Visit to the Hereford College of Arts – 29th March 2019
29/03/2019
By 2018 Nathaniel Hone
We visited the Hereford College of Arts and saw around both its campuses, on Folly Lane and on College Road. We were told about the College and its ambitions by Abigail Appleton, the Principal. The College was founded in the mid 19th Century so has had time to build a formidable reputation. It is independent, the only such in the West Midlands. It offers a wide range of short courses and, in 2018/19, 11 college level programmes (A levels), 12 Ba (Hons) degrees and 2 MA programmes. They have over 15o staff including many who continue their own professional creative practise alongside teaching. They also have 30 or so influential and inspiring fellows.
The Folly Lane campus is a modern building fronted by an architecturally innovative Hub. This campus is dedicated to the A-level teaching
The College Road Campus, which is dedicated to degree courses, is in a gothic listed building originally designed for the Royal National College for the Blind. There are exciting plans to expand this campus following a transaction between Hereford Council and the Royal National College that sees the latter consolidating its campus around the Point4 (See article on Hereford Council Web-site). This will include student accommodation for both the HCA and NMITE (The new University per other blog entries).
An interesting aspect of the HCA approach is to emphasise the important of English and Maths so that its graduates are able to communicate their ideas effectively in employment.
Here is a link to their web-site. This College is a national treasure.
