Located off Barnfield Avenue in Luton, Bedfordshire, Barnfield College is a further education college with roots going back to the late 1950s. Since January 2019, it has operated as part of the West Herts College Group (WHC Group), alongside West Herts College, though it continues to trade under the Barnfield name.
From Technical School to Further Education College
The site’s educational history began in 1958, when Luton Technical School relocated to a new building off Barnfield Avenue and was renamed Barnfield Secondary Technical School. The shift to comprehensive schooling across Luton in 1967 brought another change, and the institution became Barnfield High School. As pupil numbers fell, parts of the building were given over to vocational teaching – hairdressing and dressmaking classes began in 1968 – and by 1970 the College of Further Education had taken over the whole site. In 2003, Barnfield College became the first general further education college in the country to receive Beacon status.
The Barnfield Federation
When Peter Birkett was appointed principal in 2005, the college took on an unusually broad educational role. It became the first further education college in Britain to sponsor an academy school, backing both Barnfield South Academy and Barnfield West Academy. By 2007, the Barnfield Federation covered a nursery, primary schools, secondary schools, and the college itself. In 2010, the Federation opened one of the first studio schools in Britain, the Barnfield Skills Academy, and also launched what it described as the first 14-18 Law and Accountancy Academy, aimed at students pursuing careers in law or accountancy. The Federation came under scrutiny in October 2013, when the Department for Education and the Skills Funding Agency opened investigations. A central concern was a £915,000 funding claim relating to students who had not studied at the college. Findings were published on 28 February 2014. By July 2014, it had been announced that the schools would separate from Barnfield College to form their own multi-academy trust, allowing the college to concentrate on further and higher education. The split was completed in 2015, when the schools formed the Shared Learning Trust.
Notable Alumni
Among those who studied at the college are portrait photographer and director Rankin and graphic artist and costume designer Glyn Dillon.