NEW buildings, more students and yet another name change are all on the cards as the College of Ripon and York St John prepares for the next academic year.

The college's Ripon campus closed in the summer, paving the way for a boost in the number of students and courses in York, from this autumn.

And it also threw up the need for another name change for the college.

Known across the city by its oldest name, St John's, the college has previously been known as the University College of Ripon and York St John, and just Ripon and York.

From October 1, it will be known simply as York St John College.

The change will be marked by a service for the blessing of the name in the college chapel, which will be performed by the Rt Rev Humphrey Taylor, Bishop of Selby.

Last year, 200 Ripon students moved over to the York site, and this year the remaining 500, who would have been at Ripon, will all be based at York.

Over the summer, the Lord Mayor's Walk campus has been refurbished to the tune of £3.7 million, and work has included improving the Students' Union building, the film and TV edit suites and the dance studio.

A new residential development has also been developed in a former nurses' home in Haxby Road, and accommodation for the rest of the students has been found within the city's private rented accommodation stock.

Elsewhere in York, building work on two major developments for the college is due to start during the next academic year.

Work on the Next Generation Club tennis centre, in Hull Road, which the college will be using for sports, is due to start in the next four to five weeks, and is scheduled for opening in autumn 2002.

Building work on its own Learning Centre development, on the Clarence Street Coach Park site, is due to start in January.

At the moment the college is in final negotiations with the City of York Council to buy the site.

Professor Bill Wardle, deputy principal, said: "I am delighted that the programme of refurbishment undertaken at our Lord Mayor's Walk Campus is continuing on schedule and will be ready for the arrival of students later this September. "This is an exciting step forward in the college's programme of development.

"The launch of our new name - York St John College - on October 1, 2001, will be another clear signal that our plans for strategic change and the enhancement of college facilities are proceeding on schedule."

Updated: 11:26 Tuesday, September 04, 2001