Gateway College
| Type | FE college |
|---|---|
| Principal | Suzanne Overton-Edwards |
| Location |
Colin Grundy Drive Hamilton Leicester LE5 1GA England  Coordinates: 52°37′51″N 1°08′30″W / 52.6309°N 1.1418°W |
| Local authority | Leicester |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Website | Gateway College |
Gateway Sixth Form College is a sixth form college in Hamilton, Leicester, England.
The college used to be housed in the city centre of Leicester, adjacent to the main campus of De Montfort University. It has since moved to a new, £33 million campus built in the Hamilton suburb of the city.
History
The school began as Gateway Grammar School for boys. It was founded in 1928 and located in Skeffington House which is now the home of the Newarke Houses Museum. The school was established primarily to feed the Colleges of Art and Technology (later Leicester Polytechnic and now De Montfort University) and the curriculum showed a significant bias towards Craft and other practical subjects.
In 1933 it moved across the road to the site it occupied until 2009, which comprises a three-storey house dating from 1772 with a purpose-built extension and additional buildings for Science and Art & Design.
Its first Head Master (1928-31) was Harold Dent who went on to become Editor of The Times Educational Supplement and Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield. Dent was succeeded by Mr E C White (1931-1952) and then Dr H Frazer (1952-71). In Dr Frazer's time the Gateway (as it was known by locals) became more like a conventional grammar school but retained its commitment to teaching crafts. It was also progressive in its acceptance of 11+ exam "failures" at 13+ and 15+, some of whom achieved distinction and are among those listed in alumni below. M H Bailey (1971-1990) saw the school through its transformation into a mixed sixth form college in 1976. After Bailey's retirement the College Principals were A Sortwell (1990-97) and N A Goffin (1997-2009). The current Principal is S. Overton-Edwards.
Courses
The student body consists of approximately 1,200 students aged 16–18 and 400 adult students. The college is highly diverse with 75% of all learners from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Alumni
Gateway Grammar School
- Damon Buffini, head of private equity firm Permira
- Gregory Clarke, Chairman of the FA and Chairman of the Football League, 2010-2016; CEO of the Lend Lease Corporation, 2002-2009; CEO of Cable & Wireless, 1999-2000
- Malcolm Clarke, composerand producer, BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Peter Coley, leader of the Lib Democrats on Leicester City Council
- Maj-Gen Ian Dale CBE, Director, General Land Equipment
- Mark G. Darlison, Professor of Neuroscience, Edinburgh Napier University
- David Fish, Chairman of United Biscuits, 2004-
- Tony Francis, television sports journalist and producer
- Colin Greenhalgh CBE, Principal of Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, 1984-2002
- Christopher Hammond, Professor of Engineering, Leeds University
- Harold Hopkins, physicist; developed the zoom lens; did significant work on fibre-optics
- Matt Lloyd, ice sledge hockey Paralympian
- Henry Lowther, jazz and classical trumpet player
- Tony Selvidge, original keyboard play of prog rock band Yes (as Tony Kaye)
- Tom Rand, Oscar-nominated costume designer, The French Lieutenant's Woman
- John Souter, Chief Executive Officer of London Internet Exchange; co-author of Portable Modula-2 Programming; member of the editorial board of Software Quality Journal
- Peter Souter, former executive creative director of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO; author of TV series Married Single Other
- Prof Trevor Stuart, Professor of Theoretical Fluid Mechanics, Imperial College London from 1966-94; President of the London Mathematical Society from 2000-2002
- Trevor Tansley, Professor of English, Macquarrie University, Australia
- Rear-Admiral John Warsop CB, Naval Base Commander of HMNB Portsmouth, 1983-85
- John Wilmin, designer and silversmith
- Colin Wilson, writer