College of Law boosts students numbers in NW

The College of Law has witnessed a 30 per cent jump in students signing up to study at the LPC providers North West branches, a trend which some claim will halt the brain drain to London.

The colleges chief executive Nigel Savage argued that the launch of the 5.5m Manchester centre in September 2009 is not driving students away from its Chester branch. The net effect of our Manchester launch is a substantial rise in the number of our students in the North West, explained Savage.

The significant rise in applications is not only extremely encouraging for the region, but shows weve responded to a clear demand and to the needs of local regional law firms, added Savage.

Leanne Instrall, who is a second year law and politics student at the University of Manchester, will be applying to the new branch in a bid to stay in the area. She said: I had thought that I would have to move to London for my professional training after I had finished my degree, but now I can stay here in a city that I really love."

Manchesters legal sector has grown by 25 per cent in the last five years and the city now stands as the second largest financial and professional centre in the UK.

Regional director at the college Tricia Chatterton said the retention of talent in the area could only have positive repercussions on the surrounding industry. She added: Our opening of a new centre in Manchester is an important step in halting the brain drain to London.

Since announcing the launch of its Manchester branch the college has signed up Pinsent Masons and Pannone for its bespoke LPC. The college has also been the exclusive LPC provider for Cobbetts and Halliwells for a number of years.

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