Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
We are writing to make you aware of upcoming industrial action by the RMT union members, which is expected to affect bus services across Cornwall on the following dates:
- Wednesday 18 November
- Wednesday 25 November
- Wednesday 02 December
- Wednesday 09 December
- Wednesday 16 December
- Wednesday 23 December (college closed for Christmas break)
Go Cornwall has advised that, due to uncertainty around staffing levels and the potential disruption, all dedicated school and college bus services will be suspended on these dates.
This includes services specifically timetabled to transport students to and from college. Although some normal public bus services may continue to operate, these are likely to experience significant and unpredictable disruption. Students who travel via the OTS service will not be affected.
The college will be OPEN as normal on 18 and 25 November and 02, 09 and 16 December. It will be closed on 23 December for the Christmas break. We strongly advise students and families to make alternative travel arrangements if possible. Please do not rely on other public bus services as an alternative, as there is no guarantee that services will operate as scheduled, particularly for the return journey home.
Rail users – transport from the railway station
For students travelling by train, we want to reassure you that our Hopleys Coaches shuttle services to and from the railway station will continue to operate as normal and will not be affected by the industrial action.
However, the usual Go Cornwall shuttle buses operating after the morning train arrivals will not be running.
To minimise disruption, the college will be using minibuses to transport students from the railway station to college during the morning peak period.
Reporting student absence
If your young person is unable to attend college due to the bus strike and you cannot make alternative travel arrangements, please report their absence using the link below:
https://portal.truro-penwith.ac.uk
If students are unable to attend lessons, they should use the time productively by completing any outstanding assignments or coursework from home if they can. Alternatively, they could use this opportunity to update their Navigate platform with relevant work experience or make progress with their UCAS application (second year students).
We appreciate that this may cause difficulties for some families and apologise for the inconvenience. We will continue to monitor the situation and share any further updates as they become available.
More details of the planned industrial action can be found on the Transport for Cornwall website at: RMT industrial action: important travel advice – Transport for Cornwall
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Senior Management Team
