FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Minister beams over college enterprise

It’s early days in the new relationship between FE and local enterprise partnerships, but how they will now work together was the centre of discussion at a London conference. Chris Henwood reports Further education and its place at the centre of local “entrepreneurial ecosystems” was the theme of a conference organised by the Gazelle Colleges […]

Consider all the options

The institutional bias towards a university education is unfair on young people, says Spencer Mehlman I am not against universities. They are incredible places for learning, with some of the most interesting and enthusiastic teachers you could ever meet. For many young people they will be the “right” next step. But the drive towards university […]

In search of a lost art

Curriculum design was a critical and well developed skill that FE staff once placed at the centre of their professional expertise, says Lynn Sedgmore. It’s time it was again… The freedoms and flexibilities of New Challenges, New Changes and the more recent Rigour and Responsiveness in Skills, have given colleges greater opportunities to be responsive […]

Tristram Hunt, shadow junior education minister

A rich vein of history runs through Tristram Hunt, rising to the surface and touching everything he talks about. The 38-year-old history graduate’s love for the Industrial Revolution, which spawned times of “great equality” across the UK because of the industrial power yielded by cities other than London, has informed his pro-manufacturing views. He’s penned […]

Adult Learners’ Week 2013 Supplement

Download your free copy of the FE Week 16 page special Adult Learners’ Week 2013 supplement, sponsored by apt awards. Click here to download (17mb) Introduction Adults return to education for a variety of reasons. Some want to change career and some want to progress in the one they’ve got. Some are looking for a way out of […]

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Business advice from BBC Apprentice star

A former winner of BBC hit The Apprentice gave students his own hints and tips on how to get on in the workplace. Lee McQueen, who got the nod from Lord Sugar in 2008, was at Loughborough College’s Employability Week. He spent a day motivating students to stand out from the crowd in the world […]

The future’s black at Sparsholt

Most families might have just one black sheep, but at a college in Hampshire, a ewe has given birth to four of them. The arrival of the black lambs at Sparsholt College is an event so rare it happens once in a generation. Shepherd John Garrett, who has 35 years’ experience in the industry and […]

Students get hands-on with history

A replica Second World War Spitfire dropped in on learners in Salford to help bring their history A-level to life. The iconic aircraft was brought into Pendleton Sixth Form Centre by staff from the Lytham St Annes Spitfire Memorial Fund, who restored the plane, who spoke to learners about its history. Student Katie Bagshaw said: […]