I visited the Havering Sixth Form campus of New City College today to discuss plans to expand student facilities, offer new courses and develop partnerships with local employers. I also heard how the donation of a bleed kit from Havering charity, the Ricky Hayden Memorial, recently helped save a local student’s life at their sister campus in Ardleigh Green. 

I was welcomed to the Wingletye Lane site by Janet Smith and Phil Hall, Principal and Deputy Principal of Havering Campuses, who talked about the College’s aim to become a centre of excellence for science. The campus has seen a significant increase in demand for places from local students, with the number of applications up twenty-six per cent on last year, and two new science labs and a new Environmental Sciences A Level are on the way. Alongside efforts to bolster their science offer, the College is developing a performing arts programme which will work in partnership with Queen’s Theatre on productions at the much-loved local theatre. The campus is also playing a key role in training local students up for critical public service jobs in health and social care, with placements at Queen’s Hospital.

I received an update on the College’s response to a recent violent attack near to their Ardleigh Green campus, which left a young Havering student fighting for his life. Thanks to his ability to return to the safety of campus and the quick thinking of staff, he got the care he needed. Only weeks earlier, the College had received the donation of a bleed kit from the Ricky Hayden Memorial, which proved critical in saving his life. 

Mrs Smith praised the work of the charity, as well as the response from the emergency services, with an ambulance crew arriving within minutes and local police dealing swiftly and sensitively with the incident, for which arrests have now been made. In turn, I shared my own actions in response to violent offences in the borough including her work with local police, representations to the Met Commissioner calling for increased police resource locally, and my recent meeting with faith leaders to discuss knife crime and other community issues.

I was so pleased to hear of the College’s plans to develop the range of courses available to local students and improve facilities on campus. I was particularly glad to hear how they are training people up for local jobs in the health and care sectors - something I have long championed - working to become a Centre of Excellence in science and to deliver a richer performing arts programme. As the Minister for Creative Industries, I know there is a huge variety of exciting opportunities out there in what is a major growth industry for the UK. With huge investments in film studios in East London I am eager to ensure that local students acquire the skills necessary to grab these opportunities with both hands.

Separately, constituents and I have been shocked at the number of recent knife crime incidents in Havering in recent weeks and the Ardleigh Green incident, in which a student was attacked in broad daylight, has caused particular concern among the community. I therefore felt it important to meet with the leadership of the College to both thank them for the quick thinking of staff, undoubtedly saving the student’s life, and to hear of their work with partners to ensure the ongoing safety of students and residents. Policing is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and I shall continue to lobby him to provide our local command unit with additional officers so that they may have the presence and impact in the community that I know they want to deliver.