Many happy returns

Edge Hill University marks its milestone 125^th anniversary this week with a Civic Reception at Liverpool Town Hall.

The University will start celebrations in the city where it opened its doors as the country's first non-denominational teaching college for women in 1885, as the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Mike Storey joins Chancellor Professor Tanya Byron, along with University staff, students and guests to open the anniversary festivities.

The University started out as Edge Hill College, welcoming just 41 students at a site on Durning Road on 24 January 1885, after seven Liverpool philanthropists founded an institution to "radically broaden access to the teaching profession".

Some of Edge Hill's earliest students had links to the Suffragette and Labour movements, with the College Magazine frequently carrying impassioned articles demanding the enfranchisement of women and many students skipping class to join the Liverpool Dock Union Strike of 1911.   

The college outgrew its Liverpool location and moved to Ormskirk in 1933. The main building was later requisitioned for use as a military hospital in the Second World War, which saw Edge Hill move to a site in Bingley, Yorkshire until 1946. After admitting the first male students in 1959, the University then embarked on a sustained period of capital and course development, expanding the campus and diversifying its range of courses to providing health, arts and science degrees.

Today, Edge Hill University has over 23,000 students, boasts a spectacular award-winning campus and a nomination for University of the Year.

Speaking at Liverpool Town Hall, Dr John Cater, the University's Vice-Chancellor said: "On Sunday 24 January, we are 125 years old. We exist only because of the vision of our founders six generations ago - the Balfours, the Rathbones, the Holts - and the resilience of our staff, students and governors who have helped build a university with a strong reputation for the quality of our work, the capacity to invest in our campus and, perhaps most of all, a commitment to providing opportunities for able and intelligent individuals who might not otherwise enter higher education."  

The University has a year-long programme of events planned for 2010 entitled ‘Shaping Futures' that will look ahead to the next 125 years and imagine how a rapidly changing world will affect the lives of the next generation.

High profile speakers in the fields of environment, human rights, media, and technology will explore the issues that will shape and transform the lives of the next generation.

The University's star alumni Stuart Maconie and Jonathan Pryce will also mark the anniversary with special appearances, as well as comedian Jon Culshaw, who will return to his hometown of Ormskirk for a special performance on campus.

"Our 125th anniversary is an exciting opportunity for us to stand back and look at our past but also to consider our future," says John. "We have a lot to celebrate in our history but there is so much more to look forward to. In 50 years' time, I want Edge Hill to be regarded as one of the top universities in the country. I really believe we can achieve that, so who knows what is possible in the next 125 years."

For more information on up and coming events and how to book, log on to edgehill.ac.uk/125.