I was recently reminded of Loughborough College in England, first through the academic successes of a Maltese student and Ministry scholarship holder Emma Grech, and then by the outstanding achievement of Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, another alumna, who won an Olympic Silver Medal for swimming in Rio.

Founded in 1909, Loughborough was a teacher training college, pre-eminent in sports education, and became world famous, Although its degrees are now awarded by Loughborough University, it has retained its own identity and offers training in other aspects of sports provision and produces Olympic standard athletes, coaches and managers, as well as teachers. Such is its reputation that it can afford to reject two- thirds of its applicants.

Many small colleges and schools in the UK have been absorbed by fairly recently created or named ‘universities.’ These often provide an ivory, or even plastic, turret, rather than an ivory tower, and sometimes bask in reflected glory by aping the name of their nearest illustrious university and adding a qualifying word such as ‘City’ or ‘Metropolitan,’ or the name of a local benefactor or other prominent person. Others are located in a small town and are liable to produce the amazed response, “I didn’t know there was a university there!”

There are now over 120 universities in the UK and, although some of the lesser ones do excel in niche subjects, it is a grave mistake to believe that they are all of a comparable standard.

Looking at the list of UK institutions at which the Ministry has recently funded students, it can be seen that a significant number of scholarship holders have gone to such minor universities, some of which, to survive, may have to accept almost anyone who applies, with inevitable consequences for degree standards.

The Ministry has a rigorous procedure for awarding scholarships, which ensures that recipients meet a very high standard. However, the Ministry should also take a close look at the institutions at which recipients will study and research, for these should have a comparably high standard, rather than been chosen as having a reputation for giving students an easy ride.

 

Dr Martin G. Spillane