Staff and students from Derbyshire-based Buxton and Leek College scaled the heights with a fundraising trek for a mountain rescue group.
The group of 12 level three outdoor sports learners and library staff scaled Peak District hills Brown Knoll and Mam Torr during their 10-mile walk.
They raised £228 in sponsorship which was handed to Carina Humberside from Edale Mountain Rescue.
Pam Mason, a college librarian, said: “We had a great time and were rewarded by some lovely views. We had been expecting horrendous weather, but were very lucky, although we did all get wet as it was very boggy underfoot.
“We all love walking and hope we might inspire more people to take part in future.”
Main pic from left: Carina Humberside, from Edale Mountain Rescue, accepting the donation from Buxton and Leek College staff Pam Mason, Julia Kay and Allan Shaw.
Inset from left: Student Rachel Arbon, aged 21, Ms Mason, Ms Lucas and Ms Sutcliffe rest on a hilltop
Hollywood star Helena Bonham-Carter wore a corseted dress designed by a former City of Oxford College fashion student for a photo-shoot with a leading magazine.
Rosie Dennington, aged 23, who completed an extended diploma in fashion at the college in 2010,is a long-term fan of the actress’s unconventional vintage and gothic-influenced dress-sense.
Her father John sent a catalogue of clothing Rosie had designed and made to Ms Bonham Carter’s personal assistant in the hope that they would impress her.
The actress, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as The Queen Mother in hit movie The King’s Speech, was so impressed that she invited Rosie to a meeting in London where she chose one of her dresses for a photo-shoot which featured in Vanity Fair’s September edition.
Rosie, who has launched her own fashion label Rosie Red Corsetry and Couture, said: “I didn’t know what to expect at the meeting but took along some dresses and they just happened to be Helena’s size.
“It was incredible to meet her and after trying on one my dresses she asked if I would mind her wearing it for the photo shoot.”
Main pic: Actress Helena Bonhan-Carter in a picture from the Vanity Fair photoshoot wearing the dress created by former City of Oxford College student Rosie Dennington.
Yesterday morning, Team UK set out for EuroSkills in Lille.
The 19 young men and women will compete against fellow apprentices from across Europe, hoping to hone their skills, pick up medals and maybe, just maybe, earn themselves a spot on the team at the WorldSkills finals in Brazil next year.
You could be forgiven for not knowing about any of this. You could be forgiven for never having heard of WorldSkills, and for thinking the only international event taking place in Brazil in the next few years was the Olympics.
So let me fill you in on one of education’s best kept secrets.
WorldSkills competitions started in the 1950s, and if they could have got away with it, they’d probably have called it the Skills Olympics, but you know, copyright and all that.
Like the Olympics, young people at WorldSkills compete against each other in range of disciplines, but instead of demonstrating sporting prowess, they show off their ability in a dizzying array of skills.
From confectionery to plumbing, joinery to computer programming, landscape gardening to beauty therapy – if you can train in it, there’s a good chance you can compete in it at WorldSkills, as long as you’re under 21 and within two years of completing your training (usually).
In the UK, there are annual competitions at regional and national level, with European championships (EuroSkills) and world championships (WorldSkills) taking place in alternate years.
This week sees EuroSkills take place in Lille, France.
Our young competitors were among the 100 hopefuls chosen to join the UK’s provisional Brazil ‘squad’ at a selection event in Northern Ireland in June. They are all receiving intensive training to bring them up to international standard and will be whittled down to the final team for Sao Paulo next year.
But EuroSkills isn’t technically a qualifying event for WorldSkills, and not every skill is represented here.
Instead, it’s used more as an extra training and development opportunity for WorldSkills hopefuls. Nevertheless, EuroSkills competitors will be hoping a good performance could catch the team selectors’ eye.
I have been lucky enough to accompany the competitors at the selection event in Belfast and to EuroSkills – and I’ll be keeping you up to date with all the action, both online and in FE Week between now and next summer’s finals.
