Welcome to Nescot

"You, our students, are our top priority"

As a student here, you are our top priority from the first time we meet you. Our team will ensure you have the best advice and guidance when you apply, the best possible education and training while you are here, and leave with the qualifications and skills to achieve your ambitions. Outside of the classroom, our dedicated and passionate team of support staff will help you to enjoy your time here, providing a range of services and out-of-class activities to ensure you get the most from the time you spend with us.

I am very proud to say that we were designated as a ‘Good’ college by Ofsted at an inspection in January 2023. The inspection reflected our aim – that if you choose Nescot, you will benefit from being part of a college that supports and motivates its students towards success.

Nescot has been serving the community for 70 years now, and we have so much to offer at our beautiful campus in Ewell. As well as a wide range of course choices for school leavers and adults, we offer a gym and sports facilities, professional salon, Starbucks café, a large car park and an on-site nursery. Our students can also benefit from a wide range of free online courses to broaden your learning experience. So whether you are looking to study full-time, part-time or at university-level, I do hope you will choose to join us.

Through this website you can find out about all our courses and support services, but there is no substitute for a visit and I would be delighted to see you at one of our many open events during the year.

With best wishes,

Julie

About Nescot

North East Surrey College of Technology has become one of Further Education's success stories as we progress towards being recognised as outstanding. In January 2023 Ofsted inspected the college and rated Nescot’s overall effectiveness and every single thematic judgement as ‘Good’, which is the second-highest possible grade. You can read the full report on Ofsted’s website here.

At Nescot we want to help you succeed in your ambitions. Our students value our welcoming, friendly and caring atmosphere and our lively learning community will help you to make the most of your time with us.

Our safe campus is set in the beautiful Surrey countryside and we are only 30 minutes away from central London with direct trains from Victoria and Waterloo. The large, free car park makes access easy for learners from throughout the region.

Attracting learners from the local community, nationally and from overseas, our range of courses include Further Education, Higher Education, professional, leisure, short, full- and part-time courses.

We pride ourselves in being able to offer courses which meet the educational needs of our students, and in giving you the freedom to develop as an individual. The College offers progression routes at all levels and to our own Higher Education courses validated by the Universities of Greenwich, Kingston, West London, South Bank and The Open University and Pearson is one of our awarding bodies.

We hope that the information in this site will help you to find the right course. We are committed to ensuring that you achieve your qualification and personal goals in your studies and to help you succeed we provide support for your learning, from careers advice, counselling, financial advice and health to specialist learning support in class.

We hope this website acts as a guide to your future and for the important life-changing decisions you will be making about your education

Ofsted 2023

Nescot is delighted to have been rated ‘Good’ in every area by Ofsted.

A team of inspectors spent four days at the college in January 2023, meeting students, visiting lessons and interviewing staff, governors, partners and other stakeholders.

Ofsted rated Nescot’s overall effectiveness and every single thematic judgement as ‘Good’, which is the second-highest possible grade. You can read the full report on Ofsted’s website here.

“We are so proud to be judged to be ‘Good’ in every single area,” said CEO and Principal Julie Kapsalis. “It’s testament to our culture of teamwork, innovation, inclusion and of putting the learner at the core of everything we do.

“The inspection validates the work we do but also helps us to be able to build on our strengths and continue to improve in the interests of our learners.

"Nescot plays a key role in the local community, changing and improving people's lives, and I am very proud to be part of the organisation.”

Andy Cowan, who started his career at Nescot as a music technician and returned in November as Deputy Principal and the college’s Ofsted nominee, said he was ‘delighted’.

“The inspectors observed and shared some great examples of really effective teaching, learning and assessment, and most importantly the impact that has on our students,” he said.

“We have some ambitious plans for the future, but we’re confident in the ability of our staff to keep growing and improving and delivering the education that our students deserve.”

