Andrew Thomson, Chair Elect of East Coast College Governors, Rob Evans, Chair Great Yarmouth College and Tina Ellis, Chair Lowestoft College are asking for feedback on the proposed merger between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Colleges. They have jointly issued the below open letter: Dear Stakeholders We are excited to announce that the proposed merger of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Colleges is progressing well. Following the public consultation conducted in January and February 2016 the Corporation’s Governing Body were able to decide to proceed with the legal steps required to dissolve. We are now delighted to announce that the Corporation of Great Yarmouth College of Suffolk Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 0ED is conducting its statutory consultation in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, on the proposal to dissolve the College as a legal entity and to merge together with Lowestoft College. Thereby forming a new, two campus institution that will operate under the name ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). Please see the attached consultation document. Why is the dissolution proposed? Between January and July 2015 Great Yarmouth College and Lowestoft College and (along with three other colleges) were voluntary participants in a pioneering Area Review, the first of its kind in England.
Led by the Further Education Commissioner, Dr David Collins and Peter Mucklow, the Sixth Form College Commissioner, and involving representatives of national funding agencies and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, this initiative made a comprehensive review of post 16 provision in North and East Norfolk, and North Suffolk.
One of the review’s expert conclusions was that, ‘a soft collaboration will not deliver the level of change and savings needed and that full partnership (either hard federation or merger) between the colleges is the only route to achieving the critical mass of students and economies of scale required to make costs savings and to build and sustain excellent provision so as to ensure improvement of the offer to students and employers on employability and skills’. The Corporations believes that there are some, key benefits which will result from the merger as follows:
- together, combining the complementary strengths of the two organisations, we can offer a wider, richer range of academic, technical and professional opportunities to 16-18 school leavers, adults, higher education students and the business community;
- the merged colleges will be able to enhance the training, bespoke courses and apprenticeships offered to employers, and build a stronger partnership with industry;
- the merged colleges can create an organisation with a combined annual turnover of around £25 million, which will enable further investment in learner resources and facilities, and ensure the continuity of good local provision; and
- the merged colleges will be able to develop an organisation with a greater capacity to engage regionally, nationally and internationally with partners, bringing greater benefits to all the colleges’ students and local communities
Date of the proposed dissolution The planned dissolution date is 31st March 2017. (Subject to consultation and legal requirements.) Name Change On that same day it is planned that the two colleges will merge and that the name of the college will change to ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). New Board We will also be establishing a new East Coast College Corporation and will be looking for new Governors to join us. If you wish to receive further information on this please contact Wendy Stanger, details below. Further Details Please see https://www.lowestoft.ac.uk/east-coast-college Providing your views We are appealing to you personally, as a key stakeholder, to submit your views on the proposed dissolution and name change proposals by 9th January 2017. Please submit your feedback in writing to ‘Public Consultation, Attn. Wendy Stanger Head of Governance, Great Yarmouth College Suffolk Road Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR31 0ED’ via email to [email protected] Or via our brief survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8QGKK2B What happens next? Great Yarmouth College Corporation is legally required to take account of views and representations made under this consultation. The Corporation Governing Body will consider all responses before they make any final decision to dissolve and merge. A summary of the consultation and outcomes will be published by the Corporation by 9th February 2017. Yours sincerely Andrew Thomson CHAIR ELECT OF EAST COAST COLLEGE GOVERNORS Rob Evans Chair Great Yarmouth College Tina Ellis Chair Lowestoft College
