AN EDUCATIONAL insititution has just celebrated its golden anniversary.

Back in September 1954 the then Minister of Education, the Rt Hon Florence Horsburgh MP, formally opened the new college in front of a gathering of local dignitaries and educationalists.

Things have moved on a bit from those days with Stroud and District Technical College eventually becoming Stroud College with many changes to both the facilities and the courses offered.

One look at the 1954-5 prospectus shows some of the changes that have overtaken our lives, industry and technology during the past half-century.

Textiles, weaving and machine shop engineering are a throwback to our industrial heritage, whilst the Senior Secretarial course used state-of-the-art manual typewriters.

Today's PCs can perform a whole host of applications in a fraction of the time and without having to start from scratch after every little mistake.

Bob Hughes, director of services said: "I don't think that advances in equal opportunities would allow the two pages devoted to Women's Subjects in the original prospectus with the main topics being cookery, needlework, soft furnishings and household repairs.

"Times have changed and Stroud College has kept pace with the developments that have changed our world.

"We are not certain what the future holds but it is clear we will need to be ready to offer the education and training required to develop the skills and knowledge the community needs in the 21st century."