Plater College

Plater College was an adult education establishment which was based in Headington, Oxford.

College history

It was founded in 1922 by the Rev. Leo O'Hea, S.J. (1881-1976), director of the Catholic Social Guild, in memory of the Father Charles Dominic Plater S.J., who died in Malta in 1921. The College was originally called the Catholic Workers College, and was located on Walton Well Road in Oxford where it remained until 1955, when it moved to Boars Hill. [ [http://www.headington.org.uk/oxon/old_oxford/walton_street/plater_college.htm Old Oxford Walton Street-Plater College] ] Under the leadership of Joseph Kirwan (1910-2005), who became principal in 1962, it was renamed Plater College in 1965, and moved from makeshift facilities at Boars Hill to a new purpose-built residential college in Headington in the late 1970s. [ [http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2005/3/31/4184.html Joseph Kirwin Obituary "Oxford Daily Mail"] March 31, 2005.] [ [http://www.headington.org.uk/history/pullens_lane/pullens_fairfield.htm Old Oxford The Pullens, Pullens Lane] ]

Plater College was home to the G. K. Chesterton Institute in the UK, and the G. K. Chesterton Library, and publisher of Second Spring. [ [http://academic.shu.edu/chesterton/PDF/Review_FebMay_2002.pdf The Chesterton Review Vol XXVIII Nos 1&2 February/May 2002] ] [ [http://www.secondspring.co.uk/ Second Spring] ]

Educational mission

It offered further education with an emphasis on Catholic social teaching to Catholics who had missed educational opportunities or who were in work. It was a sister-school to secular Ruskin College. Although not a part of Oxford University, Plater College was among the eight non-university institutions whose members are eligible for Long-Term Temporary Membership in the Oxford Union. [ [http://www.oxford-union.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/723/Union_Rules.pdf The Rules, Standing Orders, and Special Schedules of the Oxford Union Society] ]

Closure

The college closed in July 2005 following a negative report from the Adult Learning Inspectorate [The ALI was merged into the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills in April, 2007.] released in November 2004 and the dismissal of its principal, Robert Beckinsale, amid recriminations and allegations of scandal. The trustees announced that the decision to close had been taken because "acceptably high standards of education can no longer be assured at Plater". [ [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=200278&sectioncode=26 Philpot, Terry No second chance for giver of fresh starts. "Times Higher Education"] December 9, 2005.]

The Plater College Foundation was formed to opposed the closure, and sued the college trustees, Board of Governors and the Catholic Education Service. The lawsuit was dropped when the foundation ran out of funds. [ [http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2005/11/9/89371.html Objectors drop college action "Oxford Daily Mail"] November 9, 2005.]

The college's 267-acre campus in Pullens Lane, one of the most exclusive residential areas of Headington, was sold a year later to EF Language Schools for £5.6 million. [ [http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.814307.0.plater_college_sells_for_5_6m.php Little, Reg Plater College Sells for £5.6m "Oxford Daily Mail"] June 30, 2006.]

References

External links

* [http://www.plater.ac.uk Plater College]
* [http://platercollegefoundation.com Plater College Foundation]