What Women Want

Edge Hill has returned to its roots after linking up with the Blackburne House Group in Liverpool.

The university, which was formed in 1885 in the Edge Hill area of the city before relocating to its current Ormskirk site in 1933, was originally a women?s teacher training college.

Now, 121 years on, Edge Hill has collaborated with Blackburne House ? a leading women?s education provider and in the top 10% of FE providers in the country ? to deliver a Foundation Degree in Computing/IT.

Nigel Simons, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Management and Social and Applied Sciences at Edge Hill, said: "We welcome this new partnership with Blackburne House which plays an important role in providing training opportunities for women.

"This Foundation Degree fits into the Blackburne House remit of equipping women with the skills to progress into employment in a technical profession and students can also progress onto studying for a BSc Computing."

Nine students are currently on the part-time course which will take three years to complete.

Alex Hunter, Learning and Development Director at Blackburne House, said: "The Foundation Degree provides an excellent progression route for many of our students who are now able to study for higher level qualifications. This partnership is the beginning of what we hope will be a fruitful relationship for all involved, especially for Blackburne House students whose confidence and career prospects have greatly increased.

"When our students attended the induction at Edge Hill they were really excited and got a feel for university life which many women once thought unachievable. Working in partnership with Edge Hill will enable us to further improve access to opportunities for socially excluded groups."