Rural Colleges forge triple alliance
Scotland's three leading "landbased" vocational Colleges have signed a far-reaching, formal agreement to strengthen academic co-operation, share best practice and work together to boost rural industries by increasing recruitment and skill levels.
The consortium formed by Elmwood College in Fife, Oatridge College in West Lothian, and Barony College in Dumfries will be jointly marketed at home and abroad as Scottish Countryside Colleges (SCC) and takes to a new level close relationships stretching back several years.
SCC will act as a focus, where appropriate, when bidding for funding and represent the landbased sector's views at regional and national level.
The formal signing ceremony in Edinburgh was also attended by representatives of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), marking the determination of all four institutions to improve the flow of students from Scottish Countryside Colleges to degree level education.