HEAD of Alton College, Michael Gray, has come to the defence of students in the Petersfield area after

a stinging attack on

sixth-form colleges by HampshireÕs Age Concern director, Chris Perry.

President of the College StudentsÕ Union, A-level student Alex Davies from Steep, has also expressed outrage at what he slammed as Òunfounded remarksÓ.

Their anger came after Mr Perry put the blame on large sixth-form colleges following a survey which revealed a growing fear of crime among older people.

Mr Perry said that statistically older people were less likely to fall victim to street crime than any other age group, and yet two-thirds believed that the older one got the more likely it was Òand many caring and fun-loving younger people have no perception of how intimidating their behaviour might seemÓ.

He said much of the blame lay in large sixth-form colleges where young people were given no responsibility for others, subjected to Òadverse peer group influence associated with adolescenceÓ and only had to attend for a few hours a week.

But this week Mr Gray told The Herald his students, their teachers, parents and grandparents had every right to feel angry at Mr PerryÕs comments.

ÒI am very proud to be principal of this outstanding sixth-form college and I am very proud of the young people who come here as sixth-form students who are a pleasure to be with. They have a very strong sense of community and their idealism is infectious. I believe they face greater challenges than any previous generation has done and they face them admirably.Ó

He added: ÒNowadays, they take four or five subjects at A-level compared with three in the past and face important examinations in the first year of the sixth form as well as at the end.Ó

ÒSixth-form colleges like Alton provide a well-disciplined and effective environment in which sixth formers can develop into young adults.Ó

And Alex Davies asked: ÒWhere does Chris Perry get his evidence from? Does he base his remarks on accurate analysis of crime reports in the local area? Do such crime reports record details of the current education establishment of all the perpetrators? Or is he just swinging an axe at any likely group of young people who gather together for the purposes of education?Ó