The College

Derwen College was founded in 1927 by Dame Agnes Hunt to offer vocational training courses to young people with disabilities. Over the last forty years the College has extended and developed the range of provision to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties and other disabilities.

The College is situated in the village of Gobowen, two miles from Oswestry and on the local bus route with a regular town service. The mainline railway station is within walking distance of the college and provides good national and local public transport links. The road system gives excellent access to the major centres of the region and the motorway network.

The large campus has been designed to provide for the diverse needs of the students and is all single-storey and one site. All training departments offer real work and learning environments, with some areas being open to the public such as The Orangery Restaurant, The Gallery, Young's Farm Shop, The Garden Centre, Tiffins and The Coffee Shop.

Accommodation has been designed to allow carefully planned progression from residences with a high level of supervision to bungalows and houses with decreasing levels of support. There are also opportunities for students to move to houses in the local community to experience maximum independence and enhance their transition towards post-college life.

Facilities at Derwen are modern, plentiful and state-of-the-art in all areas of college life. The fully equipped sports complex has something for everyone with an indoor heated swimming pool, fitness suite, large multi-purpose sports hall, football pitch, bowling and putting green and, tennis and basketball courts.

The Social Centre is at the heart of the college community, where students can meet friends and join various leisure activities.

The award winning Bradbury Centre has a library and provides opportunities for formal and informal IT activities.

The College has a comprehensive support network with an on site medical centre, staffed by qualified nursing staff. Physiotherapy, with individual programmes and support, is also provided on campus. Similar levels of support are available from the College speech and language therapists, counsellors and psychologist.