Celebrating 70 years

We are excited to be celebrating a very special milestone this year - 70 years of providing career-led courses, apprenticeships and education for young people and adults.

City College was originally called Southampton Technical College, when it opened in June 1952 to meet the skills needs of Southampton, which was rebuilding and recovering after the Second World War.  In the seven decades since then hundreds of thousands of students and apprentices have come through its doors and left with the skills, knowledge and confidence to achieve great things in all walks of life - including celebrated chef Paul Ainsworth and music producer and chart-topping singer Craig David.

To mark this significant anniversary, City College is calling its former alumni to get in touch and share their memories of the college through the decades.

Sarah Stannard, Principal and CEO, has expressed her immense pride in the successes of the college over the past 70 years and said she hoped as many former students, apprentices and staff as possible would get in touch throughout the year.

She said: "This 70th year is a very special occasion for everybody connected with the college, both past and present. We have been privileged over the years to support the residents and employers of Southampton by providing education and training that has enabled students and apprentices to develop a wide range of successful careers and make a real difference to their lives.

"To mark the College’s anniversary, we are planning a number of events and there will be an open-house celebration day for the community in June – marking 70 years since the college first opened its doors.

"Please get in touch if you are a former student, apprentice or member of staff and would like to share your memories with us. Whatever path you have taken since leaving, we'd love to hear your stories."

To share your memories of City College, visit www.southampton-city.ac.uk/share 

Celebrity chef Paul Ainsworth, who has a Michelin-starred restaurant in Cornwall, Paul Ainsworth at No6, and is a regular contributor to TV cookery shows including Great British Menu and MasterChef, attended City College Southampton from 1995 to 1998.

He grew up in Southampton and studied hospitality and catering at City College. In 1998, Paul achieved his big break when he secured a job at the late Gary Rhodes’ Michelin-starred Rhodes in the Square in London. After two years here, Paul went on to spend six years at Gordon Ramsay Holdings before moving to Cornwall to set up on his own with his wife Emma.

Paul said: "I have really fond memories of my time at City College. It was a great place and I made some good friends. The tutors inspired me to learn as much about the catering and hospitality industry as possible and enabled me to take the invaluable first step in my career. I’m ever grateful for the opportunities that my experience at City College gave me and hope that I too can help others in the industry get to where they want to go.

"I’d like to congratulate City College Southampton on reaching a great milestone and wish everybody there every success for the future."