Highbury College portsmouth

People should know that Stella Mbubaegbu, principal of Highbury College, racked up tens of thousands of pounds in expenses in just four years on first-class flights and chauffeurs at a time when college finances deteriorated. She spent £150,000 on a company credit card on five-star hotels and a lobster dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant while making job cuts and axing a sixth form. The principal’s credit card receipts from 2014 to 2018, obtained by FE Week, show that Ms Mbubaegbu submitted claims for a £434 pair of headphones, a £356 lobster dinner for four people and a £175 chauffeured journey from Heathrow to Birmingham. Moray McAulay, University and College Union’s regional officer, warned the spending on Michelin-starred meals and luxury hotels sent “a damaging message” about the college’s priorities.

Enjoyed my time here as a student The college really helped me set a clear goal for what I wanted to do and staff were helpful and supportive with the transaction.

Hated my time there made me really depressed.

Great college Freindly atmosphere and good hard working staff Would recommend to all

Doubled our rent with 2 days notice via impersonal email even though we have been renting their facility for nearly 10 years. Not interested in supporting local non-profit groups and very unprofessional in their dealings with people that use their facilities. Avoid!

Was nices places never been there before

The fact that Highbury describes itself as 'excellent' is incorrect - at its latest Ofsted it was rated as 'requires improvement'. It has now merged with City of Portsmouth College, which holds the same rating. This was largely my experience with Highbury - high staff turnover, being belittled by staff and left struggling to complete the course. Complaints are also brushed aside. As an older student, who had completed a degree and was also in full time employment at the time of the course, I was treated like a child. I would not recommend Highbury.

Such a wonderful place, they have helped me change my life around.. the education process is amazing and everyone is treated fairly and equally. I cannot praise this place enough!

Started an Access to HE Nursing course via distance learning in March. I did a couple of units and all of a sudden couldn’t log in, it said my username and password were incorrect when they hadn’t been changed. I got a letter through the post to say my advanced learner loan had been cancelled also, this was for NO APPARENT REASON!! I contacted the college and no one was sure what was happening or why it was doing this, I then reapplied, got a new loan and a new username, and again I CAN’T LOG IN. Just be wary of this, I can’t now trust this platform the college uses to store my work, what am I supposed to do if I had done 20 out of the 21 units and then it deleted my account? Too risky when it could put University on hold, be wary.

As a a graduate evening adult learner on a community course its a great place. Convenient location, free parking on site, someone to greet you at the entrance when you arrive and seating while you wait for the tutor to lead you to the classroom. The building is very modern and has some great tech including mac suites, studios ect. The course I'm doing is incredible and I'd definitely recommend enquiring abou the adult learning courses. Only minor negative is that the cafe/canteen is closed in the evenings, not ideal for adults coming from work straight to college.