A 20-year-old former City of Liverpool College drama student has co-starred with Jude Law in a Hollywood action movie.
Bob Schofield completed an HNC in drama at the college in 2012 and worked in theatre before securing his big break by being cast in the film, called Black Sea, which was directed by Oscar-winning film maker Kevin Macdonald and will go on general release next month.
It centres around unemployed submarine captain Dom Hemingway, played by Mr Law, who goes on the hunt for sunken Nazi treasure. Bob plays Tobin, a homeless young man who becomes one of Dom’s misfit crew hunting for the treasure. It involved nine months of filming in in Kent and Ukraine.
Bob said his time at college prepared him well for the demands of the industry.
He said: “The teachers care and their passion makes you care. It’s that support which has helped me.”
“I did the first audition [for the film] in London but it didn’t really hit home that I had a chance until my third audition, which was a reading at Jude Law’s house. That’s when I thought this could really happen’, then I heard the next day that I’d got the role.”
Elaine Bowker, college principal, said: “I’m really pleased for Bob and I know the drama staff here at the college are made up that he has managed to win a role in such a major film.
“I think he’s an inspiration for other students and shows the great work of the drama team here in harnessing young talent and giving students the opportunity to achieve their goals.”
Further education learners John Dunwell and Jessica Davies helped raise £2.3m for Children in Need through a gruelling cycling challenge.
They raised the money as part of a team of inspirational young people sponsored to cycle 450-miles from Salford, Manchester, to London, on rickshaw bikes ahead of the main BBC fundraising show hosted by Terry Wogan on Friday (November 14).
Leeds City College level two food preparation and cookery learner John Dunwell, aged 17, was chosen for the challenge after he competed in the British Transplant Games at a variety of sports including swimming and badminton in 2012 and 2014, after recovering from a kidney transplant in 2011.
Level one vocational studies learner Jessica Davies, 16, from Northamptonshire-based Tresham College, was chosen for the team by BBC bosses in recognition of her involvement with Dwarf Sport Association (DSA), which is funded by BBC Children in Need.
John said: “It was a shock to be picked for the challenge, but I was happy to be able to help out.”
Jessica said: “By funding the DSA Children in Need has really had such a positive benefit on me, so it was nice to have the chance to return the favour.”
The Skills Show 2014 ended tonight with a celebration of the UK’s most skilled apprentices and learner as the winners of the National Skills Competitions were announced.
Nearly 600 competitors showed off their skills in 64 competitions at the Birmingham NEC hoping to take home a gold, silver or bronze medal.
For those under 21 there was an added pressure, as young contestants who catch the judge’s eyes could be invited to compete for a place on the squad for WorldSkills 2017 in Abu Dhabi.
Most competitors were put through events by their providers, who also offer support and extra training to the learners through the process.
The college that had the highest number of medallists among its students was New College Lanarkshire, with four gold, three silver, one bronze and four highly commended.
Ross Maloney, chief executive of Skills Show organising body Find a Future, congratulated everyone who took part.
“The Skills Show is an amazing showcase for the nation’s vast variety of skills,” he said.
“Just as we celebrate our athletes, so we champion our skills and inspire young people to make their own mark on industry.
“It is through competition activity, The Skills Show and The Skills Show Experience that Find a Future can provide young people and their parents with the chance to get excited about the world of work and make informed choices about their future.”
For more on the 2014 Skills Show, read the FE Week supplement available on feweek.co.uk on Monday (November 17) and free with edition 119 of the newspaper, dated Monday, November 24.
Dr Collins, who took up post in November last year, warns that colleges already in tough financial situations will face further cuts, and should not be tempted to cut out “resource-heavy” subjects to improve their finances.
Dr David Collins
He also repeated his concerns about the future of small colleges, echoing what he has said previously following inspections of institutions including Bicton and Norton Radstock college, both of which have been ordered to work with other colleges to survive.
He said: “As funding becomes tighter, however, questions will arise as to whether some colleges will be able to continue to offer the breadth of curriculum that they have done up until now.
“There is a danger that they will concentrate on those programmes that are less resource intensive and move away from the more expensive practically based areas. What therefore is a sensible business decision for an individual college may not be in the best interests of meeting the employment needs of the area.”
He added: “It would be foolish to pretend that the FE sector does not have a difficult time ahead.
