By HELEN COMPSON

Published at 13:26, Thursday, 22 May 2008

EDUCATION chiefs have moved to allay fears that the Newcastle College campus in Hexham is about to close.

Instead, more money is about to be invested, said a spokesman, with the aim of doubling student numbers.

But preliminary preparations have upset some staff and students, admitted vice principal Colin Booth.

The first staff knew of the changes was when a number of them were told last week that their jobs in Hexham were to be axed.

There is the possibility that some of them will be redeployed.

Students were informed on Tuesday of the changes.

One person who was present said: “People were angry and one or two were in tears.

“One minute they are enjoying their course and all the social aspects that go with it and the next they are told it’s going to be dropped.

“People don’t know where they can go in September to continue their studies.”

Mr Booth said the college had been forced to act following changes in Government funding.

Some courses being run at Hexham were also economically unviable due to lack of sufficient demand.

“We’re certainly not closing our operations down in Hexham – far from it,” he said.

“However, we are in the process of trying to replace some courses with others that will be more popular, and inevitably some people will be disappointed.”

The college was moving away from providing leisure-based courses to concentrate on vocational subjects that lead to recognised qualifications.

“We believe, for example, that there is demand for hairdressing courses in Hexham,” he said.

“So over the summer we will refit the main room on the ground floor, which is currently used for painting, as a hairdressing salon.

“We understand, though, that staff and students who have been using that room for art will be upset.”

Newcastle College had taken out a long-term lease on the premises in St Mary’s Wynd and intended to have a strong presence in Hexham for many years to come.

The college would continue to invest in the infrastructure and new equipment needed to run new courses.

“We have around 200 students in Hexham at the minute and what we’re hoping to do is double that,” he said.

“The building has the capacity to cater for many more people, and we hope many more people will benefit from the changes.”

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk