Bath Spa and New City College Partnership

 News 

Bath Spa University and New City College confirm new strategic educational partnership

Wednesday, 23 June, 2021

A new educational partnership between Bath Spa University and New City College in London will offer increased higher education opportunities to students from September 2021.

Bath Spa University’s high quality courses will now be available locally to people across East London and parts of Essex, through New City College’s network of campuses. The courses on offer from September 2021 include: BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies, Foundation Degree in Education Studies for Teaching Assistants, BA (Hons) Integrative Counselling and MA Education, initially planned for NCC’s Havering Ardleigh Green campus. Further courses are planned for future intakes.

Bath Spa University has a long history in teacher education, having been educating students, teachers and other educational professionals since the 1940s. Today, the University offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in a wider range of subjects across the arts, science, education, social sciences, humanities and business to around 7,000 students. The partnership with New City College provides opportunities to develop higher education courses in London, that focus on the wide range of subjects offered at Bath Spa University.

Speaking about the exciting new partnership, Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor at Bath Spa University said: "We are delighted to be entering into a strategic partnership with New City College.

"Over the last year, the world has changed and many people have lost their jobs and businesses have struggled to survive. Universities and further education colleges are well placed to help with the recovery by working more closely together to offer opportunities for students from different backgrounds, including mature learners and widening access to higher education opportunities.

"Our shared values and educational expertise are at the centre of this partnership, and will offer successful access to higher education to students who may not have considered it before."

New City College is the fourth largest college group in the UK with campuses across Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, Epping Forest and Havering. The College helps students break boundaries and think big.

Gerry McDonald, CEO and Group Principal at New City College said: "Creating opportunity for local people is one of our main priorities and working with Bath Spa University, we will be able to offer excellent quality higher education courses within our local communities. I’m also very excited about opportunities for sharing best practice among our staff and maximising the many potential benefits of our partnership."

The new partnership brings together further education with higher education, giving students opportunities to access higher education. New opportunities will also be available for staff in the form of shared teaching and Continued Professional Development (CPD).

Future plans for this strategic partnership include a new University Centre based in London.