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22 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Verity Hancock, principal, Leicester College

From a meeting of minds at university in London almost 100 years ago an education leader was born. Verity Hancock, now principal at Leicester College, said her grandmothers, both just a generation ahead of working down the mine pits, studied together in the 1920s. This special friendship led to her parents meeting when they were […]

‘Alarming’ SFA £91m overpayment

Providers were overpaid £91m in the past academic year, the Skills Funding Agency has revealed. Kim Thorneywork, the agency’s chief executive, announced the figure in an official letter saying that “the total amount of learning delivered in the academic year 2011/12 was … £2,874m. The agency funded £2,965m.” Click here for the full list. She […]

Jolly Dollies try their hand at DIY

A group of savvy widows have mastered power drilling and car mechanics at college after realising they couldn’t use their husbands’ toolkits. Social group The Jolly Dollies, founded by Yvonne Vann, has been trying out DIY  — plaster boarding and putting up shelves — during taster courses at Weston College’s Construction and Engineering Centre of Excellence […]

Taking a closer look at paracetamol

Young chemists in Crewe spent a day testing the purity of paracetamol, using an infra-red spectrometer and thin layer chromatography techniques. Two groups of A level chemistry students, including Heidi Falvey, 18, (pictured), took part in ‘spectroscopy in a suitcase’ workshops at South Cheshire College. The sessions were delivered by postgraduate students from the University […]

Olympian wheels into her former college

Olympic cyclist Lucy Martin went back to her roots when she dropped in on a Cheshire college. Lucy talked to sport students at Cronton Sixth-Form College, where she studied A levels four years ago, about the commitment and training required to compete at the highest level. “It was great to go back and see all […]

Gruelling three-day trek ends in success

Outdoor activity students in Wales took their first steps towards becoming walk leaders after a gruelling training expedition. Second–year students at Coleg Gwent’s Usk campus, training for a sports leader L3 BELA award, covered a 45km route in the Black Mountains from Monmouth to Hay–on Wye. The group spent two weeks planning the trek and […]

Bright spark takes top apprentice award

A London student has scooped the top prize at an awards ceremony for JTL electrical apprentices. Giannini Chambers, 21, was named the capital’s best apprentice at the training charity’s London Regional Awards for electrical installation. The ceremony was held on HMS Belfast. As well as being handed a trophy by Denis Hird, JTL’s chief executive, the […]

Empty shop full of inspiration for art students

Young designers in Durham took over a city centre shop to display sculpture, ceramics, textiles and jewellery. Applied arts for enterprise students at Cleveland College of Art & Design (CCAD) staged a mini-exhibition at the former Durham City visitor centre as part of a project to make creative use of vacant premises. They spent two […]