ST HELENS College has received a double boost after earning top marks from government inspectors and being chosen to become a Centre of Excellence for Information and Technology.

Following the 59-day inspection by the Further Education Funding Council, which saw a team of 16 inspectors observing 115 lessons, the college scored no lower than Grade 2 on a five-point scale of all the areas covered, making them the best results of colleges on Merseyside.

The report stated that the college was 'very well managed and financially sound' and also praised the 'high standard of college facilities as well as the accessibility of most facilities to students with restricted mobility'.

College chief executive Joe West, said: "The inspectors' verdict reflects the hard work by staff, management and governors over the past few years as well as local partners such as the council and St Helens Chamber of Commerce."

Meanwhile, the Centre of Excellence - a Technology Management Centre for business, vocational and educational needs - is a government programme aimed at providing new technology skills.

The centre, which will cost more than £1 million and is only the second on Merseyside after Liverpool University, will be funded by the college together with a government grant and cash from the St Helens Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise and the private sector.

Its aim is to provide local small and medium-sized businesses and individuals with access to technology management services including telematics, automatic telling machinery, virtual reality, millennium bug support and multimedia and includes state-of-the-art video conferencing facilities.

Based at the SmithKline Beecham building, the centre will be jointly managed by the college and St Helens Chamber.

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