It’s all in the name for ‘super college’

Stevenson and Jewel & Esk want to merge to become the second largest college in Scotland and one of the biggest in the UK.

The proposal is currently out to public consultation, and college bosses say it is important they get as much input from the local community as possible.

Some names already offered include The Edinburgh College, City of Edinburgh College and Edinburgh City Regional College.

Mandy Exley, principal of Jewel & Esk College, said: “We have had a range of suggestions. As a generality, people consider that the word Edinburgh is very important and should be in the title.

“A lot of ideas are coming from staff, who are keen to engage as much as possible.

“We have run big events for staff and we have heard from businesses and large organisations, but we really want to get feedback from the normal man in the street.”

The new college will create three new centres of excellence and will contribute more than £120 million per year to the local economy.

The merged institution – which is set to open next August – will create centres of excellence in energy and clean technology, creative industries and tourism and hospitality. It will also have a strong focus on sport and health, and on financial and business services.

The consultation runs until September 30, when the decision will be passed to the Scottish Government for approval.

Brian Lister, principal of Stevenson College, said: “We want to work even closer with the communities we serve. We are trying to get a deeper connection with our communities.”

The merger proposal comes at a time of financial hardship for colleges, which have faced cuts of more than ten per cent.

Stevenson announced plans to cut staff earlier this year, but has limited this to voluntary redundancies. Jewel & Esk also revealed redundancy plans following a £1.5m budget cut.

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