About Northern College
Can you help us to transform lives through adult education?
Do you want to help adults to re-enter education and transform their lives? We are currently recruiting to new roles to drive forward our ambitious strategic plan.
Our mission is to ‘inspire positive change through adult education’ and this is central to all we do. If you are passionate about giving adults the skills they need to reach their potential, have the skills and experience we are looking for and would embrace the opportunity to take the college into its next phase, then please do consider becoming part of our team.
The demands of the modern UK workplace and the current economic crisis mean that adult learning is increasingly crucial for people of all ages regardless of their level of skills and qualifications.
Northern College is in a unique position, as the only adult residential college in Yorkshire to be able to offer essential skills for adults and employers in our region and beyond through flexible and accessible modes of delivery – evenings, weekends, blended and residential.
We have a proud and celebrated history of providing educational opportunities for those adults that have returned to learning. Much of what we offer provides a platform to engage people back into education with the aim of designing a supportive learning pathway. This is so that every individual can reach their potential and use their learning to improve their lives both in their community and in the workplace.
We are entering our next exciting phase and have been developing our curriculum offer in readiness for the changes that the devolution of the adult education budget will bring in August 2021. These new permanent job roles are at the heart of this ambitious work.
In response to the challenges that Covid-19 is presenting, it is critical that this development continues and our programmes respond to the recovery needed in communities and in the economy.
Our re-energised offer to students, communities and employers will consist of:
- the best range of community learning programmes to provide essential support for those who are furthest away from the job market to gain confidence, acquire the skills employers want and drive a focus to apply and progress in work;
- intensive English, maths and digital skills offered at a time that meets the needs of the unemployed and those in work and looking to upskill;
- qualifications at all levels that give adults an opportunity to learn the skills needed to progress through further education, and move into gainful employment at the stage they choose;
- a range of vocationally focused higher education programmes that adults can progress onto with the aim of improving their life and employment opportunities.
Our full range of current provision can be found at www.northern.ac.uk
Our mission is to inspire positive change through adult education. Working closely with our community, voluntary and employer partners, we will provide outstanding teaching and learning on our campus-based in the grade 1 listed Wentworth Castle and surrounded by 500 acres of National Trust gardens and parkland.
As we offer almost all of our provision residentially, the campus is open 24/7 almost all year round. This allows us to be extremely flexible in the way we offer our programmes, enabling access to adults that may need to attend weekends, evenings or in a blended approach to work around families, jobs and life in general.
We are very proud of our outstanding achievement rates across the provision, and of the excellent feedback, we get from our students. Here’s just one of the many comments recently shared with us:
‘My experience at Northern College was life-changing. I came from a working-class family struggling in Liverpool with zero qualifications, but that all changed. I’m a deputy manager now.’
Northern College is a fantastic place to work. It offers so much more that you might expect from further education. We are big enough to feel like a college with a comprehensive offer for students but small enough that it’s easy to feel part of the team, and every role can have an immediate impact. We attract adults from all over the country with our residential accommodation, amazing location, outstanding teaching and learning, and focused support for students. We are constantly told by our students that studying at Northern College is a very inclusive, impactful and memorable experience.
I hope you are as excited as I am about the potential here at Northern College and I look forward to receiving your application.
Yultan Mellor
Principal & Chief Executive
Our Mission
Inspiring positive change through adult education

Yultan Mellor Principal & Chief Executive