Edge Hill University

History

Edge Hill College was opened on 24 January 1885 on Durning Road, Edge Hill, Liverpool, named after the district in which it was sited, by a group of seven Liverpool businessmen and philanthropists. It was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England. By 1892, Edge Hill was one of only two colleges in England combining teacher training and degree course study. As student numbers increased, Edge Hill quickly outgrew its surroundings. The institution was handed over to the Lancashire Education Committee, with the foundation stone for the present Ormskirk campus laid on 26 October 1931 by J.T. Travis-Clegg, Chairman of Lancashire County Council. The main building comprised a main education block, four halls of residence (named Stanley, Clough, Lady Margaret and John Dalton), an Assembly Hall, a library, craft room, gymnasium, lecture theatres, classrooms and a music room.

Between 1939 and 1946, the college was evacuated to Bingley, in Yorkshire and the Ormskirk site was requisitioned for use by the military.

The Durning Road premises was destroyed during a bombing raid in the Liverpool Blitz on 17 November 1940 which resulted in the death of 166 people.

Edge Hill became a mixed college, admitting its first male students in October 1959, when it had about 500 students in total. In 1963 the university recorded having 660 students and 59 members of staff.

The institution has since expanded further with further developments at Ormskirk and the absorption of the former Sefton School of Health Studies.

In 2005, Edge Hill was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers by the Privy Council. On 18 May 2006 the institution became Edge Hill University and in August 2008 the university was granted the power to award research degrees.

Coat of Arms

A Grant of Arms was made to the university in 2007.

The coat of arms consists of a shield, a crest, a badge and a motto and contains images and symbols that represent Edge Hill's history and values.

The University's physical origins are represented by the Red Rose of Lancashire in the shield, where it is currently located and the Liver bird in the crest, which refers to its original location in Liverpool.

The colours green and heliotrope (purple) are that of the Suffragette movement, symbolising the University's early commitment to the equality of women through its beginnings as a women-only college.

The coat of arms contains a sun, symbolising illumination and enlightenment; a quill to represent learning, and peacock feathers meaning beauty, power and knowledge. A lion represents strength, bravery and magnanimity, and a stag suggests wisdom, regeneration, peace and harmony.

The University's motto – "In Scientia Opportunitas" – translates as "In knowledge there is opportunity".

The Mace

The Mace is the symbol of the University's authority to award degrees. Edge Hill University commissioned its mace in 2007, from silversmith Clive Burr. Inspired by the University Coat of Arms and the campus architecture, the mace took six months to produce and is crafted from sterling silver. At the head is an 18-carat yellow gold dome enamelled by Jane Short, with a hand engraved inscription of the University motto running around the silver edge. The main body has a hand engraved decoration running around it, the design inspired by the acanthus leaves and stone columns of the entrance to the original University building.

Campus

Edge Hill University is based on a 160-acre (650,000 m²) campus in Ormskirk in West Lancashire. Liverpool is the nearest city.

The Woodlands campus is based in Chorley, Lancashire and offers continuing professional development programmes and part-time study.

Academic Buildings

Most of the University's subjects and departments are based in specialist buildings developed since the 1990s: Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health and Social Care, Business School, BioSciences, GeoSciences, Creative Edge (Media and Social Sciences), Performing Arts, the Wilson Centre (Sport and Physical Activity) and Psychology. The Tech Hub was opened in 2016 by entrepreneur Sir Robin Saxby.

The Student Hub

This building opened in 2011 as a central student area, containing retail and catering outlets and IT facilities, as well as providing new accommodation for the Edge Hill Students' Union. The building was formally opened by Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex on 15 October 2012.

Sports Centre

The current indoor and outdoor sports complex was opened in 2015 by Olympic pentathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Facilities include 3G soccer pitches, multi-courts, hockey and football pitches, outdoor tennis courts, an athletics track, a 25-metre swimming pool, and a fitness suite. There is also a double sports hall to play badminton, basketball and squash.

Arts Centre

The Arts Centre houses the University’s Performing Arts Department and the Rose and Studio Theatres.

The Arts Centre was officially opened by British screenwriter and writer of the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Frank Cottrell Boyce who is an Honorary Doctor of Literature at the University.

The Arts Centre includes a 234-seat professional theatre (The Rose Theatre), a 140-seat Studio Theatre, several smaller performance spaces, landscaping to support outdoor performance, and specialist teaching spaces including two dance studios, two studios with sprung floors for both Dance and Physical Theatre, two black box drama studios, five rehearsal rooms, a fully equipped theatre construction workshop, a digital sound studio, a digital design suite, three theatre design studios and costume construction area, a music technology room, a recital room and two music practice studios.

