courses were relocated to a  new campus of the Warwickshire Colleges Group, Malvern Hills Centre for Digital & Cyber Technology, on the Malvern Hills Science Park specialising in a limited offer of IT courses for adults. The centre opened in September 2021. In December 2021 Malvern Hills District Council reaffirmed it commitment to uphold the covenant to continue education facilities at the Albert Road site.