FE Week Reporter | FE Week

X-ceptional talent at City Lit

Dozens of adult learners enjoyed a touch of Hollywood glamour as they collected prizes at an annual awards bash in London. Gillian Anderson, who played FBI special agent Dana Scully in The X-Files, handed out certificates at the City Lit ceremony. More than 30 awards were handed over, including two special presentations to two “outstanding […]

Skills are an essential part of any regional growth agenda

If local enterprise partnerships are to receive more funding, there has to be a way of measuring their impact locally. And they must demonstrate a working relationship with local education providers at all levels, including FE, says Adrian Bailey The Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee has just completed its second report into local enterprise […]

Coming back from a grade four blow

No one wants to be labelled inadequate by Ofsted, says Lynn Merilion, who describes the journey to improvement after it happened to her college earlier this year The days when Ofsted gave colleges three weeks to prepare for an inspection are long gone. This time round, we got a phone call on the Thursday of […]

Tutors are more than an ‘expensive luxury’

New national occupational standards for personal tutoring will help to raise standards across the sector, writes Sally Wootton The learning and skills sector has long supported the idea that personal tutoring contributes to improved retention and achievement, with a great deal of research suggesting that it lies at the heart of every learner’s experience and […]

We need to talk about the Tech Bacc

The government’s plans for vocational education move the debate forward but more detailed discussions with employers, and FE and school sector representatives are vital, says Brian Lightman After what has felt like an incredibly long wait, there is some sense of relief that the government has finally given an indication of its plans for vocational […]

Governor backs defiant Taylor

‘It’s a comfort to be asked to stay on,’ says Coventry principal The chair of City College Coventry’s board of governors has refused to sack his principal after a disastrous inspection result. The college was branded inadequate — a grade four result — across each of the education watchdog’s headline fields. The 8,000-learner college was […]

David Frost, chair, Local Enterprise Partnership Network

David Frost has waged war in two major financial battles — and come out fighting. The economist watched the recession of the early 1980s “decimate” UK manufacturing and the 2008 economic downturn spawn banking breakdown, two crises that arguably defined his career. Through 1981 and 82, Newcastle-born Frost became known as a troubleshooter as he […]

[download#107]

Success tastes sweet for Carshalton

A five-layer chocolate orange cheesecake was among the dishes that a group of Surrey students used to tempt judges of the Nestle Toque D’or competition. Chef student Jose Queirolo, front-of-house student Jamie Newman, and Lois Benjamin, who acted as commis chef, all from Carshalton College, presented their two-course lunch, with a main of Peruvian steak, […]