Halls of Residence

The original Halls of Residence were 'named Stanley, Clough, Lady Margaret and John Dalton "in honour" of the Derby Family' and "of three individuals famous in the history of Lancashire and of Education" (Anne Jemima Clough was a pioneer of higher education for women, having founded Newnham College, Cambridge)'

Five Halls, opened in 1963 by Princess Margaret, are named after Lady Openshaw, Katherine Fletcher (Chairs of Governors), EM Butterworth, Margaret Bain (Principals) and Eleanor Rathbone, a noted social reformer. Lancashire Hall was demolished in 1999 to make way for the Wilson Centre (Edge Hill Sport), but was originally built to house male students. Forest Court added 300 bedrooms in the early 1990s.

More recent Halls include Founders Court, named after the institution's founders Crosfield (William Crosfield); McDairmid (S. McDairmid); Matheson (Thomas Matheson); Smith (Samuel Smith (1836–1906)), Balfour (Alexander Balfour); Sinclair (WP Sinclair); and Sarah Yelf (the first Principal); and Graduates Court, named after alumni: Ainsworth (Joe Ainsworth), Annakin (Ethel Annakin), Maconie (Stuart Maconie), Normanton (Helena Normanton) and Pryce (Jonathan Pryce).

In 2012 Chancellors Court was opened, adding Halls named after individuals associated with the institution including Chairs of the Board of Governors: Blake, Booth, Bradshaw, Fulton, Millner, Pinfold, Tomkins, and Wilson as well as Byron (Tanya Byron, the first Chancellor of the University), and Williams (politician Shirley Williams). Additional Halls added in 2013 are, in Chancellors Court: Binns (Sir Arthur Lennon Binns), Boyce (J.S.B Boyce), Lord (Sir Percy Lord), and Meadon (Sir Percival Edward Meadon); and in Founders Court: Dewhurst (M. K. Dewhurst), Fenemore (Mildred Fenemore), Feuchsel (Harriet D Feuchsel) and Holt (George Holt (merchant)).

Chancellors South, an additional 246 accommodation units to complete the Chancellors Court blocks on the Eastern side of the campus, was completed in summer 2014. The Halls are named after individuals associated with the institution including Laverty (Bernard Laverty, Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Edge Hill University Board of Governors since 2014, Chartered Accountant and Director of Lancashire textile company David Whitehead & Sons Limited), Jenkins (Miss JA Jenkins, Vice-Principal of Edge Hill from 1906 and Acting Principal from 1909–10), Millins (Mr PKC ‘Ken’ Millins was the first male Principal of Edge Hill, leading the institution between 1964 and 1979 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2010), Aitken (Sir James Aitken served on the Education Committee of Lancashire County Council from 1921 to 1948, and was Chair of the Council from 1946 to 1948) and Welch (John Welch was Chair of the Education Committee of Lancashire County Council between 1955 and 1958).

Palatine Court Halls are named after prominent individuals associated with the historic Lancashire County Palatine: Carrington (artist Leonora Carrington), Glazebrook (physicist Richard Glazebrook), Pankhurst (campaigner for women's suffrage Emmeline Pankhurst), Roscoe (abolitionist and historian William Roscoe), Lowry (artist L. S. Lowry), Peel (Prime Minister and architect of the modern police force Robert Peel) and Wilkinson (politician, sometime Minister for Education Ellen Wilkinson).

Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors

The University Chancellor is Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist, journalist, author and broadcaster. The Pro-Chancellor is Professor Clive Edwards who also serves as Chair of the Board of Governors.

The current Vice-Chancellor is John Cater, who has held the post since 1993. He received a CBE in the 2015 Queen's birthday honours. As a social geographer, he has published extensively on race, housing, economic development and public policy and co-authored major research studies for the Social Science Research Council, the Commission for Racial Equality and their successor bodies.

Faculties

The University has three Faculties:

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

The Faculty comprises Departments of:

Faculty of Education

The Faculty delivers initial teacher training programmes for the age phases of education in the UK, together with Continuing Professional Development for the school workforce. The most recent Ofsted Initial Teacher Education inspection report (2011) awarded Grade 1 in all 33 cells covering the phases of initial teacher training: Primary & Early Years, Secondary and Post-Compulsory Education and Training.

Faculty of Health and Social Care

The Faculty delivers pre-registration training for nurses, midwives, operating department practitioners and paramedics; qualifying social work degrees; and professional development in the fields of health and social care.

Graduate School

The Graduate School supports research students on MPhil and PhD programmes and their supervisors.

Students' Union

Edge Hill University Students' Union is the representative body of students at the university run by four elected, sabbatical officers and student trustees who sit on the board. The Sabbatical officers are the SU President, Vice President of Activities, Vice President of Academic Representation and Vice President of Welfare.

All students at the university are automatically enrolled into the Students’ Union which seeks to promote the interests of its members, act as a representative channel between students and the university, and to provide recreational activities for its members.

