FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Graduate to hit small screen after becoming hairdresser at college

A level two hairdressing student from Riverside College has been selected to appear as a contestant on a new BBC Three TV series called Hair. Mother-of-two Katie Crompton will be one of eight contestants competing against each other to secure the title of Britain’s best amateur hair stylist. The 30-year-old returned to college after completing […]

Woman who learned to read aged 60 features on television

Bracknell and Wokingham College featured on ITV’s Daybreak morning show in an item highlighting the importance of adult literacy. Daybreak’s Philippa Tomson spoke to mature student Sue Chapman, aged 64, and her tutor Rosalynde Smith about the college’s free adult English classes. The mother-of-two joined the college when she was 60 years old, having been […]

Principal of inadequate Greater Manchester college to ‘work from home’

The principal of a Greater Manchester college is to take early retirement after it dropped from outstanding to inadequate in six years. Stephen Carlisle (pictured) is to “work from home” for the remainder of his contract at Stockport College. He is expected to be replaced by former Blackburn College principal Ian Clinton. It comes four months after the […]

Watchdog promises to ‘fundamentally re-design’ quals appeal system

Ofqual has announced plans to overhaul the A-level appeals system in England, dubbing it “overly complex” and “opaque” in a report published today. The qualifications watchdog’s Review of Quality of Marking in Exams in A-levels, GCSEs and Other Academic Qualifications praised the quality of grading, but pledged to review the process when mistakes were made. It […]

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock greeted by protest at Question Time college

A controversial funding rate cut for 18-year-olds was the subject of a lively protest and crunch talks when Skills Minister Matthew Hancock visited MidKent College last week to appear on Question Time. Members of the college’s Students Union (SU) formed a flag-waving picket line at the college’s Medway campus, in Gillingham, on Thursday night while […]

Coffey issues warning to government on college and Lep relationship

The man in charge of England’s college inspections has called for “oversight” of the relationship between colleges and local enterprise partnerships (Leps). Concerns that colleges were not meeting the skills needs of their local areas were raised by Matthew Coffey, director of FE and skills at the education watchdog, during a meeting of the House […]

Don’t Doolittle…pop star urges young people to vote

City and Islington College students were interviewed on ITV news with pop star Eliza Doolittle about why it is important for young people to vote. Around 30 of the college’s BTec business students attended an event organised by the Bite the Ballot campaign, which encourages students to become more engaged with politics, at the Centre […]

More than 30 expert advisers announced at the Education and Training Foundation

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) has unveiled the make-up of three expert panels with the announcement of more than 30 appointments. Panels for leadership, governance and management; vocational education and training; and, professional standards and workforce development have seen 32 appointments, including a chair, co-chair and independent adviser to each. Plans for a further […]

Mr Warburton enjoys a slice of college life

A member of the Warburtons family enjoyed a slice of college life after being invited to officially open new bakery teaching facilities at Leeds City College. Brett Warburton, executive director of the Bolton-based bakery firm launched in 1876, was presented with a giant cake made by the college’s bakery students before unveiling a special plaque […]