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13 May 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

RAF carpenter claims apprentice of the year title

A student training in carpentry at a Royal Air Force (RAF) museum in Shropshire has been crowned Apprentice of the Year. Laura Pringle, 20, who studies at City of Wolverhampton College, was presented with the award for the intermediate category at the Skills Show in Birmingham. “I am overwhelmed with excitement and seeing the pride on […]

Celebrities take on Future Car Challenge

Celebrities at the wheel of cars never seen before on England’s roads, called in at a Sussex college as part of a challenge to drive 63 miles using the least energy possible. Olympic swimmer Ross Davenport sped into Central Sussex College’s Crawley campus in a Toyota Prius Plug in, Top Gear’s former Stig Ben Collins […]

Stanley, 94, goes silver surfing

Ninety-year-old Stanley Lee has been getting to grips with getting online thanks to a free IT course for mature students at a Hampshire college. The IT for over 50s classes, run at Barton Peveril College, focus on the basics of using a computer and accessing the internet. Stanley is one of the oldest learners at […]

Nowt right with rote

English and maths may well be key to learning, but let’s not forget the practical skills of time management, teamwork and communications, according to Graham Hasting-Evans of the National Open College Network (NOCN) Hardly a day goes by without the government, business groups or some MP having their say on the state of our education […]

Establishing a guild for the FE sector

Agreeing to chair a group setting up yet another representative body for FE is probably a career-limiting move unless there is a very good reason for another one. So I am pleased to say I think there is indeed a great need for a new body to take a leadership role in FE and I […]

One size does not fit all

A watchful eye on quality becomes more important as FE colleges increasingly deliver higher education, says Dr Stephen Jackson The tectonic plates of UK higher education are shifting with students basing their study choices on changing criteria. Providers newer to the game have been eager to compete with the university sector by offering significant benefits […]

Should we look forward to ‘co-opetition’?

Sixth-form colleges must not rest on the laurels of past successes, says Mark Bramwell. First up, let’s tackle the relationship with academies…  Sixth-form colleges are proving to be robust with most achieving high success rates and good or outstanding Ofsted grades. And most are oversubcribed – despite the demographic drop in the number of eligible […]

Graham Morley, principal, South Staffordshire College

“I hated school with a passion, hated going every single day and even now don’t look back on it and say those days were the happiest of my life like a lot of people do,” says Graham Morley, Chief Executive Principal of South Staffordshire College. Being the youngest in the year, disliking football and in the […]

Critical skills for the 21st century

Colleges should be leading the way to creating entrepreneurial communities, say Andy Pellant and Lynne Sedgmore Entrepreneurship is a key word on many people’s lips at the moment. The working world of the 21st century is one in which resilience, enterprise and personal qualities are as important as skills and knowledge; one in which coping […]