Bill Rammell MP addressed a dinner of 75 local stakeholders, including councillors, local university and business representatives, at Harlow’s Civic Centre last night to launch the new Anglia Ruskin University campus in Harlow which is set for completion by 2011.

Known as University Centre Harlow, the campus is set to begin construction this year and will be located on the Harlow College site. The building is funded by the East of England Development Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council.

Bill Rammell MP said: “I was really pleased to address the launch event yesterday evening. I have supported this project since its inception, meeting regularly with Harlow Council, Anglia Ruskin and Harlow College, to drive the process forward.

This project was first proposed when I was Minister of State for Higher Education when my priority was to promote wider access for all to higher education and I saw on a day-to-day basis the effect new higher education initiatives could have on areas with very low rates of HE participation. I know very well the benefits higher education can bring to someone’s life. I grew up in a council house in Harlow, went to Burnt Mill Comprehensive School, and because I had the chance to go to University this transformed my life. We need to make this possible for many more people. But we also need to offer students more flexibility but offer people the chance to study in familiar surroundings and that is what University Centre Harlow will do.

But widening access to higher education for all is not just about altruism, it is an economic necessity. As the economy grows and recovers, we are in need of the high level skills a university education brings.

In Harlow, we also need to build on the significant education improvements which have happened over the last 13 years. In 1997, 28% of pupils achieved 5 GCSE passes. This year that figure has risen to 67%. That shows real progress. We need to build on that and get many more people in Harlow educated to degree level.”