The young people who boarded the Eurostar today could easily be mistaken for a regular, energetic bunch of teenagers and 20-year-olds, joking, laughing and taking selfies – albeit slightly more nervous.
But once they enter the competition centre and the timer starts, the level of focus and skill that these people are capable of could rival any Olympic athlete.
And we’re talking serious skill levels here – I’ve seen decorating competitors draw a freehand copy of design on a wall that is identical to the millimetre, cabinet makers produce pieces that now live in Number 10 Downing Street and hairdressers literally make someone’s hair stand on end – all under unimaginable pressure in a matter of strictly-timed hours.
Because these young people are incredible. They are dedicated, they are determined and they are talented. And they deserve recognition.
The Conservatives will increase the number of apprenticeships from 2m to 3m in the next Parliament funded by cuts to benefits for young people, David Cameron has announced.
The Prime Minister has revealed plans to stop childless 18 to 21-year-olds from claiming housing benefit and withdraw their jobseeker’s allowance if they don’t find work in six months.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show that the money saved would be used to fund 3m apprenticeships over the course of the next Parliament if his party wins next May.
But analysis by FE Week shows that any government attempting to drive up participation among teenagers would have to reverse a worrying downward trend in starts among under 19s.
Mr Cameron told the Marr show: “At heart I want us effectively to abolish youth unemployment. I want us to end the idea that aged 18 you leave school, go and leave home, claim unemployment benefit and claim housing benefit. We should not be offering that choice to young people. We should be saying to people you should be earning or learning.
“We are not talking about those people with children. This is about single people aged 18 to 21. You can start a life on dependency and that is no life at all, that is no future for your children when you do have them. We are saying save the money, make sure after six months every one of those young people has to do a job or in training and use the savings to provide three million apprentices”.
His comments come after the number of 16 to 19-year-olds starting an apprenticeship slumped by 12 per cent, from 129,900 in 2011/12 to 114,500 in 2012/13.
Analysis by FE Week also shows that there was a 2 per cent drop in apprenticeship starts in all age groups, from 520,600 in 2011/12 to 510,200 in 2012/13, and that 45 per cent of all new apprentices in 2012/13 were aged 25 and over.
The pledge from Mr Cameron has been cautiously welcomed by Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal.
Mr Segal said: “Training providers will be pleased that all the political parties are committing the funds that will expand the apprenticeship programme. The Conservatives have announced that they want to increase the number of apprenticeship starts but that can only happen if they work with employers and training providers to build on the success of the current system.
“AELP has always said that the drive to engage more employers will mean that the budgets for Apprenticeships will have to be increased. We need a firm basis for that increase in investment and this has to be additional funds to the existing adult skills budgets.
“The proposals to fund the expansion through cuts in benefits for young people needs to be carefully thought through. Getting those young people the right job with training must be the objective so taking part in community projects must be part of a clear plan to get them the work they need. Training providers involved in Welfare to Work programmes need to be involved in developing those proposals.
“Much of the Apprenticeship growth is likely to come from small businesses so we need to ensure that the changes to policy and funding reflect the evidence from employers. Some of the current proposals will be a barrier to entry for many of those businesses, including direct funding and cash contributions. We look forward to working with government to make these plans for growth a reality but that must be based on firm evidence and employer choice.”
But Professor Alison Wolf, an academic and adviser to the government who wrote a report on vocational education three years ago which led to the establishment of study programmes, has voiced concerns.
Professor Wolf tweeted: “If you demand more substantial apprenticeships with fixed funding, numbers must fall. Failure if they don’t.”
A former “apprentice principal” has taken the reins at Great Yarmouth College (GYC).
Stuart Rimmer has left the director of quality and enterprise role he held for seven years at Lancaster and Morecambe College (LMC) to become a first-time principal in Norfolk.
The 38-year-old takes over following the retirement of Penny Wycherley, who became Great Yarmouth College principal three years ago, and having learned the principal trade from his previous employers.
