Petition Statement:

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has announced a plan to end all undergraduate teaching at its Lampeter campus by September 2025, a decision that would sever nearly 200 years of Lampeter’s role as a centre of higher education and devastate the local community. As alumni, students, and supporters, we call upon UWTSD and the Welsh Government to protect Lampeter’s legacy and commit to a sustainable future for this historic campus.

Our Demands:

1. Deep and Transparent Consultation: UWTSD must engage meaningfully with all stakeholders, including current students, staff, alumni, and the local community, to ensure that any decision regarding the campus’s future is fully informed by those who care most deeply about its heritage and potential.
2. Commitment to Sustainable Solutions: Rather than abandoning Lampeter’s undergraduate provision, UWTSD should commit to a strategy that revitalises the campus, leverages the unique academic and cultural appeal that Lampeter has held for nearly two centuries, and makes use of the considerable skills, knowledge, and dedication of its alumni.
3. Adherence to UWTSD’s Charter and Mission: As outlined in UWTSD’s Royal Charter, the university has a constitutional responsibility to maintain “a significant physical University presence” at Lampeter. Closing undergraduate provision would effectively hollow out the campus, eroding its educational mission and violating the university’s own mandate to uphold Lampeter’s historic role within Welsh higher education.

Why This Matters:

Lampeter is not only Wales’s oldest university institution but a pillar of its educational and cultural history. By allowing undergraduate teaching to end, UWTSD would undermine the very essence of Lampeter’s mission, weaken the local economy, and sever its historic role as a centre of learning. The town of Lampeter, the alumni community, and the people of Wales deserve better.

Our Goal:

We urge UWTSD and the Welsh Government to halt the planned end of undergraduate teaching at Lampeter and instead work with all stakeholders to create a viable, sustainable plan for the campus. This must include a serious investment in new courses, marketing, and student recruitment efforts to ensure Lampeter’s relevance and appeal for future generations.

Sign the petition to support Lampeter’s legacy and demand a solution that honours its unique role in Welsh education and culture.