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29 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Carpenter carves out £1k cash prize for swords

A cash prize of £1,000 was collected by a Huntingdonshire Regional College learner who carved his way to victory in a Dragons’ Den-style competition. Level one carpentry student Jade Cox won the event that includes a series of Lions’ Den’ challenges for college students to promote themselves and their ideas as well as receiving careers […]

Sculpture success for Adam’s royal bust

A Weston College student is wowing London art lovers with his first sculpture commission. Adam Rush, who studies a BA Hons in contemporary and professional arts, produced a bronze bust of the Duke of Gloucester which is now on display at the Museum of the Order of St John and at Kensington Palace. The 21-year-old […]

More changes needed to build on success of traineeships

Stewart Segal looks at the traineeship programme in light of a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) one-year review. There has always been a range of programmes designed to help young unemployed or under-employed young people into work. The names of the programmes will be familiar to many — E2E, Programme-Led Apprenticeships, Access to […]

How to help vocational tutors bear the English and maths burden

Making learners who don’t achieve at least grade C in their English and math GCSEs is a requirement not only of them but also the numeracy and literacy teaching skills of their post-16 tutors explains Andrew Harden. Many of our best vocational teachers have moved into colleges from the workplace where they have built up […]

Level two English and maths ‘needed outside of GCSEs’

The Education and Training Foundation review of non-GSCE English and maths qualifications is likely to result in a call for level two programmes in the subjects to be maintained, FE Week can reveal. Although the recommendations have not yet been agreed, review chair Professor Ed Sallis (pictured) gave FE Week a preview of his findings, […]

Ofsted hits back at ‘not fit for purpose’ criticism

Ofsted has defended itself against criticism in an Association of Colleges (AoC) paper that branded the education watchdog as “not fit for purpose” and “driven by political considerations”. The paper, written by FE consultant Mick Fletcher, went on to call for a “slimmed down version” of Ofsted for under-19 FE provision and a new system […]

Boles kills off two-page Trailblazer pledge

Skills Minister Nick Boles has relaxed much-vaunted rules set by his predecessor, Matthew Hancock, that limited new apprenticeship guidelines to two sides of A4. The official government guidance for employers developing Trailblazer apprenticeship standards, published in October, stated that they “should be short and clear, taking up no more than two sides of A4”. Former […]

Hope for continued English apprentice Euro recognition

Ofqual hopes to ensure English apprenticeships will continue to be recognised in Europe after the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) has been scrapped, the regulator has told FE Week. Its assurances come after Angus Gray, head of the European Social Fund division at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), told the House of Lords […]