The Students' Union has over 70 societies which students can join including a range of sports teams, subject related groups and social societies. 'Team Edge Hill' is the SU's sport brand which encompasses all sport teams and individuals who compete for the university within the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues including football, rugby, cycling, netball, swimming, tennis, hockey, golf and many more.

VibeMedia is the Students’ Union’s media platform which comprises Vibe Radio and Vibe TV, a radio and television channel run by student volunteers.

Courses

Edge Hill University's undergraduate courses include BA/BSc and LLB degrees, health pre-registration qualifications and teacher training degrees. Postgraduate provision includes PGCEs, Masters programmes, MBA, MPhil and PhD research degrees and MRes programmes.

There are also opportunities for professional development at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Research

The university returned twelve units of assessment in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 and has established three interdisciplinary research institutes through which to manage the impact and external engagement of research carried out.

All subject areas submitted by the university to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework featured ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’ research. In Sport and Media, 45% of work submitted was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, 44% of Psychology and English research was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent and 50% of Law research was rated as internationally excellent or world-leading. Education, Law and Sport research was considered particularly strong in terms of impact, with Law in the top 30 and Sport in the top 25 institutions for overall impact.

Institute for Creative Enterprise (ICE)

The Institute for Creative Enterprise (ICE) is Edge Hill University’s practice-led and theoretically grounded interdisciplinary research forum which connects the University with the digital and creative economy and with cultural institutions.

Directed by Roger Shannon, ICE brings together researchers, educators, communities and industry practitioners to share expertise, develop partnerships that address current challenges, and contribute to debates on the roles of culture and creativity in driving economic growth and sustainability, as well as promoting citizen engagement, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P)

The Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P) is a cross-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange initiative established at Edge Hill University in 2013.

Directed by John Diamond, the Institute is committed to exploring opportunities for cross sector collaboration through working with practitioners, policy and decision makers, professionals working in the not for profit sector, community activists and residents.

The I4P was launched on Tuesday 4 February 2014 with a Public Lecture given by Richard G. Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, on the social impact of inequality.

Postgraduate Medical Institute

The Postgraduate Medical Institute is a partnership between Edge Hill University and regional health professionals and providers seeking to improve the quality of health and social care in the North West through education, research and innovation.

The Institute’s main themes are primary care, fertility, neurology and psychiatry, orthopaedics and biomechanics, and biosciences.

Students

According to the Higher Education Statistical Agency, student numbers in the 2015/16 academic year comprised 11,995 undergraduate students and 3,545 postgraduate students.

Reputation and rankings

Edge Hill was named University of the Year in 2014 in the 10th annual Times Higher Education Awards. The University had been shortlisted three times previously, 2007/8, 2010/11 and 2011/12 making it the only university to be shortlisted four times in seven years. In 2015 the university was named the Times Higher Education's Best University Workplace based on the 'key indicators' of 'Whose staff are the most contented?' in the publication's survey of employee attitudes.

The university's campus was named the safest campus to live at in the North West and the fifth-safest in the country by The Complete University Guide. A focus on sustainability has resulted in Edge Hill winning a Green Flag Award as well as a commendation in the 2011 Green Gown Awards made by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges. Times Higher Education awarded Edge Hill University the University of the Year title in 2014/15, following earlier shortlistings in 2011/12, 2010/11 and 2007/8. Liverpool City Council added the University to its Freedom Roll of Association in December 2011.

According to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency 93.4% of Edge Hill students are in study or full-time employment within six months of graduating, putting the university in the top 10% nationally for graduate employment.

Record Label

In 2013 Senior Lecturer and bassist in The Farm Carl Hunter launched a not-for-profit record label in association with the students of Edge Hill University called The Label Recordings. The Label has released and promoted music by acts including The Inkhearts, Hooton Tennis Club, Oranj Son, Feral Love and Youth Hostel. The Label was 'highly commended' ain the 2016 Times Higher Education Awards after being shortlisted in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category.

The Label operates like an industry placement for students who form teams in A&R, Graphic Design, Video Production, Music Production, Marketing and Event Management to recruit unsigned acts in the North West of England.

Short Story Prize

The Edge Hill Short Story Prize is the only UK award that recognises excellence in a single author, published short story collection.

The prize attracts established authors who compete alongside relative newcomers for the prize. Previous winners have been John Burnside, Kevin Barry (author), Colm Tóibín, Claire Keegan, Chris Beckett, Jeremy Dyson, Graham Mort, Sarah Hall (writer) and Jessie Greengrass.

The prize is co-ordinated by Ailsa Cox, Reader in Creative Writing and English, and has three categories, the main literary award of £5,000 as well as a £1,000 Reader’s Prize judged by BA Creative Writing students, and a £500 award for students on the University's MA Creative Writing course.

Alumni

Honorary awards

Since Edge Hill was granted University status in 2006, the university has awarded honorary degrees (honoris causa) to notable individuals as part of their bi-annual graduation ceremonies.

Notable staff