Somerset College of Arts and Technology - History

History

The history of art, craft and design education in Taunton goes back to 1856 and the foundation of the art school in the wake of the 1851 Great Exhibition. This went on to become the Somerset College of Art. In 1898 a foundation stone of the Technical Institute was laid and in February 1900 the Institute was formally opened.

In 1956 work began on the present 15-acre (61,000 m2) site at Wellington Road, Taunton and by 1967 all departments were in situ. The College of Art relocated to an award winning building on the campus of the Somerset Technical College in the early 1970s and became the Soerset College of Arts and Technology.

In 2005 the circular, three story Atrium was opened, the latest phase of a £15 million redevelopment scheme. As well as incorporating a main reception and shopping mall area, information and guidance points, classrooms, and student common rooms, the Atrium houses the majority of the college’s Service Industries division.

Other developments in recent years have included a conference centre, nursery and a new Health and Social Care centre also completed in 2005.

Read more about this topic:  Somerset College Of Arts And Technology

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    We may pretend that we’re basically moral people who make mistakes, but the whole of history proves otherwise.
    Terry Hands (b. 1941)

    There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.
    Karl Marx (1818–1883)

    In history as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment and a thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour.
    Stefan Zweig (18811942)