The last part of my career in FE was teaching Access students. These were able people who, for one reason or another, had missed out at school. They had enormous enthusiasm for education and were, for the most part, very well read - a pleasure to teach. On my last day at college, one of our former students arrived to tell us that he had just gained a first class degree in psychology - this, in spite of being dyslexic. Even if this had been our only successful student it would have been a perfect argument for retaining Access courses, but there were many others.If this lifeline is withdrawn from the over-21s, there will be a terrible waste of talent, ability and enthusiasm. A dreadful false economy.