“COMPETITION and chaos” was how David Adleman, principal of Godalming College, described the landscape in further education in the light of recent government policies at a meeting of the progressive left South West Surrey Compass Group this month.

He described the impact of unfettered choice and the opening of free schools and academies with new sixth forms as “destabilising”, particularly when there are outstanding providers of post-16 education such as Godalming College able to meet the needs of students.

The principal also condemned previous cuts in further education funding, which amount to a 30 per cent cut in real terms since the Tory-led coalition government came into office in 2010.

However, he welcomed the government’s recent decision not to implement the planned additional cuts to the further education budget.

Mr Adleman reserved particular criticism for the government’s curriculum reform.

“By focusing on so-called ‘facilitating subjects’, the government was undervaluing subjects such as music, art, drama and dance”, he said.

By moving towards A-levels based on terminal examinations rather than modular courses, and moving back to students typically taking three rather than four subjects, the government was “turning the clock back”.

Mr Adleman, who retires as principal of Godalming College at the end of the current academic year, was addressing the South West Surrey Compass Group at the Unitarian Church Hall on Meadrow in Godalming to talk about the impact of cuts to the further education budget.

It followed a previous meeting in Godalming this summer addressed by Jonathan Stewart, an education consultant who alerted the group to the dire impact of the further education cuts locally.

The South West Surrey Compass Group is part of the national Compass organisation that describes itself as “the home for everyone who wants to be part of a much more equal, democratic and sustainable future”.

The local group comprises members who belong to the local Labour Party, Green Party and the Liberal Democrats, as well as many who are progressive minded but belong to no political party.

The meeting was also attended and addressed by Jacqui Howard, national organiser for Compass, who talked about the change in Compass from a group within the Labour Party to a much more broadly based progressive group that offers “a new kind of politics”.

“How we do things is just as important as what we do”, she said.

The next meeting of the South West Surrey Compass Group is due to take place at on Saturday, March 5, at the Unitarian Church Hall in Meadrow, Godalming.