Glasshouse College, housed in a former glass factory in the heart of Stourbridge’s Glass Quarter, comprises an array of craft workshops, social enterprises, studios for local artisans, a performing arts centre, and a 40-acre Vale Head biodynamic farm set in the surrounding hillside. Crafts at Glasshouse draw from the local traditions of glass blowing and etching, as well as catering, performing arts, woodland management, and land work.
Alongside our practical, ‘hands-on’ curriculum, students are able to access functional skills sessions and our in-house therapy team. We work with learners to break down their individual barriers to learning – predominantly social and emotional wellbeing – and support them to become more independent. We are not academic-led but students are encouraged to work towards a recognised vocational pathway.
We work with students with EHC Plans from 16 to 25 years old, to equip them with transferable skills for life and work. We offer day and residential placements, 36 or 52 weeks of the year. Student admissions are accepted throughout the academic year.
As part of the college’s onsite community space – the Ruskin Glass Centre – students can access a range of internal work experience providers, offering them exceptional opportunities to develop social and vocational skills in professional and public environments.
We also have a campus in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter – Argent College – offering additional crafts, such as jewellery, candle making and leatherwork. The college also has a roof garden, bakery and organic café, providing more opportunities for students to develop essential employment skills, as well as serving the community.