David Vasse has been appointed as the new principal of Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College.

He joins the college with a wealth of experience working in the FE sector, having worked at five sixth form colleges over the past two decades.

During his career, Mr Vasse has worked for Ofsted, and was principal of John Leggott Sixth Form College from 2010. For six years he served as vice principal of Alton College, and was also a teacher of modern foreign languages.

He holds an MSc in organisational development from the University of Sussex, and specialises in organisation design and people development.

Mr Vasse says he “can’t wait to get started” and is looking forward to providing young people with a “compelling post-16 study choice”.

He added: “Monoux is an exceptionally valuable place of learning, with a very bright future. The college has seen an important and positive improvement in student success and must now be led confidently and swiftly to a higher level of achievement.”

Mr Vasse will take over from current principal Nic Dakin on 1st October.

Meanwhile, Mark Wardle has been appointed the first ever principal of the new Callywith College in Bodmin.

For the past six years, Mr Wardle has acted as Truro and Penwith College’s director of curriculum, and previously worked in a number of post-16 institutions, including sixth forms in Leeds, Eastbourne and Hastings.

After studying law at Reading University, he realised it wasn’t the career path he wanted to pursue and, seeing how much his mum enjoyed her job as a teacher, decided to undertake a PGCE focused on further education.

Mr Wardle says he wants to ensure that students who come to Callywith “get the experience they expect and deserve” and “enjoy their post-16 education as much as do the students who come to Truro and Penwith.”

He added: “The right post-16 education, the best colleges, can set you up for the rest of your life, providing the opportunity to study courses that interest you and giving you the control over your future ambitions, whatever they may be.”

Mr Wardle is also experiencing life at the other end of the education system as his five-year-old twins are getting ready for year one of primary school in Cornwall. He also brings to the role experience as a school governor and his recent Ofsted inspectorate training.

In other news, Chris Jones has been announced as chair of the corporation at Activate Learning.

He takes up the voluntary position alongside his current role as group chief executive of the City & Guilds Group.

Mr Jones has been involved with Activate Learning since 2011, where he acted as a governor before taking up his new position as chair. He replaces Graham Blackburn, who steps down after four years in the role.

Before joining the City & Guilds Group in 2008, Mr Jones held several senior management positions in publishing and education. He is also a member of Business in the Community’s Talent and Skills Leadership Group.

He says he is looking forward to working with staff, students and the senior team in order to “transform lives through learning”.

Speaking about his new role, Mr Jones said: “I am excited to be taking up this new role with an organisation that is leading such innovative approaches to teaching and learning”.

Activate Learning operates across Oxfordshire, the Thames Valley and overseas, and now comprises three further education colleges, four schools and two apprenticeship and training providers in the UK, as well as four colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *