FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Plumbs up for Derby College partnership

Bricklayers, plumbers, joiners and electricians from the housing association, Futures Homescape, celebrated completing a diploma in maintenance operations as part of a training partnership with Derby College. The team provides a repairs and maintenance service to tenants living at Futures Homescape properties in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Among the students were Richard Rawlings and Paul Hodgkinson, […]

Chichester College students crack record

Hospitality and catering students at Chichester College have broken the world record for the world’s biggest smoothie. Preparations for the challenge began with the arrival of bananas, strawberries, yoghurt and fruit juice donated from local suppliers, which the students chopped, blended and poured into a huge vat. Kenwood supplied the College with 20 food blenders […]

Kensington and Chelsea College student beats off competition for Adidas contract

A former Kensington and Chelsea College music student has been snapped up by Adidas to produce a soundtrack for an international advertising campaign. Kayvon Razavi was among a handful of music producers exclusively invited to pitch for the contract. The talented 22-year-old was given a strict brief by the sportswear giant, tasking him with producing […]

Great Debate on Teaching and Learning

Joy Mercer, AoC and Bob Powell, Holex, offered opinions and views from the floor Apprenticeships were fiercely debated at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) conference, with a diverse panel of experts exploring how to improve standards. Central to the debate was the question of quality. Members of the panel suggested that the […]

MidKent College students flash mob dance

Flashmob dancers electrified MidKent College’s Medway Campus by showcasing their talents to staff and students. From modern day hits to 19th century classics, the talented students carried out an expertly choreographed performance before leaving just as suddenly as they had arrived – albeit this time to a standing ovation. Students performed the dance routine unexpectedly […]

UTCs – a revolution in technical education

This week the government approved a further 15 University Technical Colleges (UTCs). This raises the total number of projects to 34. Two UTCs are open, three more will start this September, with the rest opening in the following two years. The concept of UTCs was the brainchild of Lord Baker and Lord Dearing, who won […]

Ofsted inspections – why are the grades dropping?

The decrease in colleges’ Ofsted grades has been well documented in FE Week. In 2009-2010, about a quarter of colleges that were previously judged to be good or outstanding saw their grade decline. Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, has been vocal in his concerns, claiming that colleges were “using the complexity of FE […]

Data management – abuse or inadequacy?

The recent FE Week headline about the leaked Tenon report once again brings to the fore accusations of manipulating data in order to boost success rates. Originally highlighted by Geoff Russell’s infamous ‘cease and desist’ letter whilst Chief Executive of the LSC in December 2009, it’s also the reason we developed our ADaM software, allowing […]

Green light for another 15 UTCs

A further 15 University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are to be funded by the government and rolled out over the next two years. The announcement will nearly double their number to 34. The government is investing £8 to £10 million for each UTC to help them get started, including building costs, and will then give the […]