In 1992 Sheffield's six former Further Education colleges merged into one city-wide operation. This made The Sheffield College the largest Further Education institution in Europe.
In his book, Ken Ruddiman uses the experience of devising and implementing an accommodation strategy to draw out some general guidelines and advice which will be of use to other colleges undertaking a similar task. It shows that the dynamic environment in which Further Education operates means that an estate which met a college's needs even a decade ago could be quite inadequate today. Growing customer expectations, demographic changes, increasing curriculum-led demands, competition from other providers, and developing new technology are just some of the elements which may necessitate change.