college | FE Week

Revealed: The next 19 ‘technical excellence colleges’

The colleges will have access to £175 million to specialise in defence, energy, digital or manufacturing

How Eduqas GCSE English Language is turning the page on ‘I’m never going to pass’

“A lot of learners come to us thinking ‘I’m rubbish at English, and I’m never going to pass’,” says Julia Antram, English Lecturer at South Devon College. “But literally within a couple of weeks of starting the Eduqas specification they realise they can actually achieve a Grade 4.”

Prevent referrals to be ‘routinely’ escalated

Major review comes after teenager who murdered three girls in Southport was referred to the programme three times

The Countdown for the BTEC Awards nominations is on

With just a few weeks to go before the nominations for this year’s BTEC Awards close, the countdown is on. Nominating is easy, you can nominate multiple times and there is plenty to be won. The annual event, now in its 12th year, recognises and celebrates the hard work and dedication of BTEC learners, tutors, and […]

Funding clawback for college at risk of cash crisis

A college already in financial difficulty is being forced to pay back nearly £1 million to the government as a result of working with a subcontractor investigated for falsifying learner records. In a report published last Friday by the FE commissioner, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College was warned that it needed to take “urgent […]

Can national colleges overcome their recruitment and funding challenges?

Clair Mowbray explains how the first incorporated college to open in 30 years is responding to its funding and recruitment challenges In last week’s edition of FE Week, national colleges were placed under the spotlight with regard to the challenges they have faced recently around their funding and learner recruitment. It has been just over […]

Strike action escalates on a second day of college walkouts

More than 1,500 staff from colleges are expected to take part in a second day of strike action, and more walkouts are planned up to the end of April. The dispute is over what a spokesperson for the University and Colleges Union described as “a disappointing” pay offer of one per cent, made last September […]

College sector performance continues rapid improvement

Just under three quarters of colleges are now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, as the sector’s rapid improvement continues into 2018. Two reports published this morning – for Chelmsford College and Craven College – record a crucial step up from grade three to grade two. And Leicester College and Lakes College both achieved the […]

Grenfell community rage over college sell-off

Leaders of a college that sold its main campus to make way for housing ahead of a planned merger have been shouted down and slow-clapped at a heated public meeting. The site on Wornington Road, one of Kensington and Chelsea College’s two main campuses, was sold for £25.3 million to the Royal Borough of Kensington […]