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27 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Four-year survival boost for homeless charity

Compassionate learners from West Nottinghamshire College have ensured the long-term survival of a local charity for homeless people that looked set for closure, writes Billy Camden. When funds for a homeless charity in Mansfield were running low, trustees feared for its future — but thanks to money raised by kind-hearted students, its long-term survival has […]

Sensory garden makeover for patients

Specially designed sculptural pieces have been created by West Cheshire College art and design students for a sensory garden visited regularly by dementia patients. The works of art are aimed to help stimulate patients’ senses and include features that visitors can touch and hear — hoped to help spark a memory for the dementia sufferers. […]

Relaxation of traineeships rules must be carefully managed

The government announced last month that it was relaxing the rules on which providers can run traineeships. Liz Williams reflects on why this could be a positive move, if it helps boost the number of starts, so long as it is managed with care by the Government. From the start of the next academic year […]

Hold-ups could lead to better area review outcomes

Chris Thomson reflects on how a longer than expected post-16 area review process is giving time to focus on how to improve FE in their regions. Whether you believe the area based reviews are progressing quickly enough or not depends on whether you think our colleges are more like a motorbike than a mouse. The […]

Bracing North Sea dip to warm veterans’ hearts

East Riding College public services learners braved the freezing North Sea cold to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. The group of BTec level two and three students jumped into the water at Bridlington north beach wearing British Legion T-shirts as forces veterans looked on. The learners came up with the idea as part […]

A call to collaborate for the future

While area reviews mean colleges will become closer than ever before, Martin Simmons argues that collaboration was always going to be key to the sector’s future. Mergers, funding ’simplification’, crazy targets, political dogma — where lies there any certainty in this landscape: this landscape, the beloved of so many, despite the best efforts of the […]

Entry opens 2016 Brathay Apprentice Challenge

Invitations have been invited from today for the fifth annual Brathay Apprentice Challenge. Teams of nine apprentices can enter the competition from a single large or small employer, a group of small businesses, an industry sector, supply chain, or training provider. More than 700 apprentices from 50 teams entered last year. They visited more than 300 […]