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13 April 2026

Author: FE Week Reporter

Royal visit for East Surrey College students

Flag waving youngsters heralded the arrival of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh as they opened a new college campus. Locals gathered and lined the streets of Redhill and Merstham for the arrival of the pair, who visited East Surrey College (ESC) to unveil a plaque at Gatton Point. They were greeted by children […]

FE Week mini-mascot (Edition 12)

Follow the adventures of FE Week’s biggest and smallest fan! Mostly this week I have been trying to find a path-related pun” And also you can follow our FE Week mini-mascot on Twitter @daniellinford

Stop lecturing me and play fair

It was billed as the “biggest strike for over 30 years” with schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, courts, transport, immigration and government all hit by a walkout involving up to two million workers. I’m old enough to remember the ‘Winter of Discontent’ and the strikes of the 80s and I am struggling to recall what industrial […]

Toni Pearce, vice president for FE, NUS

The last time I interviewed Toni Pearce, she was visibly nervous. As the incoming NUS vice president (FE), it was her first official press interview and it was clear she was both exhilarated and worried about the year ahead. Having led the NUS campaign to save the Education Maintenance Allowance, which resulted in a partial […]

Who knows where the secrets are buried?

History. Everyone and everywhere has one. We all do. We like telling stories. In fact we define our lives through stories. We are surrounded by them: anecdotes, jokes, newspapers, soaps, films, books. That‘s how we understand things. And FE colleges have their history in spades. I have been knocking around the sector for about 30 […]

Colleges close as lecturers walkout over pension dispute

Lecturers across the country went on strike as part of the industrial action against pension cuts. A number of further education (FE) colleges closed due to the extent of the walkout, while others stayed open but experienced disruptions to their daily schedules. The action took place on Wednesday as part of a nationwide public service […]

VAT exemption for shared services

The government has announced plans to make colleges and charities exempt from paying VAT when they share services. It has been heralded as “unusual good news” for colleges and could lead to innovative savings through cross-college – or even cross-sector – partnerships. In the Autumn Statement, which was published by the Treasury last week, it […]

Birmingham colleges announce merger plan

South Birmingham College and City College Birmingham have agreed to take forward a proposal to merge. An outline of the proposal to merge, which should result in members of the City College Birmingham Governing body joining the existing Governing Body of South Birmingham College, has been submitted to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). It is […]

Sale continues as jobs are cut at LSN

A charity forced into administration by a crippling pension liability and decreasing income has been forced to cut jobs. Global financial experts PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have revealed to FE Week that 23 jobs have been lost from Learning and Skills Network (LSN). Ian Oakley-Smith, David Hurst and Karen Dukes, of PwC, were last month appointed as […]