The University of Roehampton and Richmond upon Thames College (RuTC) have announced an exciting new partnership which will develop new routes to higher education for students in the College, with an initial focus on the performing arts. The partnership will see other activities, including curriculum development and student placement opportunities, develop between the two institutions.
The partnership will have a particular focus on establishing formal progression pathways for students studying a range of arts subjects at RuTC to higher education through top-up degrees. These include:
- Performing Arts
- Computing
- Digital Media
- Media and Communications
Students at RuTC will benefit from Roehampton’s Schools and Colleges Engagement programme to support their education and career development. This will include subject talks with Roehampton academics, workshops and personal statement support.
There are also plans to provide continuing professional development to staff at RuTC through the University’s School of Education. The partnership will also open opportunities to: explore the shared use of facilities at the College and University and facilitate skills development to support local employers.
Professor Anna Gough-Yates, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Roehampton, said: "This new partnership further cements our commitment to providing opportunities to people from all backgrounds. The partnership with Richmond upon Thames College will provide new opportunities for people to access further and higher education, and will support employers across south-west London, including in the arts and cultural sector."
Annabelle Mooney, Head of the School of Arts at Roehampton, said: "This new partnership provides an ideal for us to harness our respective strengths in the arts. It is particularly exciting to start work immediately on developing new routes for students to develop successful careers in the performing and creative arts."
Dr Jason Jones, Deputy Principal/CEO (Curriculum & Quality) at Richmond upon Thames College, said: "We are delighted to be working with the University of Roehampton in this way and we are excited about the wide range of opportunities that this partnership will offer. With our brand new campus and significant increase in student numbers at Richmond upon Thames College over the last two years, this partnership further strengthens the development, progression and employability opportunities for our students."
Marc Dodi, Head of the School of Creative Industries at Richmond upon Thames College, said: "After a year like no other for the Arts, staff are ecstatic to be partnering with the Roehampton to ensure education and training for the Arts continues to grow during this turbulent period. I am looking forward to developing fresh, new and exciting opportunities with the University of Roehampton to enable future careers for our students in a vibrant industry sector."
