Cyber college blazes a trail in rural district.Byline: By Hayley Beattie A groundbreaking virtual college aimed at encouraging people in rural Northumberland into vocational courses will be launched this year. The Tynedale Virtual College (TVC TVC Traditional Values Coalition TVC Televisió de Catalunya (Catalan Public Broadcasting Company, Catalonia, Spain) TVC Television Commercial TVC Thrust Vector Control TVC Texas Veterans Commission TVC Total Variable Cost ) is the first of its kind in the UK. It will have a multi-purpose campus and partnership organisation and will mean millions of pounds of investment in education in the district. The scheme has received funding of pounds 1.38m from the Northumberland Strategic Partnership (NSP (1) (Network Service Provider) An organization that provides a high-speed Internet backbone to ISPs and other service providers. Sprint, MCI and UUNET are examples of NSPs. See Internet backbones. ). It will provide a wide range of vocational and work-based learning for young people over 14 as well as adults and it is hoped it will improve educational drop-out rates in rural communities. Five training centres, which will each specialise in one industry, will be set up throughout the district. There will be a centre for engineering at Prudhoe Community High School Prudhoe Community High School is a school located in Prudhoe, England. Situated on Moor Road, Prudhoe, PCHS is a high school and 6th from college which specializes in technology and the arts. Students range from year 9 to year 13 (years 12 & 13 being sixth form). , a health and social centre at Haydon Bridge Haydon Bridge is a small village in Northumberland in England, with a population of around 2000 people. Its most distinctive features are its two bridges, both crossing the River Tyne, one the picturesque original bridge for which the village was named, now restricted to pedestrian High School and a working kitchen and restaurant will be developed at Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, or Elizabeth, may refer to: Living people
Bohemia The first of the centres will open in September at Northumberland College's Low Prudhoe Centre, where plumbing, plastering and bricklaying will be among the courses on offer. Students from rural areas will be able to access much of their course through e-learning and will only have to travel to the centre for practical training. David Thompson, of NSP, who has been helping co-ordinate the scheme, said: "Learners often had to travel outside the area, which was sometimes difficult given its rural nature, or enrol on the limited range of vocational courses locally available. As a result, drop-out rates were a cause for concern. "With this scheme they will be able to do the majority of their course from their own school and will only have to travel to the centre, which will be much closer to them, for the practical part of the course." The college has received support from a number of agencies including DfES, Northumberland Learning and Skills Council, Northumberland County and Tynedale District Councils and has the full backing of the Tynedale Community Partnership. |
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