Education and Learning

Derby and Derbyshire have an excellent choice of local authority and private schools, which receive significant investment in staff and facilities to provide the highest quality education. The city also benefits from cutting edge higher and further education institutions.

Innovative Schooling

Derby's commitment starts at pre-school and nursery where it is one of the leading UK authorities in innovative programmes for this age group. There is nursery provision available for all three and four year-olds, across a range of local authority, private and voluntary provision.

Schools for all ages across the county and the city continue to deliver the most dramatic and sustainable improvements in pupil performance and attainment in the UK and in particular, out-performing the national average at Key Stage 3 and GCSE. In 2008, Derby's pupils scored the city's best ever results, achieving scores above the national average.

For more information about the range of education provision in Derby, visit the Derby City Council website.

There is a range of highly regarded independent schools within the city and across the county, such as Derby Grammar, Repton School and Derby High School.

The City also benefits from an outstanding City Technology College, Landau Forte, which was reported recently by Ofsted as 'a high performing academy where the quality of teaching and learning is good, with much that is outstanding. The excellent care, guidance and support provided contribute to students' outstanding personal development and well being and this encourages high levels of achievement'.

Higher and Further Education

Nationally recognised as having 'Vocational Excellence' status in Engineering, Construction and Information Communications Technology, Derby College has over 30,000 students and is in the UK's top five Further Education Institutions.

The Joseph Wright Sixth Form Centre, based in the city centre, is a first class learning facility, providing the very latest technology. The College fully believes in enabling learners to achieve their ambitions and reach their full potential. It offers a range of courses, which is constantly growing and evolving to meet individual learning needs. The programmes range from Beauty to Business, Holistics to Horticulture and Sociology to Sport.

Derby College's iconic Roundhouse campus based at Pride Park offers 18,000 square metres of learning and teaching space for over 12,000 students and is part of an imaginative £43million regeneration scheme. Students benefit from the very latest technology in a stimulating and dynamic environment and courses range from engineering and construction to hair & beauty and catering & hospitality. The central location and excellent transport links to the campus attracts learners from right across the region, enhancing Derby's skills base and driving forward the city's economic prosperity.

The University of Derby currently attracts around 35,000 students, many based within 12 schools across its multiple sites in state of the art facilities in Derby and Buxton.

Derby excels in meeting its key objective, which is to train and equip people for life and work. It focuses on applied, vocational courses for which it achieves national recognition being regarded as a centre of excellence in a wide variety of subjects consistently scoring well on a national basis for employability and added value.

The Faculty of Business, Computing and Law is recognised as one of the leading vocational business schools in the region with 4,500 UK-based students and has a long track-record of working closely with professional organisations (40 years of working with the NHS, 25 years with accountancy bodies like ACCA) as well as being a Centre of Excellence for professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

The Institute of Hospitality and Tourism has moved into a first-rate, high-tech, £15m facility. This development is the result of conversion of Buxton's listed Devonshire Royal Hospital building and it has a rotunda bigger than St Paul's Cathedral.

The University of Derby's Tourism, Spa and Health related courses are highly regarded in the UK having recently received a 'Centre of Vocational Excellence' award.

The Faculty of Arts, Design and Technology recently moved into its new £21million Markeaton Street campus and brings together a diverse range of disciplines. It equips the engineers, musicians, artists, designers, and crafts people of tomorrow with innovative ways of thinking to inspire new production processes and creative ways of tackling business issues. It puts Derby at the cutting edge as a centre for regional creative enterprise and not only reinforces the University's ethos of employability but reflects one of the key attributes of the city which inspired the Industrial Revolution.