Society and culture

The Scottish heritage is cherished by many inhabitants -- there are Scottish social and sporting clubs and there are many fervent supporters of the Glasgow Celtic|Celtic and Rangers F.C.|Rangers football clubs (indeed, Corby is home to the largest Rangers F.C.|Glasgow Rangers Supporters' Club outside of Glasgow itself). Many shops sell Scottish foods and a supermarket even introduced Scots Gaelic|Gaelic signs to their Corby store (but they have since removed them). An annual Highland Gathering featuring traditional Scottish music and dancing is held in the town.

According to the 2001 Census only 1.7% of the population is non-White and the average age of the population (37.2) is slightly lower than the average for England and Wales (38.6). In the UK Government's 'indices of multiple deprivation' Corby ranks within the 25% most deprived areas in England and some areas of the town are within the 5% most deprived areas. Rates of violent crime and thefts of motor vehicles are significantly higher than the average for England and Wales. Rates of other offences are close to the average.

Transport

Corby is served by the Corby Star bus service and there are direct bus and coach services to Northampton, Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Glasgow. Plans for building a new bus station for Corby are being considered by the council following the closure of the old bus station in August 2002.

The nearest railway station is Kettering, seven miles south of Corby. It is on the Midland Main Line between London and Nottingham. Corby once had a station of its own, on the Midland Railway's "alternative route" between London and Nottingham, bypassing the present main line via Market Harborough, Leicester and Loughborough and passing through Corby, Oakham and Melton Mowbray instead. However, Corby station closed in April 1966 and much of the line lost its remaining passenger services in May 1967 (the Oakham to Melton Mowbray section remains open to passengers as part of the Peterborough to Leicester line). Nevertheless, the section through Corby is still open for freight (it passes through the 1,920 yard Corby Tunnel just north of the town, and further north still it crosses the colossal 82-arch Harringworth Viaduct).

In April 1987 a passenger service was reintroduced but it was only a shuttle train between Corby and Kettering, usually operated using a single dmu carriage. This became irregular and unreliable; the then Corby District Council, who were funding the service, decided enough was enough and withdrew the service in June 1990. Some time later a plan was put forward to include the Kettering-Corby section in an ambitious-sounding cross-country service from Swindon to Peterborough, but this came to nothing. Reintroduction of a reliable passenger rail service has been called for ever since, but a recent government statement suggested it may not materialise for seven years at least. There are grounds for more optimism though: see the Regeneration and Redevelopment section below.

It has been claimed that Corby is the largest town in England without a passenger rail service, now that Cannock and Mansfield have reopened. However, the towns of Gosport in Hampshire (population 78,000), Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire (population 74,000), and Washington, Tyne and Wear|Washington, Tyne and Wear (population 55,000), also claim this dubious honour. However these towns form part of larger conurbations, so Corby vies with Rossendale for the title of largest separate urban area without a station.

Employment and education

According to the 2001 Census the proportion of the working age population with degree-level qualifications (8.5%) is the lowest of all areas in England and Wales. 39.3% have no GCSE-equivalent qualifications at all.

The Corby campus of Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education provides a range of vocational courses for post-16 students and adult learners. The nearest universities are the University of Northampton, 37 km (23 miles) to the south and both Leicester and De Montfort universities in Leicester, 40 km (25 miles) to the west.
Brooke Weston City Technology College ("the CTC"), one of only 15 City Technology College|CTCs in England, opened in 1990. Brooke Weston CTC has consistently achieved examination results in the top 5% of English state schools.
Since 1990 several of Corby's other secondary schools have fared less well with a series of poor examination results and critical inspection reports leading to mergers and closures, the most recent being the closure of Our Lady and Pope John School in 2005. Currently there are four secondary schools in Corby: Brooke Weston CTC, Lodge Park Technology College, Corby Community College and The Kingswood School. Corby Community College has a special unit for children with severe special educational needs. All four schools have Sixth Forms for post-16 students. As part of the regeneration programme it is planned to close Corby Community College and open an City academies|academy situated on one of the new developments. It is also planned to change Brooke Weston to an Academy.
Corby has 17 primary schools of which two are Church of England schools, three are Roman Catholic and one for children with severe behavioural and emotional difficulties.

Regeneration and redevelopment

A new extension to the main shopping centre, to be called Willow Place, is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by October 2007. Town centre owners Land Securities are also looking to redevelop the rest of the town centre once the first phase is completed, replacing much of the 1950s-1970s built environment which could be argued to be aesthetically unappealing. In addition, there are plans to develop a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and Civic Hub in the town centre within the next three years.

Stephen Fry is currently doing the voiceover work for a campaign running in London to entice people to move to Corby. The campaign is centred around advertisements in newspapers, on the London Underground and on local radio. An example of one of the posters in the 'More for your Money' campaign (photographed on the London Underground) can be found .

Corby does not currently have a passenger rail service, although the land has been acquired for a station and a line already runs through the town. Midland Mainline, the train operating company (TOC), currently runs bus services from Kettering, providing a half-hourly shuttle to Corby Town Centre. This has proved to be successful and Midland Mainline are conducting a feasibility study to see if a passenger rail service to Corby would be viable.

Their rail franchise is up for renewal in 2007 and so various figureheads from Corby Council, NNDC and the Local MP have been lobbying ministers to ensure the new franchise includes a Corby passenger service, which is seen as key to the regeneration of the town as a whole. The rail link, if given outline approval this year, is expected to provide service for passengers from Corby to London St Pancras direct. A petition with some 10,000 sigatures was recently handed into Whitehall as part of the public campaign to show support for the new service. If however, Corby is not included in the new franchise, it may be another seven years before it will get a passenger service.

Trivia