La Sainte Union (LSU) in Southampton was a teacher training college. It was owned and run by the La Sainte Union des Sacrés Coeurs order of nuns, and this Catholic background was reflected in the student makeup.
In addition to teacher training the LSU also provided first degree courses in the Humanities, particularly history (notably American and Soviet), English and foreign languages (B.A. Combined Studies, B.A. Modern Foreign Languages & European Studies, Theology). Although the education was provided by independent lecturers and professors the courses were overseen by the University of Southampton and degrees (both ordinary and honours) awarded by the University. Towards the end of its time the LSU also started moving into medical training.
In April 1997 the Teacher Training Agency decided to withdraw accreditation for the college's teacher training courses, forcing the college to close. This followed the college's failure to pass an important academic validation inspection after which Bishop of Portsmouth Anthony Emery was quoted as saying "The full story cannot be told at the present time". At that stage the college employed 315 staff and had over 2,000 students. The teacher training programmes were taken over by nearby education providers, including the University of Southampton, Chichester College of Higher Education and King Alfred's College, Winchester.
The college campus was taken over by the University of Southampton and became a campus of the university called New College, specialising in adult and continuing education programmes. The New College campus was sold by the university in 2006, and the educational activities on the site moved to Southampton University's main campuses at Highfield and Boldrewood.
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