Croydon College has been an active sponsor of the Croydon Guardian's We Think Croydon's Champion campaign and for the second year in a row, it is the sponsor of the lifelong learning category.

Mike says of the college's involvement: "The college is keen to be involved in an initiative that recognises the valuable contributions made by individuals within the diverse and vibrant Croydon community to improve the borough that many people live, work and socialise in."

Croydon College offers high-quality specialist further education (FE) and higher education (HE) programmes and employs approximately 1,000 staff. The college has a student population of more than 14,000 studying on full-time and part-time programmes ranging from accounting to welding.

The college offers a wide choice of programmes in a variety of subjects, some of which can be studied over just a few weeks, while others require up to four years study. Within the college there are many opportunities for students to progress.

Mike says: "In fact, it is possible to start at the college at pre-entry level and progress to gain a degree followed by a postgraduate professional qualification.

"With more people taking the decision to return to study and gain access to the opportunities provided within FE and HE, staff at the college can assess students' experiences and qualifications to help identify the most appropriate programme for them."

The college is the sole provider of HE within the borough of Croydon and benefits from a dedicated HE centre, a state-of-the-art library and learning support facility.

The college has recently become an accredited institution of London Metropolitan University for its HE provision and is the only college that is recognised by the university in this way.

The college has been part of Croydon since 1868 when the school (later the college) of art was opened and Croydon Polytechnic was based in Scarbrook Road from 1891.

The polytechnic was gutted by fire in 1941 and in 1948 plans for a new college were revived by the council. Eventually, in 1955, when building work was almost complete at the Fairfield site that Croydon Technical College, now Croydon College, was opened by its principal, Hugh Faulkner. After five more years of building the college was officially opened by the Queen.

The college has many famous past students including singers David Bowie, Ray Davies and Kirsty MacColl, designer John Rocha and England footballer Gareth Southgate.

For more details on any of the programmes available, contact the college information centre on 020 8760 5914 or www.croydoncollege.com. Or you can visit the post-GCSE drop-in days on Friday, August 27 and Tuesday, August 31, between 10am and 5pm or visit the autumn open event on Saturday, October 9, between 10am and 3pm.