Northern College is one of the four long term residential adult colleges in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1978 and by 2006 was the largest of the colleges. Located at Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley, it is set in the only grade I listed landscape in South Yorkshire. Currently the College is in the middle of a £15 million restoration and renovation scheme which will provide a range of new facilities within the wider context of a major tourist attraction in South Yorkshire. The College has a powerful heritage of combining widening participation with providing learning of the highest quality. It was one of the Beacon Colleges under the FEFC and has Beacon Status under the LSC, one of only two institutions to hold this status in South Yorkshire. It engages with learners in the first instance through outreach programmes throughout West and South Yorkshire and through its connections with local authorities and the voluntary and community sector. Learners often first come to the College in groups where they are encouraged to enter the Foundation Programme which offers a range of short residential courses at levels 1 and 2.