Students taking legal action against UCL over its teaching during the Covid pandemic and university strikes have said they want to proceed to a full trial after talks aimed at finding an out-of-court resolution broke down.
The case – which could have wide-ranging implications for the whole of the UK sector – has been paused since last summer when a judge, Barbara Fontaine, gave the parties eight months to attempt to find a compromise via “some form of ADR [alternative dispute resolution]”.
Ahead of the 17 March deadline for this order expiring, both parties have agreed to lift the stay in proceedings to allow the litigation to continue. The court is now expected to hold a case management hearing to determine next steps.
Student Group Claim – the organisation that is organising the legal action on behalf of 924 current and former UCL students – said talks had taken place during January 2024 but had failed to reach an agreement.
