AS-level students expecting to be turfed out of Brooklands College in July have been given a reprieve, after the college announced it was reconsidering plans to stop running A-level courses next year.
The college informed its 162 AS students in October they would have to study the rest of their A-levels elsewhere, following a decision by the Government’s Learning Skills Council (LSC) to pull funding to redevelop the college’s two sites in Weybridge and Ashford.
Brooklands was one of 144 colleges to have the funding frozen by the LSC in March, but had already spent £9m on construction.
Former principal Colin Staff, who stepped down from the role last week, a year earlier than his planned retirement, said at the time the only option left to make up for the deficit would be to close down the Ashford campus and stop running A-levels in Weybridge.
But consultancy firm FE Associates, an interim team set up in the wake of Mr Staff’s departure, said it was looking at alternative strategies.
Interim boss Steve Hutchinson said decisions previously announced were “not necessarily set in stone”.
Tony Curme, whose 16-year-old son Alex is currently studying AS-levels at Brooklands, said he had been told the college would probably allow the students to carry on studying there.
He said: “We went to a meeting at the college on Monday night and a lecturer told us that they will let the children know before Christmas whether they can stay on at the college.
“It’s still up in the air, but we gather they will keep the A-level department open for another year and my son will be able to stay on.
“Whether the lecturers stay for another year is another matter, but the one we spoke to said she would.
“If the lecturers do decide to leave, we can get Alex privately tutored, but we feel the structure at the college is better to get him into university.”
He also said Mr Staff’s initial decision to scrap A-levels had not been “thought through very cleverly”.
Meanwhile, Esher College last week offered to help out students if the Weybridge college decided to get rid of its A-level courses.
A spokesman for Esher College said: “We will be accommodating as many Brooklands AS students who live in Elmbridge as we possibly can at what is obviously a difficult time for everybody concerned.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here