News: Rotherham rises to the new university challenge

As reported here last week, Rotherham is bidding to become the home of a new university centre. The government has announced 27 areas in England interested in establishing new higher education (HE) centres, confirming strong local support for university expansion. These are some of the first places in the country to express an interest in the Government's 'New University Challenge' which was launched earlier this year to expand the opportunities for new local HE provision. John Denham, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills said: "In these challenging economic times never have universities and colleges been more important to education, economic development, regeneration and the cultural life of our rural areas, towns and cities. "It is my ambition is to build on the successes of the last few years which have seen new centres of higher education transforming local economies and the lives of local people." Wentworth MP John Healey met Mr Denham last week to put forward the case for a new university centre in the Dearne Valley.

Rotherham