The Bedford College Group has won the title of FE College of the Year in the prestigious Times Educational Supplement (TES) Further Education awards.
The awards were held on Friday 16 October 2020.
The Group, which comprises Bedford College, Shuttleworth College and The Bedford Sixth Form in Bedfordshire, and National College for Motorsport and Tresham College in Northamptonshire has risen to become one of the top FE establishments in the UK and a leading provider of employer-related education.
Ian Pryce CBE, Principal and CEO who has steered the Group to this success said:
The awards night was a wonderful celebration of the work of our extraordinary sector. I’m still in shock.
The shortlist for College of the Year was very strong, so to be judged the winner is one of the best moments of my two decades at The Bedford College Group. It has been a very special year for us on so many fronts.
“The congratulations of so many friends and colleagues in the sector is overwhelming. I am so proud of our 1,200 staff and 16,000 students and so privileged to be allowed to be their Principal. I never thought an online event could be so emotional.”
Bedford College took on a huge challenge merging with Tresham College in 2017. Tresham was a large college in a different county, rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2016 and with extensive financial deficits. However, passion, determination and exceptional hard work from staff at all levels of the College has culminated with Ofsted’s recent announcement that The Bedford College Group, (including Tresham), is rated Good in all areas, with adult and young learners developing “excellent” study skills. The Skills Funding Agency has also formally confirmed the College’s status as Outstanding for financial health with a £1million surplus.
According to the latest DfE’s Overall Institution Achievement Rates Tables 2017-18 the College is first in the Eastern region with overall achievement at 89%. The Group is also above national average for achievement in GCSEs, English, maths and apprenticeships. In addition, 2019 recruitment for Tresham College exceeded targets by 15%, with 2,543 students enrolling against a target of 2,215 and overall Group recruitment for 2019 was 13,709.
The College evaluates professional practice through learning walks, drop-ins, observations, student feedback and assessment reviews. New staff are given teacher toolkits and are supported by Advanced Practitioners. The Group invests at least 1% of total income on staff development each year, which helps develop teachers of outstanding calibre, who win national awards.
In 2017 Judith Larsen won TES FE Teacher of the Year, in 2018 Keith Haynes was named TES FE Assessor of the Year and in 2019 Samantha Jones won TES FE Teacher of the Year.
