About the college

History

Students at Jewel & Esk College got their first sight of Scotland’s most exciting and high tech teaching facilities on 17th November 2008 when the doors opened on the college’s multi million pound e:volve campus redevelopment project.

No stranger to change, things have been evolving at Jewel & Esk for years.  The iconic ship building at Milton Rd was opened in 1978 by Prince Charles as the newest wing of Leith Nautical College.   Founded in 1903, Leith Nautical was one of only three nautical colleges in Scotland and recognised by many as one of the leading training centres of its type in Western Europe.

In 1984, the government controversially decided that nautical studies should be centred at Glasgow and Leith Nautical College ceased to offer marine related courses.  The college’s non-nautical offering was retained at the ship building and merged with Esk Valley College in Dalkeith to be re-launched as Jewel & Esk Valley College. The courses on offer took in a whole range of trades and technology based subjects and included one of the first modern musicianship courses in the country.

Initiated in September 2005, the e:volve project has heralded a rebirth for the college.  The most dramatic of transformations in the college’s history, e:volve has seen  the creation of a new campus at Hardengreen in Midlothian and the complete redevelopment of the Edinburgh Campus including the building of the Club. 

The e:volve project has been successful in its aim of giving students the best facilities in which to learn and at the same time giving local communities a fantastic new leisure and learning centre.