FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Former Barking and Dagenham College student shines as Olympic torch bearer

Alex Loukos enjoyed a hero’s welcome at Barking and Dagenham College when he returned from carrying the Olympic flame at the lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia, Greece. “Just incredible” was how the former A Level student described being chosen for the honour. “For the first time in my life I was lost for words,” he […]

Olympian inspires Priestly College students

An Olympian presented 60 trophies to students at Priestley College’s Sports Awards ceremony. Gymnast Craig Heap told the athletes not to be afraid of failure. He said the pain he felt at failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympics became the moment that spurred him on to future success. He went on to win two […]

Walsall College students realise their dream

Students at Walsall College got the chance to walk the red carpet at a film premiere event held at the College’s Jerome’s Restaurant. The students were attending a premiere of films made about pupils’ dreams and aspirations for the future. The videos, which will be put online, will be advertised on local buses and bus […]

Burnley College welcomes Royal visitors

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to Burnley College as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour. The royals were introduced to a number of students from the college who showcased their work. Pupils demonstrated the latest heart rate monitoring technologies and presented fashion, textile and 3D art pieces they had created. […]

Doncaster College students make a splash

It’s been choppy waters for students at Doncaster College who have been trying to stay afloat on make-shift rafts on the town’s marina. Pupils from the college’s sport and public services department were set the task of building an improvised raft with a limited amount of equipment in 30 minutes. Split into teams, they were […]

Leading learning through innovation

Sell me the benefits of having seats on the wings of an aircraft!” This might seem like an unlikely starting point for a workshop on great teaching and learning in FE, but the answers – many of which a certain low cost airline is happy to charge extra money for – illustrated the art of […]

Dearne Valley College open new ‘Job Zone’

The new Job Zone initiative at Dearne Valley College has been officially opened by local MP John Healey. The service has been created in conjunction with Job Centre Plus and will help students find out about progression opportunities, part-time work and Apprenticeships. The MP for Wentworth and the Dearne Valley said: “Compared to the rest […]

Jan Hodges, CEO, the Edge Foundation

The chief executive for the Edge Foundation talks to FE Week. If her parents had got their way, Jan Hodges might have gone into banking. While they valued education and were ambitious for their children, having left school at 15 and had “basic manual jobs” for most of their working lives, they were keen for […]

Ufi charitable trust to be ‘catalyst’ for technology

Ufi charitable trust is to use the £50 million it made from the sell off of Learn Direct to pump prime “innovation for scale” in the FE and Adult Learning sectors. Ufi, the “big idea” of Gordon Brown, which he hoped would match Harold Wilson’s Open University idea, was finally broken up last year when […]