09/10/08

STUDENTS and staff will benefit from a partnership between two of Devon’s biggest colleges as they join forces to run courses and bid for more Government cash, principals say.
Exeter College and Bicton College in East Devon are the latest further education establishments in the county to work more closely together after the merger between East and North Devon Colleges.
The Exeter-Bicton link is informal and a “close collaborative working arrangement”, and both colleges will retain their independence.
But staff will teach at both colleges and plan new IT resources and courses.
Bosses at both colleges have been working increasingly closely in recent years and those at Exeter have taken the decision not to run any land-based courses – Bicton’s specialism.

Courses there cover a specialised and complex area of the economy from primary food production and land management, animal health and welfare, engineering, arboriculture, equine, horticulture and floristry sectors to environmental conservation, green tourism and areas of food and drink, sport and leisure.
Exeter was the country’s first college to run both sixth-form and vocational courses. It now has around 10,000 students and a turnover of £32m. Bicton has 3,000 students and a turnover of £9m.
The partnership will also help both Exeter and Bicton plan for the new diplomas, set to start in Devon in 2009. The colleges already have a joint contract to deliver training in the workplace as part of the Government’s Train to Gain initiative and together run an outdoor leisure and tourism foundation degree.
“There are already links and we want to build on them,” said Exeter principal Richard Atkins. “It will lead to an increasing amount of expertise in both colleges and our curriculums complementing each other as well as more opportunities for staff to collaborate.
“It also means students will get impartial advice, for example, if they apply to Exeter but show an interest in land-based courses we will recommend they look at Bicton.”
Bicton principal Louise Twigg said: “We are the closest colleges geographically and this is the last piece in a jigsaw. It will allow us to think about different ways of working. We both have different areas of expertise so we would never have had to compete against each other anyway.”