Newton Rigg College

[thesilentone]

It has been announced that Newton Rigg will close sometime in the middle of next year. Once the Center of Excellence for the Forestry Industry, and well known to most Dairy and Sheep Farmers in the UK.

Sitting in the middle of one of the UK's largest Dairy areas, which is dominated by Agriculture.

I've no doubt that money will be the root of all evil, however this closure should not be allowed to happen.

In the future, new innovations and technology will play a major part in Agriculture and it's supply chain, as well as energy and conservation. It should be down to our Industry leaders and innovators to come together to stop this closure. It is part of the life blood of our future.

'Hammer blow' to Cumbria as agricultural college is to close with the loss of 117 jobs

MORE than 100 members of teaching staff are to lose their jobs after Newton Rigg College announced it will close next year because it is no longer…

www.newsandstar.co.uk

 

[Mr always wrong]

It has been announced that Newton Rigg will close sometime in the middle of next year. Once the Center of Excellence for the Forestry Industry, and well known to most Dairy and Sheep Farmers in the UK.

Sitting in the middle of one of the UK's largest Dairy areas, which is dominated by Agriculture.

I've no doubt that money will be the root of all evil, however this closure should not be allowed to happen.

In the future, new innovations and technology will play a major part in Agriculture and it's supply chain, as well as energy and conservation. It should be down to our Industry leaders and innovators to come together to stop this closure. It is part of the life blood of our future.

'Hammer blow' to Cumbria as agricultural college is to close with the loss of 117 jobs

MORE than 100 members of teaching staff are to lose their jobs after Newton Rigg College announced it will close next year because it is no longer…

www.newsandstar.co.uk

Just seen on Facebook. I know alot of the staff, not too far from their hill unit. Real shame

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

I am afraid a number of other agric colleges will go the same way. I was talking to a director of one this evening and he admitted that government were not going to bail them out.
Similarly many of the universities relied on overseas students and there will not be many of them.

 

[Agrivator]

Showcase Sheep Husbandry Centre to be Built | Newton Rigg College

www.newtonrigg.ac.uk

Newton Rigg must have lost the trust of the farming community when it announced the expenditure of £430,000 on a small sheep shed.

What an example to set its students. They should be taught to make do and mend, how to survive in difficult times, and not encouraged to go home and tell Dad how to spend money he hasn't got.

 

[egbert]

Sorry to hear about Newton rigg.
About the only one I would've rated from my perspective.
(says a man who left educashun at 16)

 

[suffolksmallholder]

As someone whose put everything into making sure my children have a good general education I'm deeply saddened to hear of this closure. Further Education is the backbone of this country and if our young people can't get into a good college simply coz it's not there any more the current Government should hang their head in shame.
Aylesbury College is now a developers dream with all of its land now in process of massive development to make a new dormatory town for London.
SS

 

[livestock 1]

Just seen on Facebook. I know alot of the staff, not too far from their hill unit. Real shame

John is a grand fella

 

[Mr always wrong]

John is a grand fella

He is. So is Matt.

 

[Muddyroads]

I’m very sorry to hear about Newton Rigg and fear that more will follow. Seale Hayne closed a few years ago, and Devon’s county college was very close to going under before being taken over by Cornwall colleges. No doubt others were close to the edge before Coronavirus hit, so will be far more precarious now.

 

[livestock 1]

I don’t know how these college’s are funded? I’m just wondering what’s gone a miss?

 

[Treemover]

I did my forestry hnd there 96 99 and degree a few years later. Best years, really enjoyed the place.

Always wanted to drop by and see it. I hope it stays.

 

[Mc115reed]

Can’t remember what year I went think it was 04 or 05 but the college was starting too go downhill fast with the new sports complex being built and animal care unit it’s bad too say but brutally true as the same has happened too rodbaston college in Staffordshire... it came more about getting as many special needs kids in as possible for extra government funding than it did about the farming which had built the college.... when I was at Newton rigg I helped tear all the cubicles out so they could teach brick laying in there

 

[Katarina]

I spent 2 great years at Newton Rigg in 92 -93 doing an NDH . Enjoyed every minute of it and made great life long friends. Not many colleges offer Hill Farming courses.
Terribly sad news if Newton Rigg closes. Makes no sense after all the money thats been spent on the place in recent years.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

"History of Cubicles"

Mr. Howell Evans from Cheshire who designed the cubicle. Each cow has its own bed and is separated by a division from its neighbour. They are free to come and go as they wish and they only require a similar amount of bedding as the in the old byre system. At this time the Cumberland and Westmorland Farm Institute at Newton Rigg had decided to expand its dairy herd from 45 cows to 110. It had been housed in a 1842 long single row rambling building that had all the problems I have already alluded to with labour and it was requiring 2 men to look after the 45 cows. They decided to build a concrete structure 135ft by 50ft to house a new silage pit and a lean to structure along one side to house the cattle and a separate milking parlour. They had heard about the Cheshire cubicle system and went to view it. They were immediately impressed by it and altered the plans to incorporate cubicles into the cow housing. They did however alter the design of the cubicle to one that became known as the Newton Rigg cubicle.This has a concrete bed with a simplified division.
Up until the
late 1980’s this type of cubicle division was the commonest throughout the UK. Fame for Cumbria

