Pat Denham: Vice Principal & Deputy Chief Executive of South Devon College…
Students come to South Devon College for many reasons – they know it’s a great place to learn and study, with a friendly environment and a good record of achievement. We are passionate about our approach – we know what makes our students tick and how to help them not just thrive but to be terrifically successful. We regularly survey our learners to ensure we are not just meeting expectations, but surpassing them.
And with outstanding results. Our college has gone from strength to strength. We have around 14,000 students here with three and half thousand young people aged sixteen to eighteen studying for a variety of qualifications from NVQs to degrees. Whilst many of you will know about the college based in Paignton, perhaps you won’t be so familiar with our other sites. We have eleven in total, ranging from our state of the art Music Mill at Newton Abbot, to the pioneering Marine Academy at Noss, a centre of excellence.
Our students’ welfare is top of our agenda. We ensure that we create the ideal conditions for learning – and as part of that, we have to look at what might be a barriers to education. We want to make it as easy as possible for students to get on and achieve, so we take any issue very seriously and try and find a solution.
It’s no surprise then that with so many students on the move to their various centres of learning, travel is a big deal for us here at the College. And it’s sad to say that travel can also be one of the biggest barriers to learning. Imagine – you live in Teignmouth and study in Torbay. You have to constantly factor in congestion, being stuck on the A380 and the risk of missing out on teaching time and the wider college experience.
And whilst you can make up the learning time, you can’t make up for being with friends, joining in and all of the experiences that go into student life. It can prevent students taking part in sports, music and a host of other out of hours activities. We’ve taken an innovative approach to this, and scheduled some of our sessions outside of peak working hours to avoid the traffic. In the case of our music centre, students study from midday to 8pm, which is a more accurate reflection of the music industry working approach. But it still means that many other students are struggling through the traffic jams on the Torbay Road at rush hour – it simply can’t be avoided.
Safeguarding our learners is paramount – and travelling late at night or for long journeys can all take its toll on a student’s ability to learn. Most of our students travel by bus, so we have staff whose role it is to oversee the services we provide. They even travel on the services that bring students to and from college to assess the service and listen to any problems. By canvassing opinions we can find out what it’s really like for a student who has to rely on the bus.
In response to some of the students who have to travel extensive distances, we’ve equipped some of our buses with Wi-FI. This enables students to make a start on their homework and studying on the journey to and from home. It’s helpful, and popular with the students, but it’s no substitute for being at home or in college and studying in the right environment.
The cost of travel is not just a educational issue, it’s obviously an economic one too. As a result, we’ve been working with Stagecoach to find ways to help students access travel services more easily, especially in the wake of the Education Maintenance Allowance being cut. It’s a significant investment, but one we believe is vital for our learners, which will remove the stress of affording travel. Now, for learners with a household income of less than £20,817 there’s a huge range of discounted and free travel arrangements available. New learners can go free, whilst established ones can access reduced fares or free of charge travel in some cases. Our thanks go to Stagecoach and Torbay Council for making this vision possible – we couldn’t have achieved it without their help.
So with traffic stacking up on the A380, it’s reasonable to think that other modes of transport might appeal. But hand on heart, is it reasonable to start encouraging students to walk to college or use a bike when the roads are so busy? One evening last year, I decided to walk home - about an hour’s walk. Lorries, coaches, buses and cars all passed within inches of me. It was a distinctly unpleasant experience. With slim pavements, often overshadowed by shrubbery and understandably used by cyclists, it’s not a practical or pleasant option. We need to get more cars off the road, but we can’t ask people to cycle if they’re taking their lives in their hands each time.
The South Devon Link Road is desperately needed – not just for our learners but for our communities. Our students deserve the best – and that means they should be able to access outstanding education and employment like anywhere else. It’s a vicious circle: employers want a skilled workforce– and we’re equipping our young people with those skills. But as business struggles to thrive in the Bay, and jobs become fewer, it’s no wonder that many young people are looking to move out of the area for career opportunities.
I fully support the campaign for the road. If you’d like to help, write to Norman Baker MP, ?Department for Transport?, Great Minster House, ?76 Marsham Street,?London.? SW1P 4DR. Email:info@normanbaker.org.uk or bakern@parliament.uk
Or visit www.southdevonlinkroad.co.uk for more information.
