Hartlepool College FE web design banner

Hartlepool College of Further Education website

The Challenge

Hartlepool College of Further Education is a large organisation providing vocational courses, further education and apprenticeships in the North East. They are one of the country’s leading General FE College’s for apprenticeship success and are house in a stunning £53 million facility and they needed a website to match.

Fat Heads won a lengthy and intense three-way pitch in order to redevelop the existing website that had become dated and did not showcase the services, opportunities, student success and activities that the college offers.

The College provides a diverse curriculum to over 6000 students across in a variety of formats and as a result, has a complex application and enrolment system in place. A key factor in selecting Fat Heads for this project was our ability to integrate this system with the new website.

The redevelopment also needed to improve communication with prospective students, offering a site that delivered on mobile and tablet platforms as well as desktop. The redesign had to appeal to the wide target audiences ranging from 16-18 students to higher education and adults.

Having already completed various projects for education institutions focussing on student interaction and engagement, Fat Heads were fully equipped to tackle the demanding project head on.

Services we provided

HCFE website home page
HCFE course target groups

Course Filtering

As HCFE offer such a large of courses we implemented a Multi-filtering system, helping any prospective students quickly navigate to their preferred subject area. Search functionality is also available on the course directory for further accessibility.

Course listings can be easily updated and administrated through an intuitive and supportive Content Management System.

HCFE website course listing tablet
HCFE website course page

Online Applications

The website’s integration with application and enrolment software has proved a great success. Since launching the new site in 2016, Hartlepool College saw direct online applications increase by an impressive 400%!

HCFE website applications

Site Features

Informational panels are regularly featured throughout, ensuring that the user is always kept up to date with the latest news and event updates.

Newsletter sign-up forms and social media links appear at the bottom of each page to ensure visitors always have a point of contact with the college whilst navigating the site.

HCFE website news panel
HCFE website event panel
HCFE website newsletter signup form
HCFE website Twitter embed
HCFE website banner

Site Imagery

HCFE boasted some excellent photography of life in and around the college which we were able to put to good use through features such as animated banners and hero images. Not only does this help create great visual impact around the site but also helps communicate the fun and positive environment fostered at the college.

HCFE website photo
HCFE photos
HCFE background
We gave them the almost impossible task of creating a dynamic and functional multi site that works with a very complex existing student management system. They truly surpassed our expectations.
Sean Hope, Assistant Principal, Hartlepool College

Other projects