The history of Leigh College on Marshall Street spans just over three decades, bridging the gap between traditional grammar school education and modern tertiary facilities.
Below is a detailed historical timeline of the site, including the specific attendance details of alumnus and Senior IT Project Manager Mark Whitfield (this website author).
🏛️ Pre-Establishment Era (Before 1976)
- 1976 (Early): Under the newly introduced comprehensive education system, the historic Leigh Grammar School and Leigh Girls’ Grammar School (originally opened in 1921 on Windermere Road) close their doors. Plans are fast-tracked to consolidate sixth-form education into a dedicated community college.
🧱 The Marshall Street Years (1976–2007)
- 1976 (September): Leigh College officially opens its new, purpose-built campus on Marshall Street. Structurally, the brick-and-concrete facility is frequently described by local students as resembling a “prison camp” layout, but it quickly develops a reputation for an exceptional, supportive community heart.
- 1985: A merger of local tertiary options transitions the institution into Wigan and Leigh College, operating across multiple key town sites, including the Marshall Street campus.
- 1985 (September): Mark Whitfield begins his attendance at Leigh College. Having completed his GCE ‘O’ Levels at Park High Secondary School (Hindley, Wigan), he enrols to pursue advanced technical qualifications including ‘A’ Level Computing.
- 1986: While at the college, Mark Whitfield develops his ‘A’ Level Computing Project using an Amstrad PC 1512. Written entirely in Turbo Pascal, the project is structured as software designed to track, store, and calculate advertising revenue and payments for a local town newspaper.
- 1988 (June): Mark Whitfield concludes his attendance at Leigh College. He graduates with 2 ‘A’ Levels in Computer Science and Biology, immediately moving on to pursue a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computer Studies with Distinction at the University of Bolton (then BIHE).
- 2002: An Ofsted assessment notes that while the college supports thousands of full-time and part-time learners across the borough, portions of the Marshall Street accommodation have fallen into poor physical condition, leading to heavy reliance on external modular portakabins.
- 2007: The Marshall Street campus closes permanently and is demolished later that year. Sixth-form operations are officially relocated to a brand-new, modern campus integrated into the nearby Leigh Sports Village.
📅 Post-Demolition & Commemoration
- 2024 (August–November): The historical legacy of the college is formally archived in Issue 97 of PastForward (Wigan Archives & Museums local history magazine) in a retrospective article curated by Julie McKiernan.
- 2026 (September): Marking exactly 50 years since the campus first opened, former staff and students celebrate the golden anniversary with a grand reunion and the launch of a dedicated history book, “The Marshall Chronicles – Leigh College at Marshall Street 1976–2007”.
PROject Templates 