Hull College | FE Week

Hull College overspent by almost £10 million in 2016/17, overdue accounts reveal

Cash-strapped Hull College overspent by even more in 2016/17 than the previous year, according to its recently published and long-overdue accounts. The college, which reportedly received a massive £54 million government bailout earlier this year in order to balance the books, recorded a deficit before tax of £9.69 million in 2016/17 – an increase of […]

Hull College boss: How I’m taking it out of intensive care

Hull College chief executive Michelle Swithenbank probably has the toughest job in FE right now. The former nurse has been charged with taking a college which has received the largest ever government bailout to any FE institution out of intensive care and back on the road to recovery. It’s a task that would challenge the […]

Seven-day strike at Hull College called off

Seven days of strikes at Hull College, due to start on Monday, have been called off after the threat of compulsory redundancies was lifted. Staff had been set to walk out again for five days starting June 18, and again on June 26 and 27 in a bitter row over plans to cut hundreds of jobs. […]

Hull College’s vast debts exposed

An impoverished college which took a £54 million bailout did so after declaring a deficit of close to £13 million in a single year. The revelation emerged from Hull College’s long-delayed 2015/16 accounts, which were finally published this week following pressure from FE Week. There have widespread demands for greater transparency on the college’s dire […]

Hull College receives £54m bailout amid job strikes

An impoverished college caught in a row over job cuts has received a £54 million bailout. The eye-watering sum reportedly awarded to Hull College from the restructuring facility is believed to be the highest ever given to an English college. A college representative let slip the sum during the University and College Union’s congress in […]

MP joining 2 day Hull College strike starting tomorrow

Striking staff Hull College will be joined on the picket line by their local MP Emma Hardy tomorrow as they walk out for a second time in an ongoing row about job cuts. Members of the University and College Union are protesting plans to slash 231 jobs at the college, which is currently subject to […]

Hull College Group to shed over 200 staff

Hull College Group is preparing to shed up to 231 full-time jobs in an effort to balance its books. In a statement that appeared online yesterday, chief executive Michelle Swithenbank warned that “some difficult decisions have to be made” to regain stability amid longstanding financial troubles. The FE commissioner reported in February last year that […]

Hull College Group silent on future of under fire chief executive

Hull College Group has repeatedly refused to publicly back its chief executive, after he was urged to resign following a damning FE Commissioner report that exposed a £10 million deficit over four years. Commissioner Richard Atkins’ team was sent in to carry out an emergency assessment, after the Skills Funding Agency issued it with a […]

FE Commissioner intervention report exposes financial turmoil at Hull College Group

A new FE Commissioner intervention report has exposed the grave financial problems facing Hull College Group. Commissioner Richard Atkins’ (pictured) team was sent in to carry out their assessment, after the Skills Funding Agency issued it with a notice of concern in November last year. The report, however, only emerged on gov.uk this evening. It […]