FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Kenneth Baker, former education secretary

“I was once depicted as a lion,” beams former education secretary Lord Baker on his appearances in satire, most notably on TV show Spitting Image. “Occasionally I appeared as an eagle, then an asp, a snail and of course a slug, but my very favourite was as a Cheshire cat because as the cat disappeared, […]

Repositioning FE as a vital alternative

Big changes in the sector mean that FE is being challenged to meet new aspirations, but, says Lynne Sedgmore, if the sector takes its opportunity then further education could gain a reputation that it has never had before. I am excited about speaking at the Education Innovation conference next month and look forward to robust […]

Government response ‘frustrates’

The government last week published its response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee report on apprenticeships. Committee chair Adrian Bailey MP examines the response. Apprenticeships can play a pivotal role in creating the skilled workforce necessary for economic growth. I welcome the government’s agreement with this main thrust of our report. The Richard […]

Plea for Ofsted to inspect school advice

The government has been urged to “bite the bullet” and call Ofsted in to inspect careers guidance services after concerns over the quality and objectivity of advice given to young people. Association of Colleges policy director Joy Mercer said the watchdog should look at careers guidance during school inspections following a report on the subject […]

AoC in India supplement preview: Colleges make New Delhi move

A host of UK colleges are hoping a new initiative in India will allow them to capitalise on their FE expertise. A number of senior management members made the journey east for its launch and were joined by FE Week editor Nick Linford and reporter, Shane Mann. On first hearing that 30 FE colleges were […]

All new twitter guide – in partnership with NCFE

Click here to download the Twitter guide pdf (11mb) Intro to the guide: Love it or loathe it, Twitter is seemingly everywhere. Across the globe last year, there were an estimated 500 million users. From Joe Bloggs and the guy who runs the local chip shop, to Hollywood celebrities and multinational corporations, more and more […]

‘Gifted’ student’s videogame to be turned into a franchise

A media student who taught himself computer programming was “shocked” when technology giant Sony wanted to turn his game into a franchise. Liam Cozens, 17, who studies BTec media production at Canterbury College, spent a year putting together his 3D downloadable game Robots: Extreme Wars Live. His game was inspired by the TV show Robot […]

SFA chief visits new development

Musically-minded Midland students met the boss of UK adult learning when she dropped by to see college developments first hand. Kim Thorneywork, Skills Funding Agency interim chief executive, visited West Nottinghamshire College to see how work was progressing on a £24m revamp, including a state-of-the-art centre for creative arts and digital technologies called Create. She […]

Hairdressing student is streaks ahead

An award-winning young London stylist has been given the chance to show she’s a cut above the rest by passing on her skills to younger students. Croydon College hairdressing and beauty therapy student Hannah-Corrine Patterson, 19 and from Brockley, was chosen to run workshops for Year 11 youngsters at Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College […]