A new name has been revealed for what was originally West Cheshire College.

The branding, ‘Cheshire College – South and West’, has been announced as the new identity for South Cheshire College/West Cheshire College created from the successful merger of the two colleges in March 2017.

The college has campuses in Ellesmere Port, Chester and Crewe.

Its new name and logo are said to have been developed with consultation and involvement from all of the college’s key customers including prospective and current students, parents, staff, businesses, government and local community partners.

The ‘strong and bold’ logo itself contains colours from the two previous colleges with students asked to comment.

The West Cheshire College campus in Ellesmere Port

The college’s principal and chief executive Jasbir Dhesi, known as Dhesi, said: “Following our merger earlier this year we are delighted to announce our new name, Cheshire College – South and West.

“From the outset we wanted to create a distinctive brand that appeals to all our students, communities and business partners reflecting the diverse mix of skills and industries that we work across.

“Whilst our name and logo may have changed our commitment to delivering excellent teaching, learning and skills development for young people, adults and employers remains the same.”

Sean Houlston, 18, student union president, added: “Current and prospective students from all three campuses were asked for their thoughts on the name. Personally, I think the new logo looks great – it gives the college an exciting, fresh new look.”

Some FE colleges in Cheshire have had a troublesome past, including West Cheshire, attracting unfavourable reports from Ofsted.

'Super college' plans

Earlier this year it was revealed plans for a ‘super college’ delivering post-16 further education across the sub region were on hold.

The Cheshire College would have resulted from a merger between West Cheshire, South Cheshire and Mid Cheshire colleges and Warrington Collegiate.

But West and South Cheshire colleges combined and in a completely separate move, Mid Cheshire and Warrington also teamed up with the prospect of a four-way college merger no longer being contemplated.

With further education struggling financially across the country, it was argued a ‘super college’ for Cheshire would cut costs and offer greater specialisation to respond to the needs of the regional economy.

The merger of West and South Cheshire colleges also put jobs at risk.