Ann Southwood; Celebrating 80 years of second chances

In Midlothian, the former home of an ancient family was signed over to the nation to be used for the purposes of education. However, the growing world crisis, foreshadowed by events in Spain, meant that Newbattle Abbey College’s role – to give adults a second chance at higher education – was quickly stopped in its tracks as it was requisitioned for the war effort.

As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, those days seem very far away – but Newbattle remains a small, specialist college different from any other further or higher education institution in Scotland. It has a specific aim and that goal that has enabled the college to thrive over the years since it welcomed students back after the trauma of the Second World War.

As Scotland’s Adult Education Residential College, Newbattle offers adults with few or no qualifications the opportunity to experience a high quality, transformative learning experience within a historic heritage site. Our motto is Sero Sed Serio (Late but in Earnest), and describes our students who are 19 years of age or over, returning to education after diverse life experiences. The college built further on our national role across Scotland with the launch of Adult Achievement Awards in 2015. The awards accredit adults for their informal learning in a variety of contexts such as community, volunteering and in the workplace and recognise the capability of those who are sometimes at the margins of society.

Ann Southwood - Principle of Newbattle Abbey College.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits this approach brings to wider society.

Visiting the college in April, cabinet secretary for education, John Swinney MSP, said: “Those who have participated in the Adult Achievement Awards have grown in confidence and their self-esteem has been strengthened, as well as their capacity to exercise self-determination. This all helps them to achieve great outcomes in their lives.”

Reflecting on that 80 years of helping people achieve great outcomes is very humbling. Right from the early days, Newbattle has had a genuinely transformational impact on those who have studied here.

As with other institutions serving our community, we must change and adapt appropriately to new circumstances. Newbattle is constantly innovating and looking at new areas where we can serve our growing community.

One of these new areas is how we use our wonderful grounds to help students who struggle to get the best from school. Newbattle is considering how we can develop as a forest college, helping youngsters and others develop rural skills that can help them find employment in our thriving countryside.

We are also looking at how, in the year of heritage and history, we can connect people across the Lothians to Scotland’s rich Gaelic community through teaching and learning. We’ve teamed up with the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust charity refurbishing Edinburgh’s historic Riddle’s Court to offer introductory courses in Gaelic for a new generation whose interest in the language is stimulated in a variety of ways, including the popular Outlander television series.

At our main campus, the college continues to modernise its facilities to meet environmental standards expected in the 21st century. Despite being a category A listed building we now have new energy-efficient boilers and lighting and modern insulation – innovations unheard of in the pre-war days of the 1930s. Significant recent investment by the Scottish Government through the Scottish Funding Council has made this possible.

What has remained unchanged is the need for Newbattle as Scotland’s specialist adult education college to provide a route into further and higher education for those who have missed out earlier in their lives. Well-known students includes Orkney poet George Mackay Brown, MSP Alex Rowley (whose daughter Danielle is now our local MP) and former MSP Jean Urquhart, who has returned to the College to serve on our Board of Governors.

As we celebrate 80 years, it’s time to look to the future with new investment and innovative ways of doing what we do best – helping people across Scotland reach their full potential through life-changing learning.

Ann Southwood is Principal of Newbattle Abbey College