FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Chesterfield College appoint new principal

Trevor Clay has been revealed as the new principal and chief executive of Chesterfield College. “With over 1 million young people unemployed it is more important than ever that we give people the skills they need to gain employment,” he said. “As such, I’m excited about taking the college forward as we look to our mission […]

Youth Contract to pay colleges for helping NEETs

The government will pay private companies, including 24 FE colleges, to help 16 and 17 year-olds back into a job or education, it was announced today. The initiative is part of the Youth Contract, unveiled by Nick Clegg in February and worth up to £126 million. Charities and businesses will be paid up to £2,200 for every young […]

FE Guild will make no difference without a culture of shared professional identity

Last year it was my great pleasure to be invited to the celebratory dinner held during WorldSkills; in my role as President of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, I was dressed in my finest presidential regalia. There were many professional bodies and institutes represented, each having its own rich history of supporting […]

Blackburn College gets hammered

One of the world’s strongest men has made the trip to Blackburn College to help knock down its seven storey Feilden Street building. Mark Felix, a strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World’s Strongest Man competition, has joined the staff from the college for the last phase of the building’s demolition. It is estimated […]

School leavers choose college over staying on at sixth form

More 16 year-olds chose further education over staying on at a school sixth form in 2009/10, according to new data published by the Department for Education. The statistical first release, published earlier this week, is the first time the Department has revealed the percentage of students progressing to further learning in a school, FE or […]

Newcastle College cuts inspection short after ‘troubling incidents’

Inspectors were asked to leave Newcastle College after staff complained of “troubling incidents” during an inspection. Ofsted were assessing NCG (formerly Newcastle College Group) in May when the inspection was cut short. However, inspectors were given permission to return to the college and complete the assessment several weeks later. An email seen by FE Week and sent to college staff […]

Fifteen Community Learning Trusts approved for pilot scheme

Fifteen Community Learning Trusts have been chosen to take part in a pilot scheme launching in August. The successful trusts will involve FE colleges, adult education services, businesses and voluntary organisations working together to try and increase the number of adults taking part in education. It is hoped the scheme will give communities more power to […]

Vocational students praised at City of Bath College

A star stonemason and a top female refrigeration engineer were among the students praised at City of Bath College’s annual Celebrating Success Awards. Students studying a range of different courses attended the ceremony, held at Bath Guildhall, before being presented with awards and certificates in recognition of their hard work and achievements. Stonemasonry student Sam Flintham (pictured right) was […]

LSIS launches new support scheme for trainee teachers

The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) has unveiled a new scheme to support people training to be a teacher in the FE sector. The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Fee Awards will pay institutions £1,500 towards the fees of a learner training to teach basic maths or english. It will also offer £1,000 for students wishing to teach any other […]