Student told ‘no cash for A-level’

3:00pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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A 65-YEAR-OLD student has hit out after being told he cannot take an A-level in York.

Mature student Roger Shenton, of Connaught Way, Huntington, has taken an AS-level in law run by City of York Council at an evening class at Huntington School.

Now he wants to carry on to A-level, but he claims he’s been told the council doesn’t organise A-levels for adults outside secondary education because of cutbacks in Government funding.

Mr Shenton, who paid about £200 to sit his AS examination, claims the move is short-sighted as it will prevent older people in employment, who want to gain A-levels to move up the career ladder, from moving on.

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said it no longer offered any formal A-level classes for mature students because of funding cutbacks, stemming from a change in approach aimed at providing more vocational qualifications that either help people into work or help them progress in their current job.

Mr Shenton, who worked as a supply chain consultant before retirement and now volunteers as a tour guide, said: “I have lived here for 42 years and started doing the AS level to keep my mind ticking over, but many of the people in my AS class were in full-time employment and looking to further their careers.

“If we are no longer doing A-level courses for adults because of the Government withdrawing funding, then it means that anybody who’s left school and has subsequently decided they aren’t sufficiently well qualified to move on in their careers, or to take a career break and move on and go to university, are stuck.

“For me, it means the £200 I have already spent doing the AS is pretty much wasted money, because I can’t go on and do the A-level as I had planned. But for other people, who are still in full-time employment, it means they can’t better themselves by traditional means.”

A City of York Council spokeswoman, said: “The council receives all its funding for adult learning from the Learning and Skills Council.

“The focus nationally on adult learning has changed in recent years and the Learning and Skills Council’s priority is to equip learners with basic skills and vocational qualifications that will be beneficial in a work environment.

“As a result, the council is no longer able to offer A-level courses for adults.”