Nescot Past and Present

Nescot College in Ewell has been at the heart of the local community for over 50 years and has a special place in the cultural life of the borough. With two working theatres and extensive sports and learning facilities, the college's value extends beyond its educational remit.

Nescot has played host to some stellar entertainers who began their careers touring the country, playing student venues. Artists including Genesis, Cream, Elvis Costello, Ozzy Osbourne's band Black Sabbath and the Beatles all played at the college before they hit the big time.

Nescot's unusual location and striking mix of buildings have seen the college appear in many TV series and films. Peter Sellers was even filmed running through the distinctive glass walkways linking the college buildings as the infamous Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films.

Starting life as Ewell Technical College in the 1950s, Nescot opened its doors to a new sector of the workforce - those who needed to learn cutting edge vocational skills for a fast moving, specialised new world. In those early days, the college taught skills and trades like brickwork, carpentry and technical drawing, but was also one of the first educational institutions to introduce courses in exciting new fields like computing electronics and typing.

The people who came to train at Nescot were ambitious and keen to embrace a more fluid labour market. Many set up their own businesses using these new skills and have gone on to run some of the most successful companies in Britain as these sectors became part of our everyday lives.