Woolas lobbies for £20m science centre

AN MP is set to demand Government backing for a £20 million science centre at Oldham Sixth Form College.

A budget black hole at the Learning and Skills Council had threatened to throw the plans for the centre into jeopardy, but Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Phil Woolas has vowed to lobby fellow ministers to ensure that funding is secured.

Mr Woolas, college principal Nick Brown and council officers are to thrash out the future of the state-of-the-art centre with Schools Minister Jim Knight at a meeting later this month.

A bid for the science centre has been submitted and Mr Woolas will set out the case for it being made part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future project, which will revamp all secondary schools across the borough.

Mr Woolas said: “I think the case for the science centre is complete and overwhelming. The money is there, now we need ministers to show imagination to give us the go-ahead.

“The transition of Oldham to a knowledge-based economy is critical to our future. Give young people the tools and they will do the job. It could help change Oldham into a university town.

“There is a shortage of science graduates and this would help get students interested in science earlier on. If we have a state-of-the-art centre where the students can undertake proper experiments, it could make a huge difference.”

He said the new block would provide laboratories and increase students’ interest in science which could later be extended to university students.

His move comes days after the Chronicle revealed only six of the 15 Oldham secondaries had students taking separate science exams for their GCSE.

Most students are opting for the core science course‚ which was introduced in 2006 with the aim of making the subject more relevant to pupils not intending to study it at university.
It examines topical issues, such as GM crops and global warming, while an additional science GCSE can also be taken, offering a more practical focus.