Students' anger at college course

The Level 3 counselling students say they and their tutor were given to understand they would be able to pursue their studies all the way to degree level in Salisbury.

But they have now been told the next stage - a diploma - will only be available at the Lackham campus, which means a number of them will not be able to get there.

College vice-principal Bev Flanaghan said the Lackham course is new and was not in existence at the time the women started on their studies.

She said: “We have never as a college said this would be a degree you could do at Salisbury. We have never advertised or promoted it in this way. However, the college cannot be responsible for what an individual tutor might have said.”

She said the decision to base the course at Lackham was made because that is where it is most in demand, but students say they would not have started the course if they had known they could not carry on their studies in Salisbury.

Elizabeth Guild, from Whiteparish, said: “I don’t know what I am going to do now. I also have a B&B business to run so I can’t consider Lackham, it’s over an hour in the car each way.

“Obviously, there have got to be cuts because we are in a difficult financial position nationally.

“But there has been total disregard for the fact a lot of the girls wouldn’t have gone on the course and forked out more than £500 each if they had suspected they weren’t going to be starting the diploma in Salisbury in September.”

Another student, Rhonda Cleary, said: “Some of us are on low incomes and we have had to find the money as there’s no financial help.

“Four weeks ago, we were told the next level wasn’t being held. We have done a year’s worth of work in the last three months and everyone feels let down.”

The group started at the college last April with a ten-week introductory course, then took a second course last September, which finished at Easter.