Students fight to save their college (From Wharfedale Observer)

Students fight to save their college

2:06pm Thursday 1st June 2006

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CAMPAIGNERS aim to mobilise the Wharfedale community to save a college campus and safeguard the future of further education in the valley.

Mature students in Ilkley are urging people to write to Bradford College heads in protest against course cuts and higher course fees, while a Burley councillor is mobilising residents with a petition calling for Burley Grange to stay open.

Students attending Burley Grange and Bridge House in Ilkley learned last week that their course fees were set to double or even treble because the Government has withdrawn funding from certain types of course and that Bradford College will not be offering courses at the Burley centre from September.

New Government priorities in further education, focusing on career-related qualifications and vocational courses for 16 to 19-year-olds, means students on a number of courses, including those classed as leisure learning' courses, will no longer receive subsidised course fees.

Some fear, however, that cheaper courses could be offered in Bradford itself, prompting Wharfedale students to travel further afield and effectively closing down Wharfedale courses by running numbers down. The college last week denied that there was a separate course pricing structure, although students could save by signing up now under its Early Bird scheme to college courses, which is available at various centres.

Although the college says it hopes to re-open Burley Grange in future, Bradford councillor Matt Palmer (Con, Wharfedale) fears the worst.

He said: "I will not stand by any watch whilst yet another community facility is turned into yet another posh housing estate for businessmen from Leeds. Burley Grange is a good location for adult education courses and an important part of the local community.

"The college provides local employment, education and training opportunities, activities for the elderly and new opportunities for a huge number of students throughout the Wharfe Valley. Its students, lecturers and support staff provide vital trade for local shops and businesses."

He argues that Bridge House in Ilkley is not an option for Burley and Menston students as it is too far from the station and main bus routes, and does not have the capacity to hold as many students. He said Burley Grange is an ideal venue, as it can easily reached by bus from Otley, Ilkley and further afield, and is a short walk from Ilkley Station.

Councillor Palmer has launched a petition calling for Burley Grange to be kept open, and believes it is not too late to reverse the decision. He was expected to meet with Bradford College principal, Michele Sutton yesterday, along with members of Burley Parish Council.

Students who study at the Ilkley centre are calling on residents of the wider Wharfe Valley to write to Michele Sutton at Bradford College's Bradford Campus, on Great Horton Road, asking for assurances about the future of adult education in the valley.

A statement from a group of Ilkley students said: "This is the only way of registering the concerns of the people in this area.

"We cannot allow these closures and increases to happen without protest.

"It would appear that Wharfedale is being denied the opportunity of equal access to community education."

Students also hit back at the leisure learning tag, saying some of these courses do actually lead to a qualification, and spoke about former students who have gone on to a new career or higher education as a result of the locally-run courses.

They claim the shift in focus in further education is prejudicial to people in outlying communities and to retired learners, who want the right to study but are not seeking employment.

The students claim the changes will have serious consequences for Wharfedale community education.

Bradford College is expected to make announcements about the changes to staff at a special meeting on Monda.

The college last week stressed that the changes are a direct result of the Government cutbacks.

Coun Palmer is appealing to residents to sign the Burley Grange petition. He said: "It is not too late to save our college," he said.

"Just because Wharfedale is not an inner-city location does not mean local residents should be denied the opportunity not learn new skills."

Copies of the petition are available by contacting Coun Palmer, and he is setting up a website at (www.saveourcollege.com).

"Everyone who believes education is important is affected by this closure," he said.

A copy of the Burley Grange petition is also available to sign during office hours at the Ilkley Gazette office, 8 Wells Road, Ilkley.

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