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27 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Newcastle College massacre plot teen Liam Lyburd jailed for life

A former Newcastle College learner who planned a massacre on campus after being kicked off a course has been jailed for life. Newcastle Crown Court today jailed 19-year-old Liam Lyburd, stipulating that he will spend a minimum of eight years behind bars for planning mass-murder at his former college in November last year. Lyburd, who […]

Later starts to continue at Nescot after pilot success

A North East Surrey College of Technology (Nescot) lie-in pilot has won longer-term approval after bosses saw a rise in 16 to 18 attendance rates. The Epsom college scrapped 9am starts for learners last September, as revealed by FE Week in May last year, in a trial responding to research by the National Sleep Foundation and the […]

Shakira Martin, vice president, NUS

Shakira Martin’s first brush with national politics came as something of a surprise — in fact, she didn’t even know it had happened. In March last year, Martin was a newly-elected member of the National Union of Students’ FE and society and citizenship zone policy committees attending a work summit. “There was a panel and […]

Three more post-16 education area reviews announced involving 34 colleges

Twenty one general FE colleges and 13 sixth form colleges (SFCs) will be involved in three extra post-16 education and training area reviews announced by the government this morning. They will be for the Tees Valley, Sussex Coast and Solent regions, launching on October 1 and 22, and November 5 respectively — with the government […]

Follow key priorities to make FE loans system work

Latest figures show little progress with take-up of 24+ advanced learning loans. Stephen Evans looks at how the system needs to be reformed to encourage more interest. With our low skills base has long held us back as a nation. We need to do better to improve our economy and boost social inclusion. Every month, […]

Action plea for BIS digital skills inquiry from learning tech adviser Bob Harrison

The purpose of a new government inquiry that will look into how the FE sector contributes to the development of digital skills has come in for questioning from a leading learning tech figure. Toshiba education adviser Bob Harrison (pictured below right), who contributed to the FE Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag) report, published in March last year, […]

Clampdown on apprenticeship misuse ‘affects very few’, says AELP

A much-hyped government clampdown on “misuse” of the apprenticeship term will only affect a “very few” cases, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has warned. It was a view echoed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which urged the government to instead “focus on driving up the quality of apprenticeships”. New rules […]

Principal says ‘no’ to AoC

Burton & South Derbyshire College (B&SDC) is set to leave the Association of Colleges (AoC), FE Week can reveal. A spokesperson for the college, which received a grade two Ofsted rating in December 2011 and was allocated £6m by the Skills Funding Agency as of July, said it would not be renewing membership this academic […]