Worthing College: Outcry over 'devastating' plans to close performing arts department

From September 2024, Worthing College performing arts provision is changing and moving across Worthing town to Northbrook Metropolitan College in Broadwater.

This means that Worthing College students will no longer be able to study performing arts subjects, including drama, dance and music.

It comes as Chichester College Group (CCG) chief executive Andrew Greens said the group – ‘like all further education institutions’ – ‘continues to be impacted by severe underfunding by the government’.

Helena Thomas, principal of Worthing College and Northbrook College, said: “First and foremost, I’d like to apologise for any concern this has caused. It is never an easy decision to change our curriculum, but we have to look at how we can deliver courses that are sustainable and give students the best opportunities and experience that we can.

“Unfortunately, student numbers for the department are generally low at Worthing College. However, by consolidating our performing arts provision with Northbrook College – just three miles away and with very good public transport links – we believe we will be able to provide a better student experience by offering a fantastic, well-rounded holistic education that will help young people achieve their career aspirations.”

Outcry from students

The Worthing Herald has received multiple letters and emails from concerned students, past and present. A petition against the plans has already been signed by more than 1,800 people.

The campaign was launched by a group of alumni and current students, who are ‘banding together to fight against’ the plans. They said they plan to ‘carry on doing as much as we can’ to get the decision reversed.

One message read: “It is devastating that this decision has been made. It is becoming more and more inaccessible nationwide to pursue performing arts, with less and less opportunities in place for people to follow their passion.”

Another read: "This decision will force many students in the local area to have to go against their natural creative instincts due to the limited options for performing arts education in the area and, possibly, abandon their potential."

A student who takes the creative and performance arts course, said: “I believe that this decision is wrong. It was made without consulting parents, students or future students that were looking to enroll on the course for September. As of next year the courses will not be accepting any new applicants and only remaining so the current year 12s and year 13s can finish their qualification.

"The college are unaware of how much the course means to not only the students who currently take it, not only the teachers who are so passionate about the department and their students but also how much the department and courses have helped people grow and change into the people who they want to be.”

The news was described by another student as ‘extremely upsetting’. They added: “This September, the department has received its highest numbers of students yet, however, unfortunately they have now all had to be turned down and told to study somewhere else.

"This is not only unfair on the students, who may not have the fees to attend another college, but on the teachers who have worked and committed themselves to this department for so many years.”

Another student, who said the course has helped to improve her mental health, wrote: “The department has helped and nurtured me over the two years I have been studying here. It is friendly and supportive community. In other colleges you might not get this type of experience. Other colleges I explored did not provide such a positive atmosphere, which influenced my decision of where to study.”

Teachers in the department were described by students as some of the ‘kindest and most supportive people you will meet’. One student said: “The environment is so warm and inclusive that it feels like a home.

“Worthing College also hosts the event 'So Sing!', where primary schools have the opportunity to come to our theatre and sing with us to an audience, and so to lose this could also have consequences for the next generation of young performers. When considering all this, you can see that it is devastating that this decision has been made, and it is out of our control.”

A further message read: “All of the staff involved in this subject have worked tirelessly for years to make performing arts a safe space and provide the best education for everybody at Worthing College. The mistreatment of these subjects has continued despite us putting on numerous shows and events every year that benefit the same college which is defunding them.

“Performing arts creates a space for young people to be themselves, express creativity and confidence, and creates communication skills for life.”

‘No redundancies to staff’

Helena Thomas said the performing arts facilities at Northbrook College are ‘outstanding’ – with large studios, a fully-functioning 150-seat theatre and state-of-the-art music studios

She said students at Northbrook will be supported by degree students across courses, including stage management, costume design, prop making – ‘providing an opportunity to enjoy an enhanced level of study’ that will ‘help to set them up for an exciting career in this industry’.

The principal added: “We know our applicants for September 2023 will be concerned and we are supporting pupils who have applied for one of these courses as they explore other high-quality alternative arrangements that we can offer – either other courses from our suite of A-levels at Worthing College or one of our other colleges, or a full-time level 3 course in the industry-standard facilities at Northbrook College.

“Pupils are being invited in to meet senior staff at both Worthing and Northbrook Colleges, as well as offered the opportunity to attend special open events to view the facilities.

“We review our provision throughout the year, closely monitoring applications and interest but it is at this time of year where we are in a position to finalise our courses and their viability. Some colleges may wait until July or later to make those decisions, but we believe it is important to give students time to look at their options, meet our staff and discuss what we can offer.

“Our current students will complete their second year at Worthing College, as planned with no disruption to their learning and they will be supported by our expert team at the college."

The principal said the change in provision will also mean ‘there are no redundancies to staff’ in the performing arts department. Teaching teams from both Worthing and Northbrook ‘will come together as one’ team – ‘working together, sharing best practice to further grow and develop our provision for the benefit of students across the region’.

‘Sector continues to be largely sidelined’

CCG group chief Mr Green said colleges ‘up and down the country’ have ‘faced more than a decade of cuts and increased costs’. He said this is compounded by ‘rising inflation and soaring energy bills’.

"All the while, the sector continues to be largely sidelined in the Government’s annual budgets – despite the significant pressures we face,” Mr Green said.

"At CCG alone we will see an increase in costs of just under £3m for the 2023/24 year – that includes a £1.2million increase in energy prices as well as higher costs of supplies and services. This comes amid years of underfunding by Government in further education and limited additional funding to offset these costs.

“Department budgets across the sector are reducing because of this, and it means we have to make decisions that protect our staff while offering local students the opportunity to study high-quality courses that meet their needs, as well as those of industry.

“That means changing the way we deliver courses, looking at sustainable and viable long-term solutions and we believe by consolidating our Worthing-based performing arts courses in one location, we can do that and support the growth of the creative arts sector for the region.

"As a group, we have a long-standing commitment to the creative and performing arts sector. For example, since 2017 Chichester College has regularly taken shows to Edinburgh Fringe Festival – receiving rave reviews and sell out audiences and this year Northbrook will also be performing their own show.

“We also take a progressive approach to performing arts, having launched an inclusive theatre company at Chichester nearly ten years ago which we are now introducing to Crawley College.

Click here to see and sign the petition.