Author: Mark Whitfield

Welcome to my site! After graduating in Computing in 1990, I accepted a position as a programmer at a Runcorn based software house specialising in electronic banking software, namely sp/ARCHITECT-BANK on Tandem Computers (now HPE NonStop). This was before the internet became more prevalent and so the notion of enabling desktop access to company accounts for inter-account transfers and book keeping was still quite a cutting edge idea (and smartphones only ever hinted at in Space 1999). The company was called The Software Partnership (which was taken over by Deluxe Data in 1994). I spent 5 years in Runcorn developing code for SP/ARCHITECT for various banks like TSB, Bank of Scotland, Rabobank and Girofon (Denmark) to name but a few. I then moved onto a software house in Salford Quays for further bank facing projects. After a further 23 years in the IT industry and now a Senior IT Project Manager (both Agile and Waterfall delivery), I thought I would echo out my Career Profile in this corner of the internet for quick and easy access.

Key Business Analyst BA Deliverables in Initiation & Planning phase

BA, Key Business Analyst Deliverables in Initiation & Planning phase

University of Greater Manchester (previously Bolton Institute of Higher Education – BIHE)

1988 to 1990 : University of Bolton (previously Bolton Institute of Higher Education – BIHE)
Deane Road, Bolton, Lancashire, UK. BL3 5AB

Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computer Studies –
DISTINCTION – overall first over the 2 years

University of Greater Manchester (previously Bolton Institute of Higher Education – BIHE)

The HND course I attended at BIHE was a 2-year, full-time course made up of the following modules:

Computer Systems Architecture
Programming Methodology Theory / Practice (final year project)
Data Processing
Business Studies
Quantitative Techniques
System Analysis
Business Information Systems Theory / Practice

My final year project consisted of an ORACLE SQL-forms designed GUI interface running under an MS-DOS operating system. The GUI interface provided insert, update, delete and transaction rollback facilities for recording information about students attending courses at BIHE, along with their module assignment and exam result details. The student data was held in an ORACLE SQL database set-up on a PC local to the application.

now University of Greater Manchester, Bolton — now University of Greater Manchester (from 2025), Bolton

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/51224

Bangor University Gwynedd LL57 2DG detailed timeline by era and year

Here is the detailed historic timeline of Bangor University, from its 19th-century foundation through to the present day.

🏛️ The Foundation & Victorian Era (1881–1899)

1881: A government report by Lord Aberdare recommends establishing a university college in North Wales.
1883: A “beauty contest” takes place between 13 rival North Wales towns competing to host the site. Bangor wins the bid. Local farmers and quarrymen raise over £1,200 via community crowdfunding.
1884: The University College of North Wales (UCNW) opens its doors on 18 October inside the Penrhyn Arms, a converted 18th-century coaching inn. It begins with 58 students and 10 academic staff. Mary Ellen Williams, a local grocer’s daughter, is the first student to enrol.
1885: The institution is officially incorporated by Royal Charter.
1893: UCNW ends its initial degree-conferring relationship with the University of London to become a founding constituent college of the federal University of Wales.

🧱 Expansion & The World Wars (1900–1945)

1903: The City of Bangor donates a prominent 10-acre site at Penrallt for a grander campus building.
1907: The foundation stone of the iconic Main Arts Building is officially laid.
1911: The grand, hilltop Main Arts Building opens, housing the main library, arts, and social science departments.
1926: The university’s Science Departments move into newly built, purpose-designed facilities.
1939–1945 (World War II): Bangor serves as a safe haven. Masterpieces from London’s National Gallery are secretly hidden in the Prichard-Jones Hall. Staff and students from University College London (UCL) are evacuated here to live and study.

🏗️ Post-War Growth & Modernism (1946–1999)

1946: Student populations begin expanding rapidly, jumping from 500 at the end of WWII to 2,500 by 1970.
1963: The mid-century modern New Arts building is constructed.
1969–1971: Architect Sir Percy Thomas designs a “space-age” science campus. The brutalist Brambell Laboratory is constructed for the Zoology department.
1996: The historic Bangor Normal College (founded in 1858) is integrated into the university, significantly boosting its teacher training profile.

🎓 The 21st Century & Modern Era (2000–Present)

2007: The institution undergoes a complete rebrand, officially changing its name from the University of Wales, Bangor to Bangor University (Prifysgol Bangor).
2009: The university celebrates its 125th anniversary with major investment projects in staff and campus restructuring.
2014: The university opens the Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre, a multi-million-pound hub combining student social spaces, a theatre, a cinema, and innovation labs.
2019: The CaBan Initial Teacher Education (ITE) partnership launches its first modernised courses under the new Welsh educational framework.
2024: Bangor University marks its landmark 140th anniversary, celebrating its journey from a 58-student coaching inn to a major global research university.

Bangor University Gwynedd LL57 2DG detailed timeline by era and year

Leigh College, Marshall Street, Detailed Timeline

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 (Park Road, 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”.