It is with a heavy heart I have to write this article - but it is one that I believe needs to be written more so than any other I will probably write in the coming future. I'm sure it has come very much as a surprise to most of you, as it has myself, to hear that after this academic year, Westwood will be closing its doors to students after over a century as an educational establishment - particularly considering an article was published on the Scarborough Evening News website before most of us had even heard anything about the plans - but I think it is a process that should be documented, commented on, and most certainly not ignored.
The building opened at the inception of the 20th century, initially as the - illegal - Municipal School (I shall write more on its history in coming articles, but yes, when the building opened in 1900, it was indeed an unauthorised and therefore illegal place of education - very much paving the way for generations of rebellious students over the years, I think we can agree); to the epic amalgamation of the two rival boy's schools from opposite sides of the Valley (the Municipal School and St Martin's Grammar school) as the girls were ousted out in 1922, and the two collaborated to become the Scarborough High School the Boys. Then in 1959, the boys followed the girls' suit and migrated to Sandybed, onto the site where Graham School resides today. Westwood became a Secondary Modern under the Butler Act (An Education Act enforced in 1944 as an answer to surging social and educational demands post-war; enforcing a division between the traditional all-age elementary sector - 5-14 - into primary and secondary schools, and abolishing fees for parents wishing to send their children for state schools: essentially
making the school system we know today); and then 15 years after the government required the building, it became a "temporary" home for the Stephen Joseph Theatre (then known as the Theatre in the Round - it only became known as the Stephen Joseph Theatre in The Round at Westwood in 1978, in honour of its founder. The original lease was just three years, however it quickly became apparent the funds for a new permanent home were lacking and the lease was extended for a further 10 years in 1979, and the theatre had to share its home with Scarborough Technical College (Fun Fact: Our cafe's name, The Square Cat, is actually the name of Alan Ayckbourn's first play (under the pen-name Roland Allen); and has had its name since way back when SJT was at Westwood, serving as both a bar/kitchen space, as well as doubling up as the small studio space where the highly successful and critically acclaimed play The Woman In Black was first premiered as a low-budget Christmas play in 1987). The theatre hosted 232 productions in its time at Westwood, 106 of which were world premieres; all the way through till 1996 when it found it's proper - and current - residence opposite the train station, and the entire building was then free for use by the Technical College, which changed its name to Yorkshire Coast College, as we know it today.
... Back to the present, and here we have it: scrolling through my Facebook News Feed with half an eye on the usual crappy Sunday telly, I come across and article that catches my eye from the Scarborough Evening News: "New Name and New Site for YCC." I initially assumed this had little to do with us Westwood-goers, seen as we tend to work very much as separate entities between the two campuses - or at least from a student's perspective - and, as we all are aware, our name has already been changed once this year to "Scarborough School of Arts," which, in my opinion, is enough of a change for one year; but then I am a bit stuck in my ways, so I suppose I would have been angered even if the headline was "Westwood Decides to Take Quiche Off the Menu." In a sense I almost think the ballot regarding our new college name was somewhat of a distraction from the real big change happening underneath our noses, or a facade to make it look like we were being given input and a voice on something that, in the grand scheme of things, was rather inconsequential. Anyway (back from the tangent); going to open the article I am very disheartened to see that the whole college is included in this statement, that Grimsby Institute has already started auctioning off our buildings to the highest bidder, bought a new building instead, and there we have it: We're officially packing our bags and moving to the old Hull University campus on Filey Road, reverting to our original name of "Scarborough TEC," (TEC = Training, Education and Careers... I personally like this change as it hails back to the times before the name change in 1992) without a murmur nor a whisper managing to find its way down the echoey corridors of our college, nor a consultation from staff members, a letter through our doors; or really anything at all.
As you now know (if you didn't already), our building has a rich and eclectic history, and this is just another chapter in its tale; one we are witnessing firsthand, much like our tutor John Pattison did when the SJT at Westwood - his workplace at the time - flew the nest and moved just 0.2 miles up the road after years of struggling to find a new home. And, as unfortunate as it is, Westwood has been in need of some serious renovation work for quite some time, and with it being a listed building, renovations will be a long, careful and arduous process that simply is not feasible for us a college to do ourselves - even if money was no option. We'd need to temporarily relocate anyway, and then we have to consider the impossible task of accommodating for disabled access, health and safety, etc. etc... This move was inevitable. The real issue at hand here is how the Grimsby Institute and YCC have handled it. Rumours are flying around everywhere at the moment, and as both sites have apparently already been bough, there's bound to be multiple questions on our lips, coloured with both concern for the building we love so much and concern for our own education: what's next for our beloved college? What will the building become? What will college life be like at the new campus? Who will be taking over to replace the staff we have lost? And while the work in seeking out some of the answers to our queries are a case of seeing how things go; others really should have been sorted out prior to all of the publicity so we could contain or at least manage some of the uproar and student protest - our voices of course are as important as any, but not everyone has gone about speaking up in the right way.