“I served a great ‘apprenticeship’ for this new role under David Wood, principal at LMC,” said Mr Rimmer, previously Newcastle College’s programme manager for business, accounting and law.
“The journey that LMC went on in terms of finance, quality and curriculum development and the improvement in leadership was tremendous.
“It was excellent being a part of one of the success stories in Lancashire and I hope to apply some of that learning to my new post in Norfolk.”
Ms Wycherley, a former deputy chief executive at Eastleigh College and principal at South Kent College, joined GYC “for six months” in January 2011, but stayed on to lead the college from its inadequate Ofsted rating of late 2010 to last year’s good result.
“Working with the staff and students at GYC has been a pleasure and a privilege,”
she said.
“When I came here, it is was because I like a challenge and because I had met the staff and management team and believed they were committed to creating a good college at the centre of its community.
“While I have been here I have grown to love Great Yarmouth, a community with heart. I will leave with so many good memories and pride in what the team I have worked with has done.
“Their response to growing training to meet employers’ needs and to making a difference to the community is unrivalled and I look forward to hearing the impact of this as Great Yarmouth flourishes.”
Meanwhile, Brian Keenan has been appointed chief executive of Hertfordshire London Colleges Consortium (Hertvec) in Saudi Arabia. The consortium was awarded a £225m contract by the Kingdom’s College of Excellence programme in April to open three colleges in the Qassim and Riyadh Provinces this month.
He has held educational roles at Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, British Aerospace and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), in the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Mr Keenan, who has been based in the Middle East for nearly three decades, said: “Countries in the Middle East and North Africa region face serious employment challenges for their young populations.”
He added: “As incoming chief executive, I am honoured and excited by the challenges that lie ahead.”
Chairman of the board Andy Forbes, principal of Hertfordshire Regional College and president of the Hertfordshire London Colleges, said: “I am delighted that Brian
has been appointed. His knowledge and expertise from working across the Middle East will provide us with unrivalled leadership and insight.”
The Junior Shadow Minister for Education Rushanara Ali has stepped down after refusing to take part in yesterday’s vote on military action in Iraq.
The Labour MP who had responsibility for young people on the opposition’s front bench said she was concerned civilians would be caught in the crossfire.
Parliament was recalled yesterday to vote on whether or not to launch air strikes on Islamic State (Isil) fighters in Iraq.
Ms Ali wrote to Labour Leader Ed Miliband ahead of the vote, saying: “There can be no doubt that the actions of ISIL are horrific and barbaric, and I share the revulsion that everyone in our country feels towards them.
“However, I am not confident that this military action will be effective in the short-term in just targeting the terrorists and not harming innocent civilians.”
She added that she also did not believe that there was “a credible long-term strategy”.
She said serving as a shadow education minister had been “a privilege” and she had come to the decision with “regret” but that she could not, in conscience, support the motion to go to war.
No replacement for her has yet been announced.
Ms Ali represents Bethnal Green and Bow, a constituency with a large Muslim population and is herself a Muslim.
“I know that British Muslims stand united in the total condemnation of the murders that ISIL have committed,” she said.
“However, there is a genuine belief in Muslim and non-Muslim communities that military action will only create further bloodshed and further pain for the people of Iraq.”
She added that, “despite good intentions, too many mistakes have been made” in Iraq through “misconceived actions” by the UK and other countries.
In his reply to her resignation letter, Mr Miliband said: “I know that you have thought long and hard about this.
“I respect your decision.”
He added that she had “served with real distinction” as a shadow minister and described her as “someone with great ability and talent”.
Ms Ali will continue to represent her constituency.
A Labour Party spokesperson said Ms Ali’s replacment would be announced “in due course”.
FE Week profiled Ms Ali when she first became Shadow Education Minister in October last year. Click here to read it
Labour leader Ed Miliband’s 2014 conference address has prompted FE and skills sector questions about figures behind his pledge to bring the number of apprenticeship starts up in line with those at university.
