A further education college with campuses in Galashiels, Hawick and Newtown St Boswells, Borders College was established in 1984 through the amalgamation of Galashiels Technical College, Henderson Technical College (Hawick), and Agricultural Centres in Duns and Newtown St. Boswells. Since 2009, its main campus has been at Netherdale, Galashiels, co-located with the School of Textiles and Design of Heriot-Watt University.
Originally run by Borders Regional Council, its governance passed to an independent Board of Management in 1993, with the majority of its funding provided by the Scottish Funding Council on behalf of the Scottish Government.
With a staff of approaching 300 and an annual budget of £11 million, the college provides a broad range of full and part-time courses for around 5500 students, both in terms of vocational areas and levels, with subjects including art and design; business management and administration; care; computing, information and communications technology; construction; engineering; hairdressing and beauty therapy; hospitality; land-based studies; and sport and leisure.
The Netherdale Campus includes a restaurant and hairdressing and beauty therapy salon, both designed to train students but open to the public.