New 'college' of the humanities that's not just for the rich

By Peter Wilby. A new project aims to set up free liberal arts courses for poorer students, using London as a 'giant lecture hall', writes Peter Wilby. When the philosopher AC Grayling announced his plans for the New College of the Humanities in 2011, he argued that, mainly because of government funding cuts, the liberal arts were under threat. Many academics agreed. But Grayling's project, later realised with the opening of a college in Bloomsbury, central London, had a catch: annual fees of £18,000, twice what conventional universities usually charge and with no access to upfront government loans. Read more...