Some special news for Harlow: A brand new pre Apprentice school is on its way

After nearly two years of work: meetings by the dozen, debates in Parliament, Commons Motions, Questions to the Prime Minister, Business Secretary and Education Secretary and much more besides, I can exclusively reveal that Harlow has won a bid to have a brand new pre-Apprentice School (known as a University Technical School). The school will be funded by Government, and will be free to all students.

This UTC will be based at Harlow College, will be open for ages 14 to 19, and is supported by Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow College, Anglia Ruskin University, GSK and much more besides, including Rivers Hospital and Pearsons.  The focus is on vocational education with a health technician bias - hence the support from PAH and Rivers.

For many months now, Harlow College and Anglia Ruskin, have been working hard on the bid and, were recently interviewed by the Department for Education, to go through the proposals.  Both the College and the University could not have done more to make this bid a success.

Given that the Government have announced just a few UTCs, our bid had to be watertight, in terms of sponsors, curriculum and finance.My role was to keep up the political pressure and work in Parliament to help make the case to the Government for the UTC. 

As regular readers will know, I have a passion for apprentices, have employed two apprentices working with me in the Commons, worked to establish the National Apprentice Card with NUS and set up the Parliamentary Apprentice scheme alongsode the charity, New Deal of the Mind.

When I first heard of the Government's proposals for pre-apprentice schools, I knew that Harlow must have one - after all - we are a town that thrives on vocational education. Nearly two years ago, in the Commons, I introduced Harlow College to Lord Baker, (tasked by the Education Secretary to run the UTC movement).  Lord Baker subsequently came to Harlow to visit the College.  The rest - as the saying goes - is history.

As MP for Harlow, I am absolutely delighted that Harlow is going to have this new school, with all the investment and opportunities it will bring. I am also very proud in having done as much as I possibly could to help make it happen.

P.S. See these blogposts which will give you some of the context:  http://roberthalfon.blogspot.com/search?q=utc&m=0

Universities Minister David Willetts opens new University Centre at Harlow

It was a pleasure to welcome Universities and Science Minister David Willetts to Harlow today to officially open the new University Centre.

The centre is a partnership between Anglia Ruskin University and Harlow College.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Harlow-Stansted Growth Area Partnership, led by Harlow Council, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England contributed a total of £9.3 million for the new three-storey, 2,400-square metre higher education centre on the site at Harlow College’s Velizy Road campus. Seventy students were recruited to start courses in September 2010 in advance of the completion of the building work.

A further 100 students started in September 2011.

The initial degree level subjects offered were Graphic Design, Early Years, Playwork and Education, Journalism, Sports Journalism and Public Service.

Further student places for 2012-13 have been approved, and subject to approval from Anglia Ruskin University, degrees in Engineering, Life Sciences, Construction and Tourism Management will be added to the growing list.

The announcement follows recent positive news for Harlow College, which has seen it placed first nationally in FE College league tables.

I was delighted David Willetts had the opportunity to see what fantastic educational facilities we now have in Harlow.

The new University Centre is vital as the town continues to develop with the prospect of thousands of new jobs following its approval as an Enterprise Zone and with the possibility that Harlow could soon be awarded a University Technical College.

I have worked closely with the college, and will continue to do so, as it continues to achieve great things both with and for our young people.

The new University Centre in Harlow is helping to raise skill levels and increase opportunities for local people and business.

Facilities include state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities, a 96 seat lecture theatre, graphics design studio, journalism centre, video conferencing facilities and computer suites.

Harlow College principal Colin Hindmarch said: "We are delighted with the level of national interest in Harlow College.

"We have enjoyed visits from a succession of government and shadow ministers in recent months and it is a great credit to Harlow College, its students, staff and the town, that David Willetts has officially opened University Centre Harlow." 

Prof Michael Thorne, Vice Chancellor at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “University Centre Harlow is part of Anglia Ruskin's major commitment to the development of Harlow.

“We are working closely with local partners, including industry and commerce, the local hospital and council and especially Harlow College - the number one FE college in the country.”

David Willetts MP said: “It's an honour to come and open this fantastic new centre which will allow two excellent institutions to bring higher education closer to local people. That is in the interests of students and employers, and will boost our future prosperity. I wish every success to those who benefit from this new resource.”

The project was part of the national HEFCE programme to raise the skill levels and increase participation by people with little or no experience of higher education, and is one of a range of initiatives to address these priorities.

Its distinctiveness lies in making Higher Education (HE) available in areas not already well served with relevant HE.

A full selection of pictures from the visit can be viewed HERE.  

More Funding for University Technical Colleges

Today I asked a question to the Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, concerning Harlow's bid for a University Technical College (UTC).

Please read my question below:

Robert Halfon (Harlow): "The Education Secretary has won funding of more than £600Million for new Free-Schools. If there are enough good UTC bids, such as the bid from Harlow Hospital (Princess Alexandria Hospital), Anglo Ruskin University and Harlow College, would he consider using some of that £600Million to boost the number of new UTCs?"

Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Education): "Thanks to the generosity of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (George Osborne), and not thanks to any negotiation skills on my behalf, there are sufficient resources within the Department of Education budget, to support high quality University Technical College submissions. And it will be on the quality of the bids that a decision is made."


by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

VIDEO: Anglia Ruskin University comes to Harlow

Last Friday I was really pleased to speak at the ground-breaking ceremony of the new Anglia Ruskin University centre, in Harlow. Our town will be transformed once the University is completed.

You can watch a video HERE (I am about 30 seconds in), on the Harlow Star website.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Great news: A new University for Harlow

A few weeks ago, I had a good meeting in Chelmsford, with the Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, who set out his vision for a University in Harlow.

It is great news that Anglia Ruskin has now secured the necessary funding - from the relevant funding agencies - to build a Campus in Harlow. Having a University will provide many young people with a chance of Higher Education, from a great educational institution, which they might have not otherwise taken.

It is yet more evidence of how Harlow is becoming one of the major centres in the East of England. With a new University, a new Sports complex, and a new Town Centre over the next few years, Harlow will be transformed over the next few years. It will be an exciting time.

More details about the funding mechanism for the new University are HERE.

A good day, learning about BUPA, Beer Tax and Student Loans

One of the aspects about being a Parliamentary Candidate, I most enjoy, is the chance to get to visit, and see the workings of various organisations, charities and voluntary groups in and around Harlow. Because I have to work in the week (earning a living!), since as a Candidate, I dont get any expenses or wages, I usually organise my community activities from Thursday onwards.

Yesterday was a full day for me, starting off with BUPA Healthcare, meeting a representative from Mitchells & Butler's, and then discussing student issues with the Academic Affairs Officer of Anglia Ruskin University. The afternoon was finished with a Campaign meeting to discuss my strategy for the next few months in the lead-up to the General Election.

The best thing about all these visits and meetings is what you learn. I feel that when each Friday comes by, I get a new education about an industry, or charity, or local issue that I often had not known about before.

For example, when visiting BUPA, just off Roydon Road I learnt that the Company is a Provident Association. Non -profit making, BUPA is responsible for 70% of people in Care homes, and makes drugs for the NHS. I was pleased to visit one of the BUPA drug centres in Harlow, near the Pinnacles, and was astonished to see the standards of hygeine, and security that takes place, before the drug is ready for their customers.

I was also pleased to see that BUPA has a good relationship with Princess Alexandra Hospital and West Essex PCT. The NHS works with BUPA to allow patients who would prefer to be at home, get out of hospital earlier, whilst being provided with a care nurse, to ensure that their needs are catered for. Many people have an image of BUPA as a private insurance company, that is just their to make profits for greedy shareholders. As I was informed yesterday, this is far from the case. Not only are all profits ploughed back into the Association for the benefit of its members, but it also works closely with the NHS.

Later I met with Alastair Scott, a senior bod, working for Mitchell & Butler's, Operators of managed Pubs in the UK. You ma ask, what has that got to do with Harlow? Well, the company owns a number of Pubs in the Constituency, including Miller & Carter (the Gatekeeper), by Potter Street (By chance I was having dinner their that evening with Vanda and a close friend - i love their steaks), and The Toby Carvery. We met in the Fish & Eels in Dobbs Weir (another M & B Pub). Over lunch we discussed various issues including the huge number of Pubs that close every day - over fifty per week. The reasons for this include the Government's smoking ban, but also the huge competitive advantage that Supermarkets have in selling cheap alcohol. We discussed the idea of a progressive beer tax - one which could be fiscally neutral, but which would mean less tax on beer, more on wine and even more on spirits. A measure such as this could really help Pubs, as Beer would be significantly cheaper.

After discussing beer, it was on to student issues. I was pleased to meet Emma Mclendon, Academic Affairs Officer of Anglia Ruskin Students Union (ARSU). Emma is a very impressive character, studying History and Sociology, currently doing a Sabbatical for the ARSU. Apart from informing me all about the University (which I am looking forward to visiting in a few weeks time), Emma discussed the problems and financial hardships facing students because of the Government's student loan programme. If students take up the loan, they have, by the time they finish University, to pay back between £15,000-£30,000. If you imagine starting your fist job, in your early twenties, with this amount in debt, you can imagine the burden that students have when they finish Higher Education . Nevertheless, Emma recognised that there are no easy answers to this issue, because of the huge amounts of students now going to University, and the lack of resources to pay for them. We discussed the merits of a graduate tax, instead of a student loan - something that I am certainly going to look into. Anglia Ruskin students are lucky to have such a vibrant Student Union, and if all their representatives are like Emma, they could not be better looked after.

P.S. I hope to add some photos later of me at BUPA and meeting the Kitchen Manager in the Fish & Eels - a place I am going to this very evening (again!) for a meal with Vanda and my friends, Cllr Russell Perrin and his wife, Becky.

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com