FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Dragon’s challenge for young entrepreneurs

Business novices at a London college have won over top entrepreneurs at a Dragons’ Den style challenge. Around 25 Newham College students, some as young as 15, pitched business ideas to improve the community to five judges, including founder of fashion label and social enterprise Caramel Rock, Faith Johnson and chief executive of Social Enterprise […]

Tough trials at mock court case competition

Cheshire college students played at being barristers, jurors and court staff for the day as they competed in the regional heat of the Bar Mock Trial. Warrington College was one of 172 schools and colleges taking part. “We only had a short time to become familiar with the case. Then we had to battle it […]

Gloves come off for Amir Khan visit

A boxing world champion and Olympic medallist traded punches with Greater Manchester students. Bolton College sporting excellence students were knocked out when Amir Khan dropped in on their training session. One of the students put through their paces in the ring by the boxer was Luke Wilkinson, 18. “It was fantastic to have the opportunity to […]

Fairytale furniture for primary school kids

Construction students at a Yorkshire college have come up with a novel idea for children at a local primary school. Brightly coloured storybook themed furniture was handcrafted for Craven Primary pupils by Hull College students — including a full-sized chair shaped like an open book. Four-year-old Lacey Blackford could not wait to take a turn […]

Volunteer gives up 500 hours of his time

A 16-year-old Cheshire student has dedicated more than 500 hours of his time to volunteering in the community. Tom Albiston has been supporting people with autism, working as a classroom assistant at St Berteline’s School, and helping spruce up his local park. The Priestley College student, who hopes to become a pre-school teacher, was recently awarded […]

New women’s team in a league of their own

A new women’s football team is on the scene in Yorkshire. Thanks to Sheffield College principal Heather Smith’s decision to free up Wednesday afternoons on the timetable for sport, students at the Hillsborough campus have been competing against colleges across the country. The under-19s women’s football team, coached by sports lecturer Leanne Taylor, had their best […]

Let’s value technical education

The CBI welcomes the Richard Review on apprenticeships, says Neil Carberry. But any shift to a new system will have to be carefully managed so that it does not undermine existing provision and opportunities One of the constant cries from the FE sector is that it is too often forgotten by ministers who invest political […]

Supporting employer incentives

There is much to welcome in the Richard Review (although paper exams should stay and employers should not design new qualifications on their own), says Sally Hunt of the University and Colleges Union The Richard Review’s emphasis on an apprenticeship being a form of education to be held in high regard and its efforts to […]

Assessing the risks of colleges recruiting 14-15 year olds

Shadow education minister Karen Buck took some flak at the AoC annual conference for suggesting colleges may not be ready for direct enrolment at age 14. Here she explains why there is a risk of a two-tier system That FE colleges can play a positive, indeed transformational role in the education of 14 to 16-year […]