Talks bring college merger closer

A PARTNERSHIP between Heythrop College and St Mary’s University appears more likely after it was announced that talks between the two Catholic institutions are to continue.

News of a planned “strategic partnership” between the Jesuit-run college, which is part of the University of London, and St Mary’s in Twickenham, south-west London, emerged in July.

In a statement, Heythrop said its governing body had agreed to “continue examining the detail” of a proposed partnership while St Mary’s said a “due diligence process” was taking place and governors were given an update on this process at their meeting last Thursday. More news is expected later in the autumn.

It is not clear whether the discussions will lead to a complete merger or whether some independence of the institutions will be retained.

Heythrop, a specialist theology and philosophy college, has been struggling with a budget shortfall and a falling number of students. It is located on a prime site in Kensington, west London, and it is understood that any partnership would mean Heythrop retaining its presence there. Fr Michael Holman, principal of Heythrop, said: “Being in central London has been very important to us through the years. We currently have 240 postgraduate students and a lot of them depend on a central London location.”

He said he could understand that the negotiations had led to uncertainty among staff and students at Heythrop, but insisted he provided regular updates for all those who would be affected by the changes.

St Mary’s University is a former  Catholic teacher-training college which has recently been granted full university status. Its vice ­chancellor is Francis Campbell, former British ambassador to the Holy See.