STEVENSON COLLEGE - EDINBURGH

 

The College is located in Scotland's historic capital City of Edinburgh.
The City, situated at the estuary of the river forth, is an international centre for banking, finance and learning, and has the reputation for being a most desirable place in which to live and study.
The lively social life and the rich culture asso- ciated with the City's annual International Festival of the arts and numerous other amenities contribute to making it a very popular place for visitors. In addition, many thousands of students come to Edinburgh to attend its universities and colleges.
Stevenson College is one of Scotland's largest centres for life long learning. It takes its name from Robert Stevenson, who was a creative and innovative Scottish engineer and grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson.

Chemical testing of river water

The College has a four-fold role:

- vocational education and training
- courses for access to further and higher education
- working in and with local communities
- international studies

Each year some 2000 students attend on a full time basis and a further 13000 others enrol on a variety of part time and distance learning courses. About 1500 of our students are from overseas countries.
Our staff maintain strong connections with local community groups, employer organisations and with overseas educational institutions. This has led to many long-lasting partnerships being established here, further afield in the UK and abroad.
Student and staff exchanges with overseas colleges, along with our sub- stantial number of international students, make for a very rich cultural blend within our college. It is this blend of cultures and experience that brings an international perspective to our programmes of study.
 

Edinburgh city centre
 

THE RIVER FORTH AND ITS ESTUARY THE FIRTH OF FORTH

Our river is the Forth which rises in the heart of Scotland near to the town of Aberfoyle. It drains an area of about 1700 sq km and has a total length of about 100 km. Its estuary (the Firth) extends a further 75 km to the North Sea and is about 30 km wide at its mouth. The Forth flows through the towns of Stirling. Alloa and Grangemouth before widening into its estuary. At the villages of Queensferry (north and south) the river is spanned by the Forth Railway Bridge, a 1.5 km iron cantilever structure built in 1890. Nearby is the Forth Road Bridge, a suspension bridge built in 1964. Students collect biological sample from the riverThe Forth is navigable as far inland as the port of Grangemouth which is the centre of Scotland's petrochemical industry. Rosyth, Moss Moran, Hound Point, and Leith are other important ports on the Forth. In addition, there are several small fishing villages located along both shores of the estuary. Several tributaries enter the river and these include the rivers Carron, Avon, Almond, Leven, Esk and the Water of Leith. On the southern shore of the Firth of Forth sits the city of Edinburgh the
capital of Scotland.
Edinburgh's port is situated at the mounth of the Water of Leith, and is a major service point for vessels with the North Sea petroleum industry.
Imports include oil, ores, grain and wood, exports include gas and chemicals, whisky, aluminium and fertiliser. Three power stations, two of which are coal fired, and one nuclear powered, are situated on the estuary.
The shores of the Firth are very picturesque and are frequented by many tourists. Thousands of seabirds, including gannets and puffins, nest in large colonies on the rocky islands.
The river was once an important salmon fishery and its estuary had extensive oyster beds. However, the river has for many years suffered from the adverse affects of pollution caused by the combined affects of industrialization, urbanization and agricultural practices.
Many actions are now bening taken to improve the quality of the water of the river and its estuary. These include restrictions on the practices of agriculture and industry and improvements to sewerage treatment processes.

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