Pat Carvalho announced as new AoC president

A Birmingham college principal has been chosen as the next president of the Association of Colleges.

Pat Carvalho has been the CEO and principal of Birmingham Metropolitan College since 2021 and has been working in the FE sector for over three decades.

She will succeed Corrienne Peasgood, who has served as AoC president since September 2022, on October 16.

“I am delighted to be the next AoC president and I hope I can do as good a job representing our great sector as my predecessors,” she said.

Before entering FE, Carvalho’s first career was in the NHS as a medical secretary after training at a local Birmingham college, before going on to university as a mature student.

She led Harrow College as principal for over eight years before the college merged to become Harrow and Uxbridge Colleges (HCUC) in 2017. She was then principal and deputy CEO of HCUC for another three years before moving to Birmingham.

AoC presidents are elected by the membership body’s college members. Their term of office runs for a maximum two-year tenure.

The president acts as an ambassador for the membership organisation and the further education sector.

Peasgood said: “It has been an honour to serve as the AoC President for two years, and it’s given me the privilege of seeing our sector from another perspective

She added: “AoC colleagues, staff, leaders and the board have been incredibly supportive, and I’d like to thank them for that. It’s time to hand over the reins now though and I’m thrilled that Pat Carvalho is our new president. It’s a fantastic role, and I wish Pat all the best.”

David Hughes, chief executive of AoC, said Carvalho is “inspiring and passionate about FE and brings a wealth of experience with her from the sector”.

He added: “I also want to say a huge thanks to Corrienne for her hard work over the past two years. She has worked tirelessly in her role as AoC president and has had an immense impact on our influencing and engaging work in particular.”