Helping Bath College expand

Richard Wyatt

[Image taken from Bath College website]

Good to hear city’s MP Wera Hobhouse promoting Bath College in Parliament for delivering, she said, high-quality vocational education and training. Ms Hobhouse also pressed the Government to back further education with real, long-term investment. 

Speaking to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in Parliament (20 October), Mrs Hobhouse praised the college’s diverse range of over 1,000 courses and asked what the Government will do to help institutions, like Bath College, expand their programmes and meet rising demand for skills-based learning. She specifically highlighted notable alumni, Olympic gold medal winner Jason Gardener, and Drum and Bass producer Danny Byrd.

The college has been the city’s main further education and vocational college in one form or another since 1892, and currently offers more than 1400 courses right up to degree level. It is home to around 10,000 learners across its two campuses, in central Bath and Radstock. The college is also the largest provider of apprenticeships in the area. 

It has a strong vocational emphasis and a strategic focus on building links with businesses across the region. It also provides an inclusive learning environment for the community, which is committed to providing education, support and guidance. Together, this ensures that over 85% of learners and apprentices go on to secure positive destinations following their studies. 

Mrs Hobhouse’s comments follow the Liberal Democrats’ calls to boost vocational qualification credentials and support a diversity of learning. 

Responding to Mrs Hobhouse, the Secretary of State confirmed £800 million in funding for 16-to-19 education from next year and referenced the Government’s new Post-16 education and skills white paper, including plans to introduce V-Levels as a replacement for existing Level 3 qualifications like BTECs.

But Mrs Hobhouse has warned that rebranding qualifications is no substitute for tackling the sector’s real challenge of “chronic underfunding.”

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said: 

“It’s so important that we back institutions like Bath College, which offer a diverse range of vocational courses and training programmes, as they are essential for preparing young people for the future.  

“I welcome the idea of more flexible qualifications, but I’m concerned that the Government’s new V-Levels overlook the real issue: the chronic underfunding of further education. Until that’s fixed, no reform will deliver the world-class vocational education our young people deserve.”

Published by Richard Wyatt

Freelance Journalist, broadcaster, columnist and local historian. Director of Bath Newseum. Married and lives in Bath. Interested in local history, architecture and visual display in museums and urban spaces.

1 Comment

  1. Hopefully our MP also championed the campaign to retain Adult Learning in Bath, too.
    The very much missed – and consistently full & fully booked – Ceramics courses were a source of guaranteed income, year-to-year, for Bath College, along with many other Adult Learning courses.
    The Love-2-Learn fiasco & cull was a huge mistake & very short-term thinking.
    Perhaps our MP will fight for the return of vocational education for Bath’s adult community, as she did initially.

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