What colleges need so they can lead region’s revival – Suzanne Gallagher

Teachers, lecturers, support staff and students have had to adapt to one of the most disruptive periods in many of our lifetimes and they have coped with typical resilience and fortitude.

Making the shift – in the main – to online learning has been a complex logistical operation, which has allowed the vast majority of our own students to continue receiving a quality education. This cannot be seen as a long-term solution though.

Online learning was only ever a temporary fix to a unique situation. Young people have undoubtedly suffered during lockdown and that lack of human contact at an intrinsic point in the development of their skill-sets will have taken its toll.

Put simply, we must act now to ensure students are getting the necessary experience required to serve our economy going forwards.

Over recent years, we have undertaken a programme of investment and refurbishment across our estate. We have relocated from some sites over the years, which will be remembered fondly by many but they had reached the end of their life as an effective learning space. The sale of older sites has allowed us to invest heavily in purpose-built new campuses, such as Quarry Hill and Printworks.

Sites like these have already proven their value, with Quarry Hill being full to capacity from the day it opened. When you 
add apprentices and adult learners into the equation, the pressures on space become even more stark. Alongside new campuses which are planned, students being able to have a 21st century education experience will be more important than ever.

It is a proven fact that by creating inspiring learning spaces, we produce more engaged students and are able to help meet the skills requirements of the city we serve and the wider region. The prospect of being unable to continue providing these spaces for learners is therefore extremely worrying.

The post-16 demographic is rising in Leeds, with data showing an expected 26 per cent increase in the number of 16-year-olds in the city over the next eight years.

This is fantastic news, as young people will help to fuel the economic recovery from the current pandemic.

But in order to service the requirements that this rise in population creates, it is even more important that we’re able to provide facilities that match demand and ambition.

Being able to commit to building new education facilities should be a no-brainer, and therefore we need to take co-ordinated action and set aside differences to make sure this happens. There are a number of things which need to happen at a local and national level, to ensure we are able to step back from the precipice and provide young people with the education they deserve.

On a local level, we need a joined-up approach across politics, business and education, to ensure that we are putting 
the needs of our young people first.

On a national scale, we must not lose sight of the long-term ambitions of the country. Covid and Brexit have created a fundamental shift in the country, and further education colleges must be at the forefront of delivering skills that meet these new demands.

National grant funding and clear leadership from Government are required in order to do this.

Campuses like Quarry Hill provide a bright future for young people in our region and we must have the ambition and investment to match that.

As the Government outlines its roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions, with a return to the classroom mooted for early March, we must grasp that opportunity with both hands. Student wellbeing will receive an immediate boost upon their return to campus, collaboration will surge and quality of learning will be enriched.

Face-to-face learning has taken an enforced break in the past year, but we must not be lulled into any false sense of security that online and home working is the future.

Nothing can replicate that face-to-face time students get with education professionals, who can inspire, engage and empower our young people to thrive in their future career.

Through raising aspirations and showing the opportunities on offer, we have a duty of care to this key demographic and the once-humble college campus is the key to unlocking our collective destiny.

Suzanne Gallagher is principal of Leeds City College (Quarry Hill Campus).

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