In his speech in Manchester on Tuesday, Mr Miliband said he wanted the same number of school-leavers to go on to apprenticeships as university by 2025.
But Labour now faces calls to reveal the numbers behind the claim after one expert told FE Week the scale of the challenge would depend on whether Labour’s planned apprenticeship reforms, including a two-year minimum duration and abolition of courses below level three, were taken into account.
Labour leader Ed Miliband
Mick Fletcher, a founder member of the Policy Consortium, said: “It sounds an ambitious target, but he has wisely given himself a decade to get there, and depending on the precise calculation used it could be quite challenging, or we might be there already.
“There are currently about 650,000 18-year-olds and similar numbers aged 19 and 20. Around 35 per cent of 18-year-olds apply to higher education and a further 10 per cent of 19-year-olds apply for the first time each year, allowing for the fact that not all are accepted but that others apply later, perhaps a maximum of 300,000 will enter higher education by age the age of 24.
“The figure for 2012/13 was actually 273,000, but removing the cap on student numbers may increase participation a little by 2025.
“In 2012/13 the number of apprenticeship starts for the 19 to 24 age group was 161,000. Starts for those aged 16 to 18 were 112,000, giving 283,000 — on current year numbers therefore we are there already.
“Even if we only count the half of the 16 to 18 category who were 18 year olds, to meet the target still only requires an increase of 73,000 or 32 per cent — a bit under 3 per cent per year.
“On the other hand were Labour to scrap apprenticeships at level two and those lasting under two years there would be a real struggle — they’d have to at least treble the number of places offered at level three — currently there are fewer than 100,000 starting level three apprenticeships of all lengths.
“Creating more places is one issue — funding them is another. It is possible that the ambition could be funded by reducing the total of 222,000 who started an apprenticeship after the age of 24 — even allowing for the lower cost of older apprenticeships there’s plenty of headroom.”
Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP
It comes after the FE sector called for an emphasis on quality and the establishment of an “apprentice charter” in response to Mr Miliband’s comments.
David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace), said: “We are keen to support the next government’s ambition on apprentices by implementing an apprentice charter. This will be written from the perspective of each apprentice and signed-up to by government, employers, learners and providers.
“It will enable them to see what each apprenticeship will involve, setting out the opportunities, experiences, support and feedback an apprentice can expect at different stages. It will also give the apprentice a clear understanding of the contribution they must make.
“What’s needed is not just an apprenticeships revolution but an adult skills revolution that unlocks the talents of all.”
Richard Atkins, president of the Association of Colleges, said Mr Miliband was, “right to put pressure on employers,” adding: “Too few do so at the moment, both from the public and private sectors.
“Giving employers a strong say in apprenticeships is absolutely right, but at the same time the interests of apprentices need to be respected. They need to learn skills that are portable, and not specific to a single employer.
“Colleges have a long tradition in providing technical and vocational education, and are ideally placed to deliver training as part of the apprenticeships.”
Kirstie Donnelly, UK managing director of City & Guilds, said: “What we need now are details from Labour about how these additional apprenticeships will be created and how they intend to ensure that quality remains high.”
It comes after Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal and 157 Group executive director Lynne Sedgmore warned Mr Miliband’s proposals to apparently increase apprentice numbers risked prioritising “quantity over quality”.
Mr Segal told FE Week: “It’s great that it’s such a top priority, but we don’t want to fall into the trap of being driven by numbers and by particular routes.
Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt MP
But he warned that any law to force employers to hire apprentices based on quotas could backfire.
He said: “I don’t think it should be legislation. It’s too complex and there are too many variables to try to determine what employers have to do. But I do think there is a long was to go to encourage employers to run apprenticeships and make it easy.”
Dr Sedgmore said: “The pledges he is making are positive and I am pleased it is so high on his agenda.