 

[Muddyroads]

Can’t remember what year I went think it was 04 or 05 but the college was starting too go downhill fast with the new sports complex being built and animal care unit it’s bad too say but brutally true as the same has happened too rodbaston college in Staffordshire... it came more about getting as many special needs kids in as possible for extra government funding than it did about the farming which had built the college.... when I was at Newton rigg I helped tear all the cubicles out so they could teach brick laying in there

It’s a similar time frame for the decline in most of the colleges. They became incorporated into stand alone businesses in the early 90’s after being funded by local authorities. This led to rapid expansion into areas like animal care, outdoor leisure etc. With finance coming from increased student numbers and students passing their courses. This meant that student failures cost money and standards inevitably slipped.
Principals were promoted lecturers who understood education, but suddenly became CEO’s of multimillion £ turnover businesses. A few colleges prospered with the right management, but sadly many are now shadows of their former selves.

 

[thesilentone]

Petition to support saving the College, please take the time to sign.

Support Dr Neil Hudson MP in securing the future of Newton Rigg College

The future of Newton Rigg is pivotal to the educational needs of the young people of Cumbria. As a community, we need to work together to ensure the FE Commissioner understands the importance of this establishment for agriculture, the rural economy and other sectors including social care.

www.neilhudson.org.uk

 

[hally]

Showcase Sheep Husbandry Centre to be Built | Newton Rigg College

www.newtonrigg.ac.uk

Newton Rigg must have lost the trust of the farming community when it announced the expenditure of £430,000 on a small sheep shed.

What an example to set its students. They should be taught to make do and mend, how to survive in difficult times, and not encouraged to go home and tell Dad how to spend money he hasn't got.

That is on top of millions they spent on the dairy unit. Whilst I agree students must be trained on the latest equipment and techniques, spending somebody else’s money was easy there. The photo sums up the culture at this college, I can imagine how many site meetings of highly paid “ professionals “ before this shed was built.
My old college Kirkley Hall in Northumberland went the same way, once the top sheep college in the country it joined with another and completely lost their way, sold off most of the land.
Personally I have thought the standard of teaching there the last few years has been poor, a friend of mine sent his son there and as a very forward thinking progressive dairy farmer was appalled to hear they had been tasked for the whole day washing a rotaspreader. Even though he was an advisor to the college he withdrew his son from the course.
These places are very expensive to attend nowadays so must be centres for excellence to advance this industry not a cushy number for the lecturers who think working 40 weeks a year is normal.
Apologies for the rant but I feel the youngsters around here have been massively let down by these highly paid so called professionals in the education industry.

 

[thesilentone]

That is on top of millions they spent on the dairy unit. Whilst I agree students must be trained on the latest equipment and techniques, spending somebody else’s money was easy there. The photo sums up the culture at this college, I can imagine how many site meetings of highly paid “ professionals “ before this shed was built.
My old college Kirkley Hall in Northumberland went the same way, once the top sheep college in the country it joined with another and completely lost their way, sold off most of the land.
Personally I have thought the standard of teaching there the last few years has been poor, a friend of mine sent his son there and as a very forward thinking progressive dairy farmer was appalled to hear they had been tasked for the whole day washing a rotaspreader. Even though he was an advisor to the college he withdrew his son from the course.
These places are very expensive to attend nowadays so must be centres for excellence to advance this industry not a cushy number for the lecturers who think working 40 weeks a year is normal.
Apologies for the rant but I feel the youngsters around here have been massively let down by these highly paid so called professionals in the education industry.

I am aware of Newton Riggs history, and to be fair Askham Bryan did inherit a bit of a basket case. The Dairy unit had been removed by the previous incumbents, so AB did invest in new facilities, however I do agree, when Government money in involved, the numbers become like the lottery.

However, the infrastructure is their now, and as Agriculture continues to change, their is a need for this type of facility as part of the means of promoting the Land based Industry. Governments are reactive to the here and now, close it knock it down, and then in a few years build a new one as events change things.

 

[upnortheast]

Seems to a pattern with ag colleges. Get taken over by another college operating in a different sector. Kirkley Hall became part of Northumberland College,, Where the management had no interest in Ag
Eventually an accountant spots this huge pile of assets, & creates a scheme where the assets a liquidated ( for the greater good they say )
Situation in Northumberland will be no ag colleges within 100 miles. Apart from degree courses at Ncl

 

[GeorgeC1]

I went to Hadlow College, they got into a lot of trouble due to the old CEO fundled the money into himself and got caught.