Merger of Exeter College and Petroc expected to boost student numbers

A merger between two Devon colleges is expected to expand the number of students attending Petroc in North Devon by 800.

The Barnstaple-based college, whose fortunes have turned around since it was rated as requiring improvement a year ago and faced a £1 million deficit, will join with the “outstanding” Exeter College in January, increasing opportunities for young people living in the north of the county.

The aim is to create the best “place-based college in England,” with all but a handful of courses available in both locations.

Leaders want Petroc to return to the student numbers of ten years ago, so it would need to increase the number of 16-18-year-olds by around 800 to 3,000.

They hope the merger will prevent North Devon students from having to travel up to two hours on buses and trains to access their chosen further education courses.

Public transport issues were raised over the past week when trains were cancelled due to flooding between Barnstaple and Exeter, causing problems for hundreds of students who attend Exeter College from North Devon.

Interim principal and CEO of Petroc, Kurt Hintz, told a meeting of North Devon Council on Wednesday evening that the new Exeter and North Devon College Group, which is expected to be ratified by both college boards in December and be up and running in January, would create better benefits over time.

He said it would be one of the biggest college groups in the country, with 10,000 16-18-year-olds, 3,500 apprentices, and an income of over £100,000, which would create “incredible opportunities and bigger influence.”

He told the committee that, in a year, Petroc went from being in the lowest five per cent of outcomes for an FE college to being in the top half.

He said “a little direction and support” had been the answer, and putting the focus back on students.

And from a £1 million deficit, it had ended the year with a surplus of £700,000.

“We are in a great place with good financial status, and we can go into this merger with two strong colleges, which is where we would want to be,” he said.

He added that it made no sense for two colleges to compete for everything the way they were now.

Two-thirds of the people who took part in a public consultation supported the merger.

Cllr Frank Biederman (Lib Dem, Fremington) said he saw hundreds of young people taking off for Exeter on cramped trains, as they did not have the courses available in North Devon currently.

Mr Hintz said there would only be a small number of courses that would not be available in North Devon, including dentistry and other specialist ones where student interest was much lower.

“We have worked really hard to mirror everything that is done at Exeter in North Devon, and we intend to expand any courses that are currently not delivered. It will be the same programme and the same qualities.”

Cllr Sara Wilson (Green, Ilfracombe West) said she was really pleased there was going to be parity with Exeter, as for young people in Ilfracombe it was even further to travel to the city for education.

“We do not want that disadvantage to be perpetuated,” she said.

Households with incomes under £55,000 are able to apply for bursaries for free student travel.

Cllr Peter Jones (Ind, Witheridge) said he was disappointed that there was no intention to provide a sixth form at Petroc’s sister college at Tiverton, as it was a real challenge for residents in his ward to access local education due to the “failing” bus service.

He was told that there was not enough demand for a sixth form in Tiverton, but provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities and those disengaged with education was improving, with a £1.5 million injection into the new “centre for progression.”

Mr Hintz promised there would not be “a landslide of job cuts” from the merger, as there would be management teams at both sites, although some corporate posts could go over time through “natural attrition.”

Councillors supported the merger, with Cllr Ricky Knight (Green, Heanton Punchardon) calling the turnaround of Petroc a “remarkable resuscitation.”

Council leader David Clayton (Lib Dem, Barnstaple with Westacott) said the reputation of the college was on the up.

“We have you to thank for most of that,” he told Mr Hintz.