“However, while it is important to increase the number of apprenticeships on offer it is crucial that all apprenticeships are of a high quality.
“We would like to see this initial pledge backed up very quickly by plans for how all apprenticeships will become a pathway to valuable and sustainable employment.
“I laud his vision of parity of esteem, it is a powerful one. But that vision will only be realised through building a world class apprenticeship system where all apprentices, young people and adults, are given the best possible learning experience with long-term benefits for them and for the economy.”
Conference also heard from Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt, who
told delegates improving technical education was one of his three key campaign
He said: “A Labour Government will ensure Further Education colleges focused on training for local jobs, proper apprenticeships lasting two years, a technical baccalaureate, with respected qualifications, careers advice, technical degrees so young people can earn and learn.”
The Department for Education’s application window for the opening of free schools closes on October 10. Pauline Hagen discusses her experience of the process.
Last January, after much research, we decided to apply to the Department for Education to open a free school sixth form college.
Our primary motive was a moral one — the need for alternative post-16 provision in our chosen area is well-documented.
There was also a pragmatic driver. Alongside all the other colleges who make a significant contribution to the government’s priorities of narrowing gaps, raising attainment and improving social mobility, we have taken a funding battering in recent years, and our unprotected budget remains vulnerable.
Despite being a high-performing college, it seems we are not as interesting or understood by the Coalition as the new breeds in the education marketplace.
In addition, we recognise the benefits of sharing resources and expertise across two colleges. And we felt confident that our vision was deliverable.
In three years, we have reversed the declining performance of a college and taken it to outstanding. We have done this in a context similar to the one in our chosen area which has similar levels of deprivation and prior attainment.
We decided that not only was this project something which needed doing, but also that we could do it.
The last eight months have been spent gathering data, creating a vision, producing staffing, curriculum and financial plans, developing a governance model, enlisting governors and researching suitable sites.
Be prepared for reactions which will include overt hostility, regardless of how strong the evidence is about the need for alternative provision
It seems presumptuous to give advice to others who are considering doing the same thing. After all, our application may not be approved next month, and even if it is, that will generate a whole new raft of work.
But one member of the team said to me the other day: “We’ve produced a handbook on how to open a college” — and that does encapsulate what is needed in an application.
In the process we have been able to reflect on our own college and the way we run it.
We have learned much from the process, not just about how to put together an application, but about communicating messages, seeking allies and building support. But there are things we would do differently if we had known eight months ago what we know now.
Planning a long lead-in is essential.We thought we had plenty of time, when the idea of a 2016 opening seemed reassuringly remote.
But the process has its own momentum and it put considerable stress on our small team who already have a day job. Expect to work though holidays and weekends.
One thing we should definitely have started earlier is the ‘thousand names project’. All free school applications must demonstrate that they will be at full capacity or oversubscribed by the first year of ‘steady state’. For us, this meant getting 1,000 students of the right age to indicate that the proposed college would be their first choice. We built a micro-site and produced a mini-prospectus and sent teams of staff into the town to talk to potential students and parents. We started this work quite late, in June and July, as the school year approached its end. Given that we had no direct access to students in the appropriate year groups, this was quite stressful.
Early on, we applied successfully for a place on the development programme delivered by the New Schools Network (NSN). This independent charity works to improve education by increasing the number of innovative state schools.
We attended a weekend training event, and have been supported by an adviser and consultants who have provided feedback on all aspects of our application. Places on this programme are dependent on the strength of your vision, and on meeting the NSN’s own internal deadlines.
Be prepared for reactions which will include overt hostility, regardless of how strong the evidence is about the need for alternative provision.
For us, this hostility had the advantage of making us very clear on our mission, which is reaffirmed every time we come across an argument which has nothing at all to do with the success of young people, and everything to do with protecting poor performance.
Hollywood star Helena Bonham-Carter wore a corseted dress designed by a former City of Oxford College fashion student for a photo-shoot with a leading magazine.
