The College is situated near the centre of Gorleston about 2 miles south of Great Yarmouth. The College serves an area of some 500 square miles covering the Norfolk Broads and working with 9 secondary partner schools. Gorleston is a coastal town with affordable housing on the edge of the Broads and within easy reach of the historic City of Norwich. The College is a community of 1850 full time 16-19 year old students.

The College was opened in 1982, in buildings formerly used by a school. These were adapted for sixth form college use to provide science labs, workshop, library, computer facilities and a student social area. In September 1999 a new Library/Resource centre and a classroom for Computing were opened and a Learning Centre opened in May 2000. A new skills improvement centre opened in May 2003. A new Science and Maths based block opened in September 2004 and a sports hall in November 2004. Twelve new classrooms were opened in September 2007.  A new cafeteria and classroom block will open in September 2012.

The College offers a broad based course provision currently including over 40 AS/A2 subjects, BTEC National Diplomas in Sports Science, Media, Public Services and IT; BTEC Level 2 Certificates in Sports and Public Services plus a range of GCSE subjects. Over the years the College has built up a record of well above average 'A' level results and a strong reputation for a friendly atmosphere and caring community. In 2011 the College was in the top 20 of all colleges (over 350 in total) for the twelfth consecutive year in the annual Guardian survey.

Following the FEHE Act of 1992 the College operates as an Independent Corporation with the Governors being the owners and employers. It is a member of the Sixth Form Colleges' Forum. The Board of Governors has responsibility for the future development of the College and the formulation of policy on all matters including pay and conditions of staff.

The College places a great emphasis on the enrichment programme which offers a very wide programme of activities in sport, music, drama, creative writing, work experience, skills courses etc. The College is an active participant in British Colleges' Sport and is a leading performer in most regional sports events with students regularly reaching the National Finals. We are currently the top performing College in the Eastern Region of British Colleges' Sport (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

The College continues to grow and there are around 1850 full-time 16-18 year old students plus adult students (full-time numbers have more than doubled in recent years).