FE Week Reporter | FE Week

London college boosts science courses

The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London celebrated National Science and Engineering Week by launching a host of new courses, including a HNC in applied chemistry. The new HNC will run alongside HNCs and BTec level threes in engineering. The three courses will give students the opportunity to progress from level two and […]

How to dress for a day in the lab

Local employer AstraZeneca gave a group of young Cheshire scientists the chance of look at science in a real working context. Applied science students from Macclesfield College made a short trip to the company’s nearby facility for a first-hand glimpse of life in the lab. Lecturer Amy White said the visit allowed the students to […]

Printmaking skills on display

Art students in the South West have been making an impression alongside a professional exhibition at their college. Learners at Stroud School of Art, based at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, have created an installation that shows off their printmaking skills. It coincides with the National Contemporary Print Exhibition at the college that showcases local […]

Don’t let more adults miss out on learning

The bad news is that the number of part-time learners in HE is plummeting. The good news (for FE colleges) is that it’s a chance to develop more business, says David Hughes Higher education does not usually command many column inches in FE Week. However, it was concerning to see how little coverage there was […]

Why my students deserve pride of place

The contradictory rhetoric around vocational courses has done much harm; students’ achievement needs to be revealed and celebrated rather than downgraded, says Eddie Playfair Dolores, Emma, Neneh and Rebecca all have something in common; they are high-achieving vocational students. With 44 other students at Newham sixth-form college (NewVIc), last year they achieved the highest possible […]

There is still a lot to play for

The Budget didn’t have a lot to offer FE. It’s the spending round and possible cuts that have to stay top of the agenda, says Lynne Sedgmore All eyes in FE were on key indicators in this year’s Budget: how might savings hit the skills budget, how much money might go into the ‘single pot’ […]

Squeezing the heart of adult education

Broad-based adult education that stretches minds, stimulates aesthetic delight and gives people the chance to change their lives is increasingly under threat, says Alan Tuckett Helena Kennedy’s clarion call 15 years ago to widen access in FE had a major impact on colleges, as did John Tomlinson’s 2004 report on inclusive learning and Sir Claus […]

The front line, the back office, and the long corridor in between

Former House of Commons Education Select Committee specialist Ben Nicholls is head of policy at London’s Newham College. He writes exclusively for FE Week every month Michael Gove, easily the naughtiest boy in the class in many teachers’ eyes, got himself into trouble again last week. But this time he might be feeling a bit […]

How the FE sector – and its students – are being starved

It’s time to end the inequity that means more than 103,000 16 to 18-year-old college students miss out on a free school meal, says Nic Dakin If you’re 16 or 17 and in a school sixth form, you can get a free school meal; if you’re at an FE or sixth-form college, you cannot. This […]