Lord Baker visits Harper campus

Posted 26 January 2010

Lord Baker of Dorking today visited the University College to discuss plans for the national programme to create University Technical Colleges.

The meeting was also attended by Meredydd David, Principal of Reaseheath College, a partner institution of Harper Adams, and by Peter Mitchell of the Edge Foundation. Lord Baker set out the Government’s objectives for the provision of 14-18 education in specialist academies linked to universities, able to provide access to staff and resources to assist in the development of a practice-based curriculum.

Lord Baker was given a tour of the University College and the many new developments that have taken place on its campus in recent years, including the new Dairy Unit and the West Midlands Regional Food Academy.

Harper Adams Principal, Dr David Llewellyn, noted that the meeting had been productive and had underlined the importance being placed on the improvement of the UK’s vocational skills base. He said: “The programme is gaining the attention of a number of universities wishing to collaborate with academies in the delivery of an innovative mix of academic and technical subjects, including at Diploma and Advanced Diploma level.

“Harper Adams is already contributing to the JCB Academy in Engineering, and we hope to work with Reaseheath College to explore other opportunities presented by the University Technical College programme.”