Police sent to West Bromwich college 10 TIMES in one month
Police were sent to a Black Country college 10 times in one month, prompting fears over student safety.
Officers attended Health Futures University Technical College in West Bromwich 11 times in January.
They dealt with reports of four crimes, two incidents of disorder and five public safety alerts. One arrest was recorded.
The police incidents at the college were only made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.
But a spokesman for University Technical Colleges attempted to play down the reports last night.
He said some of the incidents were ‘probably’ down to problems outside the college, on the town's High Street.
He said: “Our primary responsibility is to ensure the safety and welfare of the students at our school.
“In accordance with our safeguarding policy, staff report anything they see or are made aware of that which could impact the safety of our students or any member of the public.”
He added: “Our school is located on a busy High Street, and a number of the calls in the police log probably refer to calls made by our own staff about disorderly conduct very close to our premises.
“We will continue to maintain our robust safeguarding procedures so that all our students feel safe while they are at Health Futures UTC.”
On the college opening, Robert Fell was appointed principal, but according to a letter sent out to parents he has stepped aside because of ill health.
James Harding is the acting principal.
The college is the first of its kind to offer students the opportunity to specialise in preparing for a job in the health service.
In partnership with the University of Wolverhampton and West Midlands Ambulance Service, students split time between traditional GCSE subjects and health and social care.
It is also in partnership with 18 other health, education and public sector organisations from across West Midlands.
It is designed to provide national qualification teaching with hands-on project learning with healthcare professionals.
Students are aged between 14 and 19.
Last month it was named among a list of schools to have fallen below the Government’s performance threshold in 2017.
