Principal welcomes government u-turn on course fees

City College Brighton and Hove, recently praised by Ofsted as 'outstanding', can now waive tuition fees for unemployed people on state benefits, thanks to a recent government u-turn.

Under planned new rules to come into force for the 2011/12 academic year, only benefit claimants on jobseekers' allowance or employment and support allowance (work related activity group) would have been eligible to have their tuition fees waived. However, skills minister John Hayes has announced this month that colleges will now be given greater freedom to deliver fully subsidised training to help people on benefits enter employment.

The decision comes after research last month by the Association of Colleges (AoC) revealed that nearly 250,000 students in England would lose the right to fully funded courses under the proposals, which would leave them facing fees of between £500 and £1,000 for typical full-time courses.

This increased freedom and flexibility around fee remission will be positive news for any student considering applying for an adult (19+) qualification at City College this autumn. To be eligible, applicants will have to sign a self declaration form at their enrolment session that states they are currently unemployed, in receipt of a state benefit, want to enter employment and need additional skills to do so. It has also been confirmed that those aged 19-24 who wish to study GCSE English or maths will also have tuition fees waived. The changes have been warmly welcomed by the college's principal, Phil Frier.

"These changes are highly significant and will really help City College when it comes to transforming local peoples' lives and providing them with the skills that employers are looking for," says Mr Frier. "It's fundamental to City College's ethos that our courses should be accessible to as many people as possible so I also very much welcome tuition fees being waived for GCSE English and maths courses for 19 to 24-year olds, especially when you consider that in Brighton and Hove, more than 50 per cent of our students leaving school at 16 do not have these qualifications."

City College is still recruiting for adult and GCSE English and maths courses starting in September. For further information, contact the college's course advice team on 01273 667759 or email info@ccb.ac.uk course information can also be found on the college's website, www.ccb.ac.uk

For press information, please call Brian Bell, marketing communications officer, on 01273 667788 Ext. 488 or email bb1@ccb.ac.uk

Notes to editors: Those who are unemployed, in receipt of a state benefit and want to enter employment, will not need to pay tuition fees for their course although they will still need to pay registration, examination and any materials fees. These changes will ensure that they pay a heavily reduced fee. The changes do not apply to certain City College courses such as full cost adult community learning courses, details of which can be found on www.ccb.ac.uk or in the College’s Adult Education & Community Learning Prospectus for 2011/12.

About City College Brighton and Hove: Situated in the heart of Brighton and praised by Ofsted as "outstanding" in its June 2011 report, City College Brighton and Hove is an international centre of vocational excellence and one of the top-performing further education colleges in the country.

Every year, 2,000 full-time, 7,000 part time, 400 higher education and 400 14-16 year old students as well as many international and European students choose City College as their place of further and higher education training.

In addition, the college provides training to more than 2,000 businesses via its City Business Skills department which focuses on employer training needs. Offering more than 700 courses from basic level right through to business and postgraduate training, City College is working with its partners to develop the workforce of the future.