Putney Society Unhappy About Closure of Roehampton Campus

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Their letter to South Thames College and the College's response can be read here

The Putney Society have written a letter to the head of South Thames College to express their disappointment at the closure of its Roehampton Campus. The Society feels that the lack of public consultation and the closure of opportunities in the local area will deprive residents of vital skills and that it is a real loss. You can read their letter below:

Dear Ms Rimmer

We were most disappointed to hear that South Thames College Roehampton is closing. This will be a great loss to the local community. Being one of the more deprived areas of the Borough, we feel the residents of Roehampton deserve more opportunities than most, and this closure will affect them a great deal.

We were very concerned that there appears to have been no public consultation on this closure. Why was there no consultation? We only found out by accident when someone tried to apply to do a course.

The fact that this college is closing seems to have been kept ‘secret’, because staff and students were only told at the last minute, when details must have been known for some time. In fact, even the Education Department at Wandsworth Council weren’t aware of the closure of the college, which in itself is worrying.

We understand that many of the courses will simply move to, or be amalgamated with Wandsworth and Tooting. However, this does not help those residents of Roehampton who will either be unable or unwilling to travel further afield. Local residents had enjoyed meeting other locals at the College, who were then able to offer help and support to each other. This is less likely to happen at the other two sites.

We would like to know when it was known that the College would close, and why so little information has been given. In fact, even today, 9 July 2012, there is nothing on the Roehampton website to say that it will be closing, or has closed.

We hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Diamond

Convenor of The Community Panel

The College have responded with the following statement:

South Thames College can confirm that it is relocating courses from its outreach centre in
Roehampton to its Tooting and Wandsworth centres. The decision comes following a detailed consultation with stakeholders and the community and a financial viability review.

Some programmes will remain at Roehampton but most are now easily accessible at Tooting and Wandsworth which have excellent transport links. These main campuses have exceptional
facilities and offer outstanding support for students and an extensive and flexible range of
courses for the community - run in the daytime, the evenings and on Saturdays.

Current learners on those courses being moved have been notified directly and others interested in our wide programme of leisure courses can see locations on our website at
www.south-thames.ac.uk.

 

July 19, 2012