Over 80 years of history as the North East’s leading land-based educational provider are being celebrated as East Durham College’s Houghall campus in Durham celebrates its oak anniversary.
The campus, which originally opened in 1938 as the Durham County School of Agriculture, has a long and proud history that stretches back over many decades.
Originally founded as a place for young men and women to pursue a career in agriculture and offering courses such as agriculture, horticulture and poultry-keeping, the modern-day Houghall campus has expanded significantly and offers a wide range of vocational land-based courses and training for almost 1000 students in subjects including floristry, small animal care, agriculture, dog grooming, horticulture, countryside management, tree surgery, craft courses and more.
Suzanne Duncan, principal of East Durham College, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the amazing 80th year of our Houghall campus.
“I am extremely proud of all of our hardworking students and staff who continue to make Houghall an excellent place to learn and work. We’re very excited to see what the next 80 years bring to Houghall too!”
Houghall recently underwent a multi-million pound redevelopment with a brand new Small Animal Care centre, state-of-the-art Equine Centre, agricultural centre and extensive refurbishment to the college’s original and iconic main entrance building.
The new redevelopment was officially opened in January 2017 by HRH The Princess Royal. She isn’t the only famous face who has visited the college over the years either – Prime Minister Harold Macmillan also visited the site during a tour of the North East in 1959.
Redevelopment continues at the site with a new grain store under construction at the agricultural unit and property developers Jansons building a brand new student accommodation block and completely refurbishing the college’s old Weardale accommodation to offer over 200 brand new rooms for Durham University students from September 2018.
Check out the History of our Houghall campus >> for more information.
