Stow College
Encyclopedia
History
The college is named after David StowDavid Stow
David Stow was a Scottish educationalist.-Life:Born Paisley, Renfrewshire, the son of a successful merchant, he was educated at Paisley Grammar School before entering the Port-Eglinton Spinning Co. in 1811, an affiliation he was to maintain to the end of his life...
, whose primary teaching seminary was founded close to the college at Dundasvale. Stow was the first purpose-built Further Education college in Glasgow, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2009.
Traditionally an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
college, Stow has now diversified into ICT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
, business studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
http://www.stow.ac.uk. The college offers courses from introductory to Higher National Diploma level within the six departments, namely Music & Creative Industries, Management & General Education, Computing & Internet Technologies, Engineering Technology, Science & Health and Trade Union Education. It also offers online and distance learning and a large range of commercial short courses. The Trade Union Education Department is the largest of its type in Scotland and one of the most successful in the UK. It is also the only college in the Central Belt
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...
to offer a Gaelic immersion course
Language immersion
Language immersion is a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. Unlike more traditional language courses, where the target language is simply the subject material, language immersion uses the target language as a teaching tool,...
.
The college won a number of Star Awards from the Scottish Qualifications Authority including their top award, the Pride o' Worth Award. This was awarded due to the internationally renowned success of their record labels, Electric Honey, Gdansk and Root8 which are run by Music Business Administration students. Acts which have been launched through the Electric Honey label include Snow Patrol (then known as Polar Bear), Belle & Sebastian and Biffy Clyro.
The college was the first in Scotland to devise and offer a Higher National Certificate course in Computer Games Development which helps to support Scotland's thriving computer games industry.
Extensive links with local universities including the University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian University and Strathclyde University ensure that students can progress to second or third year of degree courses.
The college's Music and Creative Industries department includes a number of former professional musicians including Stuart Woody Wood, formerly of the Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
, Alan Rankine
Alan Rankine
Alan Rankine played keyboards, and guitars, for the rock band, Associates, which he co-founded with Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s....
(The Associates) and Ken McCluskey (The Bluebells
The Bluebells
The Bluebells were a Scottish pop group in the 1980s.-Career:The Bluebells performed jangly guitar based pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contemporaries Aztec Camera and Orange Juice. They had three Top 40 hit singles in the UK, all written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell - "I'm...
). Additionally, lecturing staff have been drawn from within the creative industries including active professionals from within Musical Theatre, Television, Composition, Music and Events Management and recording disciplines.
The college's music label Electric Honey
Electric Honey
Electric Honey may refer to:* Electric Honey , a 1999 album by Luscious Jackson* Electric Honey , a 1986 album by the Partland Brothers, featuring the hit single "Soul City"...
released Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
's first album, Tigermilk
Tigermilk
Tigermilk is the 1996 debut album from Scottish pop group Belle & Sebastian. Originally given a limited release by Electric Honey, the album was subsequently re-released in 1999 by Jeepster Records...
in 1996.
In 2009 and 2010 Students from the college's TV production course provided official coverage of the Glasgow Film Festival. A public information film (Doorstoppers, produced by TFGtv) featuring material gathered by Stow College TV students opened the 2009 Stirling Film Festival at the McRobert's Arts Centre.
Stow West is a campus in the Maryhill area in the north of Glasgow that opened in 2000. It is approximately 2 miles from the main City campus. The campus is a totally refurbished building; the building was previously Shakespeare Street Primary School.
- Web developmentWeb developmentWeb development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
- Music industry management and marketing
- TV production (with music video production)
- BusinessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
- Gaelic
Notable alumni
- James JohnstonJames Johnston (Scottish musician)James Roberto Johnston is a bassist, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for his work with Scottish group Biffy Clyro...
- Ben JohnstonBen Johnston (Scottish musician)Ben Hamilton Johnston is a drummer, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for his work with Scottish group Biffy Clyro.-Early life:...
- W. S. GrahamW. S. GrahamWilliam Sydney Graham was a Scottish poet who is often associated with Dylan Thomas and the neo-romantic group of poets. Graham's poetry was mostly overlooked in his lifetime but, partly due to the support of Harold Pinter, his work has enjoyed a revival in recent years...