“Reductions in public spending will necessarily continue for the foreseeable future and the demands for highly skilled individuals to service a growing economy will increase.
“When resources are short it is all the more important that colleges and institutions work together to ensure that those resources are best used for the benefit of learners and employers.
“This will mean some consolidation and indeed some specialisation, as well as neighbouring colleges, institutions and providers considering joint plans for their respective communities.
“There is a danger that without such a consideration the more expensive areas of the curriculum (for example, science and engineering) will disappear from areas where they are needed in a college’s pursuit of financial stability.”
In the report, he repeated concerns raised earlier this year about the limited skillsets of some governing bodies, slow responses by college leaders to changing financial situations and a tendency of some principals to focus on projects other than the improvement of their colleges.
The report
Dr Collins also raised concerns about big differences in the role of clerks between colleges, adding that their support of college boards often did not go far enough.
He said: “In colleges where clerking issues have been identified the main problems have arisen from a limited interpretation of what is required to enable the board to carry out its duties effectively.
“The role of a clerk in the further education sector should go much further than the keeping of records, setting of agendas and co-ordinating the production of reports.
“There are also a number of operational concerns arising out of different interpretations of the role. Some clerks, for example, still have responsibilities in the management of the college, which could lead to a conflict of interest.
“In other cases the clerk works closely with, and reports to, the principal. To ensure independence the clerk should report directly to the chair.”
Dr Collins has visited 14 colleges since he was appointed, but only 11 were covered in the report, which covers the period up to July this year.
Of the 11 colleges included, commissioner visits led to stocktake assessments at City of Bristol College, Lesoco, Stratford upon Avon College, City of Wolverhampton College and City of Liverpool College, which Dr Collins has said no longer requires his attention. He said City of Bristol College was no longer rated inadequate by Ofsted and that Lesoco was due for re-inspection soon.
Of the six remaining colleges, K College has been broken up and now forms part of East Kent College and Hadlow College. Bicton College will merge with the Cornwall College Group, while Norton Radstock is said to be considering its options for a merger.
Stockport College is to continue as an independent institution with a refreshed board and leadership, while structure assessments at Weymouth College are ongoing. The Barnfield Federation is in the process of being broken up.
See edition 119 of FE Week, dated Monday, November 24, for more.
Gazelle’s five founder colleges have re-affirmed their commitment to the organisation with the announcement that one college was set to quit the group amid claims it could spend membership fees better elsewhere.
Gloucestershire College, which has more than 7,000 learners and dished out around £130,000 in membership fees and staff training costs to Gazelle since it joined nearly three years ago, told FE Week it would not be a member next academic year.
“Following a consultation exercise with staff earlier this year, and the resulting launch of a new strategic plan, the college has decided that the financial outlay could be utilised more effectively in driving our enterprise agenda forward internally, using the talent and expertise of our staff,” said the college’s head of communications, Michelle Cant.
However, the loss of the college did not appear to have shaken the faith of Gazelle founders City College Norwich, North Hertfordshire College, New College Nottingham, Gateshead College and Warwickshire College. They responded to FE Week with a generic statement saying they “intend to remain [in Gazelle] for the foreseeable future”.
The same statement was sent by City College Plymouth and Highbury College, while a spokesperson for Activate Learning said: “I can confirm that we remain a member and we do expect to remain a member to the end of the academic year.” A spokesperson for Glasgow Kelvin College said it “continually reviews all subscriptions on an annual basis.”
But a question mark remains over future involvement of the remaining 13 member colleges who did not respond to FE Week.
Gazelle chief executive Fintan Donohue said: “The membership of the Gazelle Colleges Group has always evolved and changed — each year there are new colleges that join and a very small minority that retire. We have every indication that the vast majority of members wish to sustain their membership going forward.”
News of Gloucestershire’s impending exit comes after FE Week revealed that most member colleges inspected since joining Gazelle had not improved their Ofsted ratings, despite the fact its membership pumped a total of £3.5m into the organisation up until June, leading to criticism from the University and College Union.
Mr Donohue defended the organisation at the time, claiming “enrichment of student experiences and outcomes” was its “overriding goal”.
Nevertheless, Gloucestershire College’s spend on Gazelle services includes three years of membership fees at £35,000 per year and more than £26,000 for staff development and student “educational experience”.
