FE Week Reporter | FE Week

More evidence of government’s GCSE favouritism

Further evidence has emerged that the government already favours GCSEs, with Skills Minister Matthew Hancock having described Functional Skills as “stepping stone” qualifications. Functional Skills are set to be dropped as the accompanying qualification for apprenticeships in favour of tougher new maths and English GCSEs from 2017 — but they are still supposed to remain […]

Inadequate appeal rejected by Ofsted

A large London college has had its appeal against an Ofsted inadequate grading thrown out. LeSoCo, formed through a merger of Lewisham and Southwark colleges in 2012, was warned by inspectors in January about English and maths provision. However, issuing an appeal, principal Maxine Room argued the criticism had overshadowed the rest of the college’s […]

Simple pass or fail gets Skills Minister’s green light

Proposals for apprentices to be successfully graded will pass, merit or distinction for their skills have been rejected, FE Week can reveal. Trailblazer employer groups who have been helping develop new apprenticeship frameworks had been instructed to incorporate the three-grade system for marking successful outcomes. We have agreed that for these occupations the grades of […]

Business leaders help launch employment hub

Representatives from firms including John Lewis, Estee Lauder, Toyota and Google attended the official launch of Croydon College’s new employability hub. Students can visit the hub, which is situated on the ground floor of the main college campus building and cost £30,000 to set up, to search for vacancies, arrange work experience, get careers advice, […]

Principal ‘arrested’ for charity

West Suffolk College principal Nikos Savvas was arrested and locked up in a police cell — to raise money for a local hospice. Police handcuffed Mr Savvas in his office before leading him to a police van outside. He was driven to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, where officers took his fingerprints and a […]

Golden girl shows life after college is anything but downhill

Golden girl Charlotte Evans credited MidKent College with helping her triumph in the winter Olympics. Charlotte, aged 22, was the guide for visually impaired skier Kelly Gallagher, 28, as they finished first in the super-G super-giant slalom event in Sochi, Russia. The former sport and exercise sciences student has kept in close contact with her […]

From belly dancing to Buckingham Palace — Amanda’s amazing learning journey

From archaeology and belly dancing to a degree in contemporary history and lessons on the First World War, the adult education path of mum-of-four Amanda Scales is nothing if not varied. And it has culminated in her appointment as ambassador for adult learning at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, writes Paul Offord. […]

Dragon and minister breath fire into business apprenticeship scheme

Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Peter Jones and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock launched a new business apprenticeship scheme at Westminster Kingsway College. The new level five higher apprenticeship in business innovation will be run by the college and the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, which was founded by Mr Jones in 2009. The apprentices will work with a […]

Fundraising students spend night in a cardboard box

Two Seevic College students were sponsored to sleep rough overnight in a cardboard box. Holly Mead and Daisy Baker, both aged 18, joined dozens of other people who took part in a sponsored sleepover in Southend YMCA’s car park to raise awareness of homelessness in the town. The level three media production students shared a […]