WHILE the town waits for the final decision on whether the University of Bath will come to Swindon, a special group of students is set to begin education at New College.

The New College students will start their foundation degree in health and social care at the North Star campus as part of an agreement with the University of the West of England.

New College principal Graham Taylor said Swindon needs a university but other options, like the UWE partnership, should be prized as well.

"This is a very exciting partnership," Mr Taylor said.

"It's important for us, as one of the south west's leading education providers, to offer a wide range of courses at a variety of levels.

"I have thought for some time that it would be great for the town, the area and the local economy to have a university in Swindon.

"But as the future of Bath University in the town looks increasingly uncertain we feel it's important to be able to provide higher education courses in the town through another channel.

"We're very much looking forward to working in partnership with the University of the West of England and offering a number of other higher education courses in partnership with the university.

"We hope that this will be the start of a very long and happy union."

Mr Taylor said the health and social care degree was just the first that the UWE and the college were working on.

He said the foundation degree starting next month prepared students for a career as an assistant health practitioner.

UWE's assistant vice-chancellor Dr Sheila Newby said the university wanted to bring as many courses as possible to New College and Swindon students.

"By working in partnership with New College we will be able to reach a much wider audience and provide a very positive experience for all of our students," Dr Newby said.

"We have an extensive range of courses to offer people in Wiltshire, providing a greater choice of flexible pathways.

"We expect that this will be the first of many foundation degrees and employer-focused courses offered through our partnership with New College."

New College has been rated as "outstanding" and "good" in its latest Ofsted reports.

It has 2,900 16 to 18-year-olds studying A-level and vocational qualifications and more than 10,000 adult and business learners.