Foreign music students face deportation in visa row

Future music stars may face deportation: Labrinth, Trevor Nelson, Phillips Idowu, Leona Lewis with Hackney school students at the Hackney Empire in 2011. Photograph: BBC / Mark Allan

Foreign students at a music college in Hackney are facing deportation after a decision by the UK Border Agency.

Point Blank Music School had its licence to sponsor visas revoked in March by the UKBA, which says the college broke the rules when offering places. The college says 30 to 40 students may have to leave the UK despite being half way through their course.

Jules Brookes, Managing Director of Point Blank, said: “It is most unfortunate that Point Blank, an upstanding, bona fide learning institute has been included in an apparent cull aimed at reducing illegal immigration.

“We are not a ‘bogus language school’ and have been Highly Trusted Sponsors for over ten years for good reason. We passed the necessary inspection as recently as January 2013 and received highest marks in all categories.”

Mr Brookes said the UKBA turned down a number of the college’s suggestions for people wishing to study with them last year, and revoked Point Blank’s licence for this reason.

He continued: “This is not about Point Blank and our losses as a local Hackney business. It is about our current students who are halfway through their courses having been issued visas already prior to entering the country.

“It is unnecessarily punitive of UKBA to treat our current students as if they had done something wrong and to threaten them with forcible removal from the country.”

The students have 60 days to find another visa sponsor, such as different college. Point Blank is speaking to other music schools to allow the students to finish their studies with them. It has also arranged for the students to be able to complete their courses online.

Point Blank Music School, whose former students include singer Leona Lewis, will reapply for a visa licence to accept foreign students.

The college received a message of support this week from Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong. He said: “Point Blank Music School is an excellent learning institution and is something we should be proud of in the UK.

“Far from revoking its licence, we should be applauding Point Blank as a fine example of UK education in the creative and media field.”

A spokesperson for the UK Border Agency said: “Point Blank Music College’s licence to sponsor non-EU students has been revoked because it offered too many places to students who failed to meet the rules.

“Education providers who bring in overseas students must provide high quality education and take their immigration responsibilities seriously.

“The government will continue to do everything possible, working with the education sector, to assist genuine students who have been affected.”