The college was originally established as an institution for the training of injured men in war and for hurt miners. The college was founded in 1949.
Winifred, Duchess of Portland, acts after regular visits to Harlow Wood Hospital near Mansfield in the 1940s, along with Doctor Alan Malkin, an
orthopaedic surgeon, to retrain and re-employed patients, after they had recovered and left the hospital. In 1947, the Duke of Portland transferred of his land in
Sherwood Forest to the Duchess's Charity through a gift. A further have been purchased for the sighting of the new college. Along with these moves, a Workers Contributory Fund was established that encouraged local Nottinghamshire employees to contribute one penny a week towards the estimated £100,000 required to open the college. In 1948, some 17,000 workers agreed to take part in the scheme and in 1949, a total of 20,000 workers were in the scheme. The foundation stone was laid by the then-
Princess Elizabeth on 29 June 1949. By the end of the year, £90,000 () had been raised. The Architect of Portland College was Thomas Nelson Cartwright of
Evans, Cartwright and Woollatt. There were no stairs in the student areas, all doors were wide enough for
wheelchairs, and bathrooms and bedrooms were fitted with aids. In the early 1950, two accommodation blocks, a
dining hall,
workshops and the boiler house, had been completed. Staff for the college had been recruited. In June 1950, the college was opened. On 24 July 1950,
Queen Elizabeth officially opened Portland College. The
Cinema Museum in London holds Film HM0369 on occasion.
1950 to 1969 The College was able to offer four courses to its 18 students. These were gardening, bench
carpentry, boot-and-shoe repair and surgical boot-making, and
clerical and commercial. These students included ex-miners and ex-servicemen, and their disabilities range from quiescent
tuberculosis and
poliomyelitis to
limb amputees. In 1953, the Administration Block was opened. It had a working effort with the
National Coal Board aimed at the mining communities. In 1961, the first female students enrolled at the college. New courses were introduced, including shorthand and typing, followed by courses in electronic wiring and assembly, and industrial electronics. The college along with the Ministry of Labour, developed a pilot sheltered employment project. Workshops produced their own line of gift local-cut-oak products with the theme of Sherwood Forest and local legendary hero
Robin Hood.
1970 to 1989 In the 1970s, the college experienced high unemployment, high inflation and political turmoil. An appeal to raise £80,000 to extend the college's residential provisions was reached. In 1975, the college introduced literacy courses. Don and his wife Jeune invented the Portland Blend System in 1977; the system was marketed under the name
'Phonic Blend Systems Limited'. The college installed
computers and micro-writers in classrooms in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, the 5,000th student passed through the college. In 1988, the college opened its Vocational Training Department's Technical Centre, a course in computing.
1990 to the present To celebrate Portland's 40th anniversary, Her Majesty The Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh visited the college in June 1990. The royal party spent the day at the college, presenting awards at the prize-giving, and Elizabeth II also laid the groundwork for a new residential unit, which would eventually be called the 'Laurels'. The Laurels was completed in 1992, which added new accommodation for 60 residential. In the early 1990s, the college's Vocational Department shifted to training based on the
National Vocational Qualifications, replacing the traditional examinations. In 1993, funds were raised to build Rowan Place independence units. The college's dining rooms were upgraded and extended. In the College's
Golden Jubilee Year, a
hydrotherapy pool and fitness centre were added to Portland's campus facilities. In the 1990s, over 8,000 students had passed through Portland College. In the Learning and Skills Department, Essential Skills Programmes were changed, with the students individually placed into their programmes. == Information and Communication Technology learning centre==