The principal of Kensington and Chelsea College has resigned with immediate effect, FE Week can reveal.
Staff at the college were informed of Mark Brickley’s departure on Monday (October 31), after his resignation was accepted by the corporation the previous Friday (October 28).
A spokesperson for the college would only say that Mr Brickley had stepped down for “personal reasons”. She declined to go into any more detail.
Bill Blythe, previously interim vice principal finance and resources at the college, has been appointed interim principal.
Mr Brickley took over at Kensington and Chelsea in September 2013, before he was interviewed for an FE Week profile piece three months later, having previously been vice principal at Guildford College for nine years.
The 3,350-learner college received a ‘requires improvement’ rating following its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2015, having received the same grade at two previous inspections in 2013 and 2012.
It is currently involved in the central London area review of post-16 education and training, which is expected to complete later in November.
He was unavailable for comment this week, but told previously spoke to FE Week about his passion for the sector.
“I believe FE changes lives, I really do, and that’s what I’m always striving to do in this job [at Kensington and Chelsea College],” he said. “I’ve got this thing called the ‘toothbrush test’. It’s just me, as a human being, looking in the mirror twice a day, brushing saying ‘you’ve done a good job, you’ve worked hard today and fundamentally you’re a decent human being.’
Mr Brickley added: “You only get one crack at this life, and if you can say that honestly, every day, you’ve done well.”
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