A Welsh Mountain College for the World

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BBC Radio Wales - A Welsh Mountain College for the World

On a Welsh hilltop, a revolution in education is beginning. Selma Chalabi finds out more.

On a Welsh hilltop, a new college has opened. Black Mountains College is its name, and tackling climate change is its business. Selma Chalabi charts the progress of its first term.

High in an idyllic corner of the Black Mountains, a revolution in education is beginning. On a hilltop above the small town of Talgarth, a new college has opened. Its name is Black Mountains College. Its aim is to create thinkers who can take on the biggest challenge of our time - climate change.

“In its most naked ambition, Black Mountains College is about creating new kinds of humans.” So states founder Ben Rawlance.  Ultimately, Ben plans to start a new degree, the Black Mountains College degree, which will combine ecology and rural skills with creative strands and critical thinking such as performing arts and philosophy. 

But in 2021, the college doors opened for the first time to welcome 16 new students on to their NVQ and Black Mountains Diploma programme. Selma Chalabi charts the progress of the first term of this brand new college. 

Presenter and Producer: Selma Chalabi
An Overcoat Media production

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