Agenda item

Report of the Principal.

A report of the Principal updated Governors on a number of general issues which included:

·         Awards & Prizes

·         Milton Court

·         Taught Degree-Awarding Powers (TDAP)

·         2013 Admissions

·         2014 Admissions

·         Brand Review, Visual Identity and Fundraising Case for Support

·         Programme Developments

·         Regional and International Developments

·         Enterprise

Milton Court

With regard to Milton Court, the number of outstanding snags had reduced to just 290 of the 6,098 that had been identified.

A serious flaw remains with the building due to the build-up of excessive heat in the fly tower of the theatre largely due to the theatre stage lighting.

Excessive heat could have a destabilising impact on the control systems for the automated flying system causing the flying system to power down. A Member asked whether there were good grounds to recover the potential financial losses to the School as a result of the problem with the fly tower heat build-up. Officers explained that the installations comply with the design specification but it also appeared that the design complied with the design brief, so there seemed to be no clear contractual recourse. The contractor and professional team were co-operating closely in seeking a solution, not least because there would be reputational issues if they were left unresolved.

2013 Admissions

Admissions were said to be going well and in response to a question, around confidence that the School was attracting the best students (despite high acceptance rates), the Principal explained that all Heads of Institution sought the very best students. The Board was asked to note that the School was operating in a very competitive domestic and international market. It was apparent that applicants were attracted to studying in London owing to its reputation. A mix of affordability (for domestic students) and tighter immigration controls (for international students) all represented a challenge to the School when attracting top class students. This meant that, ultimately, all UK universities were competing to attract a smaller pool of talented individuals.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.