Halesowen College is a large tertiary college delivering primarily to 16-19-year-old learners serving the South Black Country/West Birmingham. Approximately 60% of students are resident in Dudley, 20% in South Sandwell and 20% West Birmingham. Students also attend from the Worcestershire and Staffordshire areas linked with the Travel to Learn concentric circle 6- 8 miles around the College.
The population of Dudley is circa 312,000 (of which 48,000 live in Halesowen) and 11.5% of people are from ethnic groups other than White British, compared to 7.5% in 2001. The equivalent figure for England is 20.2% (2011 Census). The deprivation indices from 2010 showed that 23.9% of the population of Dudley live in areas in the 20% most deprived in England.