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200 students lose A-level places after college's funding collapses
Tim Ross, Education Correspondent9 Nov 2009
A government funding fiasco has forced a London college to cancel its A-level courses, leaving almost 200 students without places.
Brooklands College needs to sell one of its two campuses to raise money after the Learning and Skills Council's failure to provide promised funds left it millions of pounds in debt.
The college began a £75million rebuilding programme but the Council was forced to withhold funding because the Government's national college rebuilding scheme, which it managed, was running billions of pounds over budget.
All 162 A-level students at Brooklands' campus in Ashford, west London, will lose their places next summer with one year of their courses remaining.
It is the first college to close a campus as a result of the learning council crisis. Brooklands' principal Colin Staff said students and lecturers were furious: "Staff, students and parents are very angry about this. I personally am enraged at the way we have been treated." The college spent £11.5million on architects and builders in the expectation that the money from the LSC would follow. "We have now used up all our reserves and all our borrowing power," said Mr Staff.
"We have students in temporary accommodation and the old buildings were stripped out ready for demolition. We can't afford to refurbish the old buildings and therefore we have to abandon the Ashford site. We need to sell it to cover the shortfall in our financial situation."
He said it was the college's "first priority" to find the A-level students places to finish their courses in nearby sixth forms. Vocational courses at Ashford will be moved to the college's Weybridge campus, but Mr Staff said there was no room for the A-level students.
Brooklands was one of 16 colleges in London and 144 across England that the LSC told would receive millions towards the cost of new buildings, only to have the money withheld.
In March Mark Haysom, then head of the LSC, which distributes government funding to colleges, resigned over the debacle with a £100,000 pay-off.
The LSC said it had met Mr Staff to address the problems. "The college and the LSC need to agree a new estates strategy that will underpin the college's future and maintain a satisfactory financial health," said a spokeswoman.
"The LSC is still working with the college on developing this strategy and no proposals have been agreed. When agreement is reached it will ensure that disruption is minimised."
Reader views (1)
The halcion days of TB Esq. "Education, Education, Education". We remember those days so well - that was until Gordon got his hands on the tiller and things have all gone so very wrong since.
- Brian G, Norfolk Gorleston, 09/11/2009 10:15
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