What happens when the students move in?

COMING to a town near you - students. And with students come kebab shops and takeaways, cheap drink promotions and perhaps some traffic cones where they shouldn't be.

Problems with students have cropped up in the St John's area of Worcester already. The takeaways do a good trade but they have signs begging people to keep the noise down to keep the neighbours happy.

Some cities in Britain have areas which are virtual student ghettos and bars flogging cheap booze until 2am. It is what a new report calls 'studentification' and if it has not happened in Worcester on a major scale just yet, stand by. With a second campus and thousands more students on the cards, it may be just a matter of time.

As other cities have seen, this influx of students has led to complaints about loud music late at night, corner shops turning into takeaways and what were once quiet family homes transformed into multi-occupancy student houseshares with soaring rents.

But before you think about emigrating, it is not all bad news. With studentification comes improved public transport, increased cultural opportunities and incentives for landlords to do up properties.

The studentification report, drawn up last week for Universities UK, the vice-chancellors' group, advises universities and local councils on how to reap the benefits of students in their areas.

With plans for the University of Worcester to expand by another 5,000 students by 2012, the report will make interesting reading here.

"The evidence suggests that if universities do not act, it can cause and entrench resentment in the community," the report warns.

This resentment is creeping in already. Whether it is roadsigns dumped in people's gardens, half naked 'louts' making too much noise in the middle of the night or parked student cars congesting side streets, the university is not going unnoticed.

Simon Geraghty, the Worcester city councillor whose St Clement's ward encompasses the university campus, says residents do complain about students, but with close co-operation, that can be overcome.

"People have concerns but they are not always in proportion with the reality," he says.

"There are noise issues but as soon as there is petty theft or vandalism, students get blamed. After investigation we find it's often nothing to do with them."

Not everyone is convinced, as the number of people who complain to the university and this newspaper suggests. Last year, Hylton Road resident Laura Doherty told the Worcester News about the type of behaviour she had come to expect outside her house.

"It was going on for about an hour and they were half dressed with shoes and tops off," she said.

"They were walking along really slowly and singing really loud. I don't think it's fair. They don't have to get up in the morning and we do." The report urges universities to work with councils, residents' groups and landlords, as well as representatives from their own students' unions, to tackle potential problems.

The students' union at Worcester has promoted the Silent Students Happy Homes (SSHH!) campaign. Leaflets, posters and even lollipops to stuff in their mouths at closing time all help to send the message home. With students spending much of their time on a detached campus, and going home at the end of each term, they have few opportunities to become part of the fabric of the city.

But the university has gone out of its way to get involved with the community. It is also keen to point out that Worcester does not attract the 'typical' student.

The university's spokesman says: "Sixty per cent of our students are mature on entry and only 50 per cent are full-time meaning many are people living and working in Worcestershire who are studying for further qualifications part-time."

Coun Geraghty is convinced that through his talks with vice-chancellor Prof David Green and the university's Community Forum, the effects of studentification will be mainly positive.

"We do work hard to make sure the tension that exists in parts of other cities, such as Headingly in Leeds, does not happen here," he says.

But he does admit an increase in student numbers will bring its pressures: "More houses being bought up for multi-occupancy will create issues and that's why we want to see more building on the campus itself."

If the studentification report is correct, more students may mean more takeaways, perhaps even more noise late at night and the odd traffic cone in people's gardens.

But if managed properly, the boost to the local economy and improvements to community facilities could benefit us all.

BLACKBOARD

Music lessons are good for your children

MUSIC should be central to the school curriculum because it helps improve children's health and well-being, a study has found.

As reported on this page a fortnight ago, schools in Worcestershire are seeing the benefits of teaching their pupils a musical instrument.

Now Professor Susan Hallam, from the Institute of Education at the University of London, has said music is as important as English or maths. But she warned parents not to force their teenage children to practise because this could lead even the most talented youngsters to give up.

"Music exerts a powerful impact on our lives and is as important for a well-rounded education as reading, writing and maths," she said. "Learning to play an instrument has demonstrable effects on intelligence and, when children play music together, teaches them about co-operation and working together."

Music helps concentration, aids relaxation and can influence moods and emotions, her study found.

Take a gamble on this degree

STUDENTS will take degree courses in roulette, blackjack and poker when Britain's first gaming academy opens.

Backed by Government and European funding, Blackpool and The Fylde College has developed the academy to train future casino staff. The college has built its own training casino on site and will open the doors of the new gaming academy next month.

Fully accredited by City and Guilds, courses from GCSE to foundation degree level will be available to students over the age of 18.

They will train as 'super croupiers' and coin slot machine engineers, as well as gaining a range of other key administrative skills.

Maths teachers not specialists

ONE in four maths teachers is not a specialist in their subject, Government research has found.

Pupils taught in bottom sets for maths were more likely to have teachers without even an A-Level in the subject, the study found.

And 13 per cent of A-level physics lessons were taught by teachers who had not studied physics beyond A-level themselves.

The study, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research, found that non-specialist teachers were more likely to be working with less able pupils and in schools in deprived areas.