We're barely at the start of the moving process and yet already we've lost at least three members of staff, including the main Performing Arts tutor Laura Hawley; leaving the entirety of the Performing Arts department without a single tutor as John Pattison has had to step down from his post as tutor on the course in order to focus full-time on his music students what with the sudden loss of Progression Coach and tutor George Hoey (who was informed rather suddenly he was to be laid off in Christmas and consequently decided to leave early; which we empathise with), as well as our technician who very kindly came in to help out with our Halloween gig in spite of the fact he wasn't getting paid. The music department is now running with just 3 staff (one of whom is part-time) between 4 classes. Moves are being made to find a new Performing Arts tutor, but who knows how long it will take to find one, let alone get them acquainted with the course and our students? Our Christmas production of American Idiot has already been pushed back to February due mainly to these staff cuts. Two Art tutors were also laid off before being reinstated, thanks pretty much entirely due to Higher Education students who spoke up and demanded a meeting with the Head of the college who wanted to know where and why their tutors had gone, and exactly what the approximate £9,000 per year they were paying was going to if they were going to be on a course with nobody to teach them.
It is understandable that students are already expressing fears for their education, as well as how they will slot in with the students from main site post-move. It is fair to say we're a rather eclectic and eccentric bunch, who are used to dressing how we want and expressing ourselves how we want; as expected from arts students, but perhaps life is different on main site where courses are more 'traditional' and less creative, and we will feel we are perceived negatively. It is easy as young people when being undergoing changes in our environment to feel vulnerable or oppress ourselves in attempts to 'blend in' with social norms - which for the most part, is the exact opposite of what we should be encouraging as an arts school where creativity and expression are key factors in achieving success in our chosen fields. That's not to say that this will be the case, but when suddenly informed of such big news, it is easy to stress, speculate and consequently work oneself into a spiral of negative thoughts that once present, can easily seem to manifest themselves in real life regardless of whether they are true or not. It very much feels as though as separate sites we are very much segregated - aside from enrolment this year, I have not once been on the main site nor liaised with a single member of staff or student there. A gradual integration would be the sensible option, - perhaps some meet-ups or collaborative projects between the two campuses? For instance, we put on several gigs and events here at Westwood, but never offer any food or refreshments - why couldn't we work with our prestigious catering department to put on a spread, and show the true range of skills we can offer at YCC? Or get individuals from the Constructions courses to help us set up equipment for shows? All of these things could easily tie in with coursework on both sides as well as offer a really great opportunity to gain 'real-world' experience, and also help us get acquainted with one another pre-move. I don't believe any of us expect to get on tremendously with every single individual, but it would certainly be a good chance to test the waters before jumping into the big pond.
To give credit where credit is due, Hull University Campus does have some great facilities: but it is also lacking in many areas and will have to be quickly adapted if there's any hope of it being suitable for teaching all of the courses offered under the umbrella of YCC. Everyone will be scrabbling for the prime teaching spaces, the biggest helping of the funding pie, and the best opportunities for their students, and honestly, we really cannot blame them. They have just as much stress on their plate if not more - and in the midst of that, axing employees over Christmas time? I'm pretty sure most of the figurative plates are near breaking. Plans need to be made for facilities for us to use - unfortunately the fantastic recording studios that belonged to Hull Campus have been sold separately to the main building - otherwise we will be seriously lacking in space to record and rehearse. The Hull Campus does have some brilliant stages for performances but we will be sorely missing our theatre in the round, and places to practice, dressing rooms, etc. The main site will also need to adapt facilities to suit the courses they offer, particularly the catering spaces; and whilst all this is going on, the Campus will still be teaching university students for their final - and possibly most important - year of the course, so time is a big issue. How can we realistically expect the transfer of a college - tutoring 20 courses at various academic levels, all requiring specialist equipment - to take place over the small space between June and September (when courses will be finished and work can take place without disrupting students), with most work having to be done by tutors who will likely want their holidays and annual leave, who have been working overtime already to accommodate for staff cuts?
It's going to be a tricky move, but nonetheless a necessary one and I think it is best we open it up for discussion. I think all the staff at the college currently deserve a big, huge, ginormous thank you for all the hard work they've been putting in (and continue to) trying to keep the Westwood boat afloat this past week. And to those who have left us, this is a sorrowful farewell; we wish you all the best in the future and hope to see you again soon.
If anyone has any answers to any of my questions, or wishes to contest what I've said, or has any comments; I implore them to respond however they feel comfortable doing so - be it on this post, Facebook, email.. there's all the details you need in the 'Contact Us' section of this blog.
- Jessie Law
Sources:
http://sghsoldgirls.org.uk/School%20history/Municipal%20School.html
http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/scarborough-boys-high-school-joined-the-elite-1-5619901
http://careers.alanayckbourn.net/styled-6/styled-9/index.html
http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/education/new-name-and-new-site-for-ycc-1-8214157
By the time he had broadcast our second John Peel session we were building momentum in the independent charts and were on the verge of getting signed, by that time we were one of many bands that John Peel would play on a regular basis which no doubt helped our popularity grow immensely.