The inspectors praised the ‘effective teaching’, ‘supportive and caring’ culture, and said students ‘enjoy their courses and are motivated to succeed’. Other highlights include:

• “Experienced and expert staff help most apprentices to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to become better at their jobs.”
• “Students and apprentices apply their learning in the classroom and the workplace confidently and successfully.”
• “Students and apprentices work well with each other and their teachers, demonstrating kindness and consideration.”
• “Leaders collaborate very effectively with a wide range of stakeholders to identify, understand and contribute to meeting skills needs locally, in the region and nationally.”
• “Experienced staff use their secure knowledge of students with high needs to plan learning carefully and support them well […] as a result, students with high needs become more confident, independent and ready for adult life.”
• “Staff feel they are well-supported by leaders. Staff value the steps leaders and managers have taken to improve their wellbeing and manage their workloads.”
• “Well-qualified and experience governors support and challenge leaders effectively.”

Nescot was previously rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted in January 2016, and in September 2010. You can read all our previous inspection reports on the Ofsted website here.

History of Nescot

70 Years of Nescot

Nescot celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023-24. This section takes a quick look back over the history of the college and education on our campus.

We marked the 70th anniversary of the official opening of the college on 22 March 2024. The Mayor of Epsom and Ewell, Cllr Rob Geleit, joined us to plant a commemorative tree, and all our subject areas celebrated with special themed activities. Read more here and find a gallery of photos at the bottom of this page.

From the beginning

Nescot began life as Ewell County Technical College, with the first students beginning courses in September 1953 and the establishment being formally opened the following March. The site was said to have been the largest arable field in England, and the college cost £250,000 to build. The official opening ceremony took place on 22 March 1954.

The college was recognised as a pioneer in ‘liberal education’. By the mid-1960s students spent Wednesday afternoons taking supplementary courses from sailing to folk dancing.It was also one of the first technical colleges to appoint a member of staff responsible for student welfare. Today this team includes Advice and Guidance, Student Finance; the counselling service; an on-site nurse; childcare; the security staff; and specialist support for students who are or have been in care.

In the first academic year there were 789 students, with subjects split into the three departments of Building, Science and General Education. By the mid-1970s there were 4,000 students at the college, with fees costing between £72 and £120 per academic year for over-19s. Students aged 18 or under could claim travel costs of 15p per return journey.

In 1973 a fire swept through the newly-built extension, gutting rooms on two floors and causing an estimated £100,000 of damage. The blaze began in a science laboratory, but the cause remained unclear.

Ewell County Technical College changed its name to Nescot in 1975, and in 1988 the college acquired the former Epsom High School. The theatre at Nescot was named after Adrian Mann, the college’s first chairman of governors. Mr Mann retired as chairman in 1963 but continued as a governor for another decade, before becoming Governor Emeritus.

Nescot, as Ewell Technical College, has played host to artists including Queen, Genesis, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Ralph McTell. In 1977 Shepperton Studios spent a day at the College filming scenes for The Revenge of the Pink Panther.

Naturalist David Bellamy studied at the college and later worked as a laboratory technician. He credited his teachers with inspiring his interest in biology. Cartoonist Frank Hampson, who drew the Dan Dare comic strips and was voted the best postwar comic illustrator in the world in 1975, was a technician at the college and Dr Guy Vine, father to Jeremy and Tim Vine, taught civil and structural engineering at Nescot.

Courses at Nescot over the years have included: Advanced Domestic Cookery; Air Conditioning Design; Animal Pathology; Bacteriology; Biblical and Religious Studies; Golf course design; Certificate in Home Economics; Flower Arrangement; Drug Toxicity; Law; Nursing; Guest House Management and classes in Shorthand and Typing.

You can see the evolution of our curriculum today in our pioneering Institute of Technology; wide range of construction, motor vehicle engineering and science courses; our extensive animal care unit and farm; and our provision in care, including the new T-level qualification and a unique higher apprenticeship in healthcare play.