College Exhibition to Mark Merger in City

A new exhibition to hit the city is planning to deliver a special lesson in learning to visitors.

People can enjoy a trip through time with three of the city’s FE colleges as they approach a pivotal moment in their history.

Come April 1st Leeds College of Technology, Leeds Thomas Danby and Park Lane College Leeds & Keighley will merge to become Leeds City College, one of the largest FE institutions in the country. To mark the occasion, a special exhibition focusing on the colleges’ contributions to the city and celebrating the forthcoming merger, has been planned.

Spanning three centuries, the exhibition, entitled “19th century roots, 21st century future – the Leeds Colleges’ Merger Exhibition” follows months of research by the college teams, who have unearthed an array of historical gems about the three institutions.

Stories of famous students, high profile events and key achievements as well as some weird and wonderful facts and figures feature in the exhibition, which opens on Thursday, March 26th and runs for three weeks. Other highlights include physical exhibits on ‘100 Years of Print’ and a ‘taste’ of some of the colleges’ specialties as well as personal memories from past and present staff and students.

“The three colleges have three fascinating histories as well as one auspicious future, and many local people have contributed to those histories over the years. Hopefully the exhibition will pay tribute to everyone who has worked in any of the colleges and to the skills that they’ve shared, as well as revealing some interesting facts and amusing anecdotes about education in Leeds,” said Steve Knowles, one of the exhibition organisers.

The colleges are also appealing for people to make their own contributions to the exhibition and want to hear from anyone with their own personal stories to tell – perhaps you sat alongside one of the famous former students or could possibly be one of the oldest living former students? Visit the college merger website: www.theleedscollegemerger.co.uk and send your stories in via the ‘Contact’ page.

“19th century roots, 21st century future – The Leeds Colleges’ Merger Exhibition” runs in the Thoresby Room at Leeds City Museum from Thursday, March 26th- Easter Monday, April 13th 2009.

Image Caption:
Students from Leeds College of Technology, Leeds Thomas Danby and Park Lane College Leeds & Keighley helped to launch a commemorative exhibition, posing in Victorian costumes with one of the physical exhibits – a 140 year old printing press. Students wore costumes from the Performing Arts department at Park Lane College.