28-505: West Suffolk College is a Further Education college in Bury St Edmunds , Suffolk . The college delivers a range of courses, including vocational and technical courses, apprenticeships , and an array of higher-apprenticeships and bachelor's degree courses accredited by the University of East Anglia . Over 12,000 students are enrolled at West Suffolk College. The main campus site is
56-401: A framework for an insolvency regime for further education colleges known as "Education Administration". This is a form of corporate administration adapted to the needs of further education, to be used "where a further education body is unable to pay its debts or is likely to become unable to pay its debts" and intended "to avoid or minimise disruption to the studies of the existing students of
84-631: A large service provider for apprenticeships where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college. FE in the United Kingdom is usually a means to attain an intermediate, advanced or follow-up qualification necessary to progress into HE, or to begin a specific career path outside of university education. Further Education is offered to students aged over 16 at colleges of Further Education, through work-based learning, or adult and community learning institutions. Provision for further education colleges
112-420: A repository of teaching resources for computing through its website, teachcomputing.org . It also offers additional support through Isaac Computer Science, [1] , a free online platform for GCSE and A level computer science students and teachers. The National Centre is operated by a network of school-based Computing Hubs teachcomputing.org/hubs , geographically distributed around England. These Hubs ensure that
140-534: A vocational route after the end of compulsory education at age 16. They offer a wide range of vocational qualifications to young people and older adults, including vocational, competency-based qualifications (previously known as SVQs ), Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas . Frequently, the first two years of higher education – usually in the form of an HND – are taken in an FE college, followed by attendance at university. Further education in Wales
168-781: Is a sponsor of the Suffolk Academies Trust, a collaboration with One Sixth Form College in Ipswich and Abbeygate Sixth Form College in Bury St Edmunds. In 2016, Suffolk Academies Trust was given permission by the Department for Education to build a new sixth form, Abbeygate, in Bury St Edmunds, which has been completed as of 2023, to cater for up to 1,700 pupils, offering more than 30 A-level courses to 16-19 year olds. West Suffolk College, Abbeygate Sixth Form in Bury St Edmunds and One Sixth Form College in Ipswich are collectively known as
196-625: Is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications (including those previously known as NVQ/SVQs ) through awarding organisations including City and Guilds , Edexcel ( BTEC ) and OCR . FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC , HND , foundation degree or PGCE . The colleges are also
224-416: Is provided through seven multi-campus colleges. Northern Ireland's Department for Employment and Learning has the responsibility for providing FE in the province. Most secondary schools also provide a sixth form scheme whereby a student can choose to attend for two additional years to complete their AS and A-levels. Scotland's further education colleges provide education for those young people who follow
252-882: Is provided through: Further education in Wales comes under the remit of the Welsh Assembly Government . Funding came from Education and Learning Wales from 2000 until 2006, when that organisation was merged with the Assembly. Further education in the Republic of Ireland is similar to that offered in the UK. Typical areas include apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications in many disciplines, such as childcare, farming, retail, and tourism. The many types of further education awards are known as Post Leaving Certificates . Further education has expanded immensely in recent years, helped by
280-606: The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 , which removed further education colleges from local government control. Types of college include: Policies relating to colleges are primarily the responsibility of the Department for Education (DfE). Until July 2016, colleges were also covered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); on the abolition of BIS and formation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), responsibility for FE colleges moved to DfE. The regulatory body for sixth form colleges
308-671: The University of East Anglia as well as a range of Higher National Qualifications. In 1951, the Bury St Edmunds Technical Institute began offering Engineering, Building and vocational evening classes in the grounds of the Silver Jubilee School. In 1958, it decided to construct a new purpose built college on its own ground, at the Gibraltar Barracks site, where the West Suffolk College is today. It
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#1732852198842336-450: The 1990s; with Gibraltar House opening in 1999. In 2006, the college was awarded Grade 1: Outstanding by Ofsted and in 2011, Dr Ann Williams, the then Principal, was appointed an OBE for services to Further Education in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. She was replaced by Dr Nikos Savvas in 2013. In 2014, a new building, The Gateway, now the face of the college, was opened. The following year
364-520: The Eastern Education Group. The Group is a collective of post-16 education providers. University Studies at West Suffolk College was a founding member of the University of Suffolk , providing a range of apprenticeships and undergraduate degree courses. However, there was an end to the partnership between the two institutions planned from the academic year 2021–2022. A wide range of Bachelor's degrees are now delivered in partnership with
392-675: The Gateway Building situated on Out Risbygate in Bury St Edmunds. The Built Environment Campus or Milburn Centre is situated on Anglian Lane and the STEM Innovation Campus and University Studies Centre is situated on Western Way. Both are a short walk from the sixth form campus. The college also has training centres in Haverhill, Thetford, Sudbury and Ipswich, with courses also being taught in towns and villages across Suffolk including Clare, Pakenham, Thurston and Stowmarket. The college
420-688: The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership's All Energy Industry Council, the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership's Skills Advisory Panel for Norfolk and Suffolk and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Trust (SENDAT). He took up the role of Principal and CEO at West Suffolk College in September 2013. Further Education Further education (often abbreviated FE ) in the United Kingdom and Ireland
448-568: The college received confirmation of a £7m government grant to help pay for an £8m energy, engineering and manufacturing teaching centre. In September 2015, the college began Animal Care and Management courses at the Newmarket Academy . In 2016, the college was ranked in the top five per cent in the country for its achievement rates in Level 3 Vocational Diplomas, the best in the Eastern Region , and
476-505: The first college in the country to facilitate the teaching of black history all year round and has won prestigious industry accolades for outstanding and innovative careers leadership and practice. Dr Nikos Savvas has a doctorate in High Energy Particle Physics from Manchester University and has held senior roles in the further education sector for a number of years. He is a board member for various organisations including
504-585: The further education body as a whole". Education administrators were appointed to run Hadlow College and West Kent College in 2019. All colleges and FE providers are subject to inspection by Ofsted , which monitors the quality of provision in publicly funded institutions in England. Membership organisations for providers include the Association of Colleges and the Sixth Form Colleges' Association . In 2020,
532-705: The government allocated £200 million for repairs and upgrades of FE college buildings, subject to a degree of matched funding by the colleges, and the Department for Education is allocating this to colleges via the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF). Sixteen colleges with sites in poor condition have been selected, and detailed proposals were invited for submission before October 2021, for projects which can be completed by December 2024. Further education in Northern Ireland
560-715: The institutions and their relationships with their communities. Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), which was established in November 2012, is the regulator for FE qualifications. Comprehensive Employment and Training Act National Centre for Computing Education The National Centre for Computing Education is a government-funded initiative, offering teacher training and resources for computing. The National Centre for Computing Education provides professional development in computing education for primary and secondary schools and colleges, including face-to-face courses around England, and remote and online courses. It provides
588-650: The national average at 78%. Following an inspection under new grading criteria, the college was graded as 'Good' by Ofsted . The college was named in July 2019 as a computing hub for the National Centre for Computing Education . In 2020, the college became the first provider to have an Apprenticeship accredited by The Royal Society of Chemistry In 2021, the