Isolation fears as fees 'price out' older students

A group of elderly students say they face becoming socially isolated after the cost of their college course more than doubled, leaving them "priced out", with friendships "torn apart".

The students of upholstery, who are mostly aged between 70 and 80, attend weekly classes run by the Warwickshire College Group (WCG) at Leamington Spa College.

The course previously cost about £250 per term, however from September the fees will jump to £561.

A spokesperson for WCG said the previous fee at £7.57 an hour did not "adequately cover the costs of delivering the course" and the increase was essential in order to keep the course "financially viable".

The group added that without the increase, the course would need to be closed.

But Jennifer Handscombe, 79, who has attended classes for more than seven years, described attendees as a "community".

"There a lot of people who are dreadfully upset, there has been tears and people are genuinely worried," she said.

"It is something that has been part of their lives for so long, it is something that they do every week with a group of people that they know and love."

Underlining her point the college had been an important source of interaction for people, she added: "We've learnt valuable skills, had our brains stimulated and our bodies kept active - but now we are being priced out of this activity."

She said that relationships formed between staff and students would be "torn apart".

A WCG spokesperson said leisure courses, which made up about 2% of the college's curriculum income, were "fully self-funded by participants" and were not supported by the Government or loans.

They added that a minimum price of £17 had been set per teaching hour for the courses, which ensured other areas of the college did not need to subsidise the fees.

Ms Handscombe acknowledged that cheaper classes were offered by the local authority, but said it was the quality of the college's teaching that drew the students.

"You're working with a group of people who you have developed a connection with and the tutors who run the courses are brilliant and do an amazing job," she said