THE University of South Wales’ Foundation Art course has held its final exhibition, following 50 years of teaching in Newport.

USW announced last September that its Caerleon campus was to close, with teaching to finish at the site in summer 2016.

Staff on the art and design course were informed not to recruit students for next year and four members of staff have been made redundant, following the course’s conclusion last Friday (June 12).

The two-week exhibition marked the final chapter for the course and around 45 students displayed their work, which encompassed fashion, fine art, photography, design and film.

A number of former students were in attendance to support the course and fine art lecturer Ed Jeavons said it was a fitting way to bow out.

He said: “It was really good and there was a lot of ambitious work.

“We’ve never let what’s happened affect teaching and all our students are going onto the degree courses they wanted.

“The battle is over now and it’s sad to finally give up. It’s been a fantastic course and the university will only realise that when it’s gone.”

Course leader Charles Penwarden added: “It was a bittersweet experience, knowing it was our final show in what has been such a great route for creative people.

“The course is extremely good for Newport and its legacy will live on through the students who have come through it.

“We’ve accepted the inevitable and hope the university doesn’t regret it in the future.”

Future students now face travelling to Crosskeys for the nearest alternative course A USW spokesman said: “The university has explained the reasoning for its academic decision to cease the Foundation Art course at Caerleon as it focuses its offer on Higher Education courses, noting that Foundation Art is also provided to learners at Coleg Gwent.

“We appreciate, of course, that the staff who are directly affected continue to disagree with that decision.”