(L-R) CONEL Principal Paul Head, The Rt. Hon. David Lammy MP and Professor David Latchman, Master of Birkbeck College, University of London at today's signing.
Photo: Geoff Wilson 

Tottenham students now have a direct route to one of the country’s top universities, thanks to a new partnership officially signed today between CONEL and Birkbeck, University of London.

The management teams of both organisations put pen to paper this morning to sign a memorandum of understanding. Lending his support to this exciting development was Tottenham MP and Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, The Right Honourable David Lammy MP.

The main aim of this innovative link-up is to encourage more of CONEL’s learners to progress to university-level study. There will also be mutual benefits for the staff of both institutions as they share their experience and examples of good practice with each other.

Staff from both CONEL and Birkbeck will now meet regularly, and will collaborate in raising the awareness of higher education opportunities at CONEL. They will also develop ways of offering some of Birkbeck’s existing courses at CONEL’s Tottenham site. Key advice and guidance and teaching staff at CONEL have already met colleagues from Birkbeck and will be able to advise the College’s students on their options.

David Lammy gave his support to this morning’s official signing by outlining the importance of this type of partnership to the Government’s overall skills and training strategy. He commented: “This partnership is important for both our national and local education portfolio. By this link between Further and Higher Education, CONEL and Birkbeck have pushed out the boundaries of widening participation. CONEL has a badge of excellence that is hugely impressive to me as MP for Tottenham, and Birkbeck is a premier institution which has a real understanding of access issues and making it easier for people to study.”

CONEL Principal Paul Head said: “This is an exciting partnership for us, and most importantly, it represents a fantastic opportunity for our learners. In the past, some further education learners may have thought that the path into Higher Education was not open to them. We are working hard to change that perception, and this link with London’s only specialist provider of part-time, evening higher education is crucial to that.”

“Birkbeck and CONEL are both top quality providers, united in our aim to deliver educational excellence”, he added. “Learners will receive the same high levels of teaching and support at Birkbeck as we provide at CONEL.

Professor David Latchman, Master of Birkbeck College, University of London added: “We are delighted that we have been able to set up this agreement so speedily. This is a valuable partnership which will benefit both institutions. We strongly believe that everyone can aspire to change their lives through education, no matter what their personal or academic background.”

The close working relationship between CONEL and Birkbeck has already got off to an excellent start. Staff from Birkbeck attended the College’s most recent Open Day in May this year, and spoke to dozens of learners about their options for getting on to a degree at the end of their college courses. It is a path that staff from both establishments hope will be taken by many more CONEL learners from Haringey and the surrounding area in the coming years.

• Birkbeck, University of London