Middlesbrough is a town in the North East corner of England with a population of over 142,000 lying in the Tees Valley. The area has been rebuilt and regenerated in recent years with retails centres and £1.5 has been spent to replace traditional heavy industries with modern service industries.

Before the 19^th century Middlesbrough was only a handful of small villages but during the Industrial Revolution it became a vital centre for heavy industry, trade and transport. Established and declining industries include fishing, chemical engineering and ironworking. Many of the bridges around the North of England owe their existence to the city with many commanding bridges bearing the inscription’ Made in Middlesbrough’.

The University of Teesside was inaugurated in 1992 but a college dating back to 1930 has been present in Middlesbrough. The University has over 20,000 students and is particularly noted for its social science and hi-tech graduates with software development being one of the most successful departments.