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Snowdon heights provide fitting FE farewell

Outdoor adventure students from City College Norwich (CCN) pushed themselves to the limit in a farewell to FE expedition, writes Billy Camden. Seeking to end their time at CCN on a high, 13 learners studying an outdoor adventure course completed the ‘Summit to Sea’ challenge, climbing more than 3,300ft to the summit of Mount Snowdon […]

Gloves are off for James

A talented graphic designer from Walsall College claimed the top award at a national competition after impressing with a poster design promoting the use of gloves for safety. HND graphic design student James Breckles beat competition from hundreds of college and university learners from across the country in the contest run by The Worshipful Company […]

Learners lose sleep over homeless

South Yorkshire college learners and staff raised more than £1,000 for charity by spending a night sleeping rough on campus grounds. The team of 40 from Dearne Valley College did the ‘sleep out’ last month to raise funds and awareness for Safe@Last, a charity that works with young homeless people. The sponsored volunteers had just […]

The Indy Scene

At the prestigious city headquarters of the Bank of New York last month we presented the first group of 12 managers from Aramark, the incumbent caterer on the BNY (Bank of New York) Mellon site, with their level four hospitality higher apprenticeship certificates. Andrew Main, the UK chief executive for Aramark, and Jill Whittaker, HIT […]

Amanda Spielman, chair, Ofqual

Amanda Spielman does not consider herself a pedant, but is a self-confessed hater of unclear or “fuzzy” language. She doesn’t want to sound like someone who writes to newspapers complaining about the state of modern English and signing off, as she puts it, “Disgusted, from Tunbridge Wells”. “Of course language has to grow and change,” […]

Concerns for FE funding after Treasury announces £900m in-year BIS and DfE budget cuts

The future of FE funding looks uncertain after £900m of additional cuts to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Department for Education (DfE) were announced by the Treasury. The cut is part of a raft of in-year savings amounting to £3bn across most government departments outlined by the Chancellor George Osborne in […]

Time for new post-incorporation model for general FE colleges

After more than two decades of freedom from local authority control, general FE colleges are today operating in a different social and economic climate to the days when they were incorporated. Ann Hodgson makes the case for a new post-incorporation college model. It’s more than 20 years since FE colleges gained their freedom from local […]

What chance a sevenfold increase in FE loans?

Investment in learning by individuals was meant to go up with FE loans, despite FE budget cuts. But latest figures show the system isn’t working, explains Stephen Evans. Learning and skills have to be centre stage for the new government — helping people to achieve their ambitions; businesses to grow; and our economy to succeed. […]