A London group of colleges and schools has rebranded with a name that reflects its “strong civic mission”.
London and South East Education Group, which houses London South East Colleges and London South East Academies Trust, is now known as Elevare Civic Education Group.
Leaders of Elevare, which is Latin for “raise”, said the change “captures our commitment to raising aspirations” and “emphasises our role as an anchor institution”.
London South East Colleges and London South East Academies Trust will retain their identities under the new group, alongside the charity LASER Education Foundation. The names of the group’s eight college campuses and 16 mainstream, special and alternative provision schools will also not change.
The group collectively teaches about 16,000 pupils and learners and employs over 1,600 staff.
Group chief executive Sam Parrett said the rebrand to Elevare Civic Education Group “signals the next stage of our journey”.
“Elevare – meaning to elevate or uplift – captures our commitment to raising aspirations and creating opportunities for learners in our schools and college, and in our wider communities.
“The addition of Civic emphasises our role as an anchor institution. We collaborate with our partners to create lasting social impact, generating community wealth and driving social mobility for all.”
The launch of the new name coincides with the release of a report from the group’s charity, LASER Education Foundation, which analyses insight from over 3,000 school and college learners on growing up in south east London.
The report, Three Thousand Voices: Growing up in South East London, identified groups of learners more likely to experience barriers in education and life. For example, while 82 per cent of young people said they lived with people who make them feel loved, that figure dropped to 54 per cent for looked-after children and 55 per cent for learners who do not identify as male or female.
College learners’ worries about their futures were related to fears of not passing GCSE resits or not achieving the qualifications needed for their chosen careers.
Writing for FE Week, report co-author Vivienne Avery, group director of policy and research at Elevare Civic Education Group, said behind the findings “lies a picture of a generation growing up amid labour-market instability and rising costs of living, trying to make choices in a world that feels unpredictable.”
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