Ms Cant said: “Our commitment to the entrepreneurial ethos of the Gazelle Group remains and will continue to be reflected in our future plans, alongside our focus on meaningful work experience through internships and volunteering. Our priority is delivering excellence and equipping all students with the skills for success beyond college, and we are grateful to Gazelle for the positive contribution and opportunities it has provided over the past three years.”
No response was received from Amersham and Wycombe College, Barking and Dagenham College, Cambridge Regional College, Cardiff and Vale College, Carlisle College, City of Bath College, Lesoco, Middlesborough College, Peterborough Regional College, Preston’s College, South West College, City of Liverpool or The Sheffield College.
Skills Funding Agency (SFA) apprenticeships boss Sue Husband (pictured) has emphasised the need for employer involvement in standards but acknowledged concerns about “onerous” extra work for businesses.
Ms Husband, the SFA’s director for apprenticeships and delivery, appeared in front of Lords on a digital skills committee last week.
In response to a question about employer ownership of skills, Ms Husband acknowledged concerns raised by business about reforms, and said the SFA would help those who felt over-burdened.
She said: “We do see ourselves as a service, so as we have gone through this new approach with Trailblazers we have had the feedback from employers that they feel it’s probably too onerous for them to take full responsibility for updating [standards].
“However I would say that there has to be that employer involvement all the way through. It is for them to guide and advise what those standards look like and how they change and get amended.”
Ms Husband appeared alongside City & Guilds chief executive Chris Jones (pictured), who called for better careers advice and Siemens head of professional education Martin Hottass, who warned that colleges struggling to fund specialist lecturers were failing to meet demand from companies like his.
Mr Jones said: “I think to expect a teacher in a school of 14-year-olds to give good, high quality careers advice and guidance is probably the job from hell. It’s not one I expect them to do, so that is one of the problems.
“But I think more broadly, one of the issues that I have is that there doesn’t seem to be any clear sense of accountability or consistency around careers advice and guidance today.”
Mr Hottass said: “We only have engineering apprentices and we only contract with eight colleges in the UK because the majority of colleges are not equipped to deal with what we need.”
Skills Minister Nick Boles is expected to give evidence to the committee on Tuesday (November 18) morning.
These are the five former principals and one ex-vice principal that make up the new intake of advisers for FE Commissioner Dr David Collins (pictured front), FE Week can reveal.
Phil Frier, Dr Beri Hare, John Hogg, Steve Hutchinson, Chris Jones and Lynne Craig have won posts at the commissioner’s office.
Their appointments take the total number to advisers to 11, with existing advisers David Williams, Joanna Gaukroger, Marilyn Hawkins, Malcolm Cooper and Lynn Forrester-Walker.
The appointments continue with Dr Collins’s focus on leadership, with all six of the new appointees having worked in principal or vice-principal posts, and at least three having worked in colleges where they were appointed to sort out problems with finances or quality.
Phil Frier led Park College Eastbourne, Sussex Downs College and City College Brighton before being appointed to head debt-ridden K College, which was broken up on his recommendation.
Dr Beri Hare, who currently lists herself on Linkedin as an educational consultant, was principal at Stroud College in Gloucestershire from 2006 until its merger with Filton College near Bristol in 2012. She was awarded the OBE for her services to further education in 2011.
Steve Hutchinson is a member of FE Associates and worked for a brief period as interim principal at K College, succeeding Mr Frier. He was a senior education advisory manager for KPMG and a regional finance director for the Further Education Funding Council for England in the late 1990s.
Chris Jones has been principal at Calderdale College in Yorkshire since 2006, and will continue in the role until early
next year. He is currently chair of the Leeds City Region Skills Network and is a former director of finance and corporate services at The Sheffield College.
John Hogg has been principal at Middlesborough College, Wolverhampton City College and, more recently, worked at City College Coventry, where he was appointed in July last year after an inadequate rating from Ofsted. He was succeeded five months ago by
Steve Logan.
Lynne Craig was vice-principal at Gloucestershire College before setting herself up as a freelance education consultant.
She was previously on the council of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) and an inspector with the Adult Learning Inspectorate.
The roles were advertised at a rate of £600 a-day, along with a prediction of 60 to 80 working days a-year for each adviser.
