LAMPETER is to cease to have any university education with its humanities courses transferred to Carmarthen, ending undergraduate teaching at Wales’ oldest university, following a decision by University of Wales Trinity St David .
Lampeter University students learned of the decision just days after more than 100 students and alumni took their battle to save the university to the Senedd.
Former students, including Escape to the Country TV presenter Jules Hudson, travelled to Cardiff from all over the UK to take part in a four-hour protest outside the Senedd on Tuesday, January 21.
They were joined by Lampeter residents and councillors, along with current students, who came down by coach from the former St David’s University College.
The students face having to move in September to a different campus in Carmarthen under controversial plans by the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) to relocate all humanities courses away from Lampeter.
This would end undergraduate education after almost 200 years in the town.
Protesters held banners declaring “St David V Goliath” and “Achub campws Llambed” (Save the Lampeter campus).
Speeches of support were given by several members of the Senedd, including Cefin Campbell and Adam Price, town councillor and former student Rhys Bebb Jones, and TV presenter and ex-archaeology student Jules Hudson.
MS Elin Jones called for a more appropriate time frame for the decision and for current students to be able to complete their courses in Lampeter, and for the Welsh Government to intervene.
The protest was organised by Esther Weller of the Lampeter Society, a group of thousands of Lampeter alumni, and was staged a month after around 100 campaigners marched through Lampeter and held a demonstration outside the university.
A petition to save the university has come close to collecting 6,000 signatures online and on paper.
Since then, a letter from University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) Chief Operating Officer Peter Mannion has been received today, January 23, and shared by students.
It says: “On November 11, 2024 the University informed students and staff at the Lampeter campus of a proposal to move its current and future Humanities teaching and learning to the UWTSD campus in Carmarthen from September 2025.
“Since then, the University has engaged in regular conversations with students and staff to listen to their responses to the proposal and undertaken a formal consultation with trades unions and affected staff. Discussions have also been held with external stakeholders representing local, regional and national interests.
“The University has now concluded its decision-making process and approved the proposal to relocate its Humanities provision from Lampeter to Carmarthen.
“The preparation and practical considerations for this forthcoming change will be communicated with you over the next few weeks.
“We are very grateful for the engagement from students and staff which has made an essential contribution to challenging and helping to further develop the original proposal.
“As you know, the Lampeter campus is of great importance to the University. We will shortly be establishing a mechanism by which we can involve stakeholders in proposing a range of economically viable, education-related activities that would bring a new, sustainable lease of life to the campus.”
The University of Wales Trinity St David has published an identical statement.
