College protesters 'dejected' at closure

Students arriving for their second year at Schumacher College have been told they cannot continue

Protesters have held a demonstration expressing their anger at the closure of a college in Devon.

Dartington Hall Trust, which runs Schumacher College in Totnes, said it could no longer fund the establishment due to it incurring "substantial monthly losses".

Student Will Wilson was among those protesting at Dartington Hall on Sunday, he said: "People that have just arrived to start their second year of studies and are now being told that they're not going to be able to continue, there's such dejection."

The trust said Schumacher was its largest loss maker among several operating activities in the red.

'Completely unique'

Mr Wilson said students were feeling "very confused and misled by what has happened".

"It's a 34-year legacy here in relationship with the Dartington Trust that Schumacher has been operating, and to wind the college down has left us really confused."

Dartington Trust runs two faculties, Schumacher College and Dartington Arts School, which it operates as part of the Dartington Hall estate.

It said the decision was made at a board meeting of the Schumacher College Foundation on 27 August.

On Saturday, Robert Fedder, acting chief executive of Dartington, said its commitment to financially supporting learning activities "does not extend to risking the future of the whole trust and estate".

“It is with great regret that this decision has had to be made in a very short space of time," he added.

"The priority is to support every student affected in achieving the best possible outcome for alternative course arrangements or an agreed withdrawal."

BSc, MA and PGDip courses at Schumacher were already closed to new students and were postponed in 2023, days before they were about to start.

The 46 students expected to continue into the 2024/25 academic year will have to find alternative places to finish their education.

"We're losing something that is completely unique," said Mr Wilson.

"There are very few options worldwide to study at the cutting edge of education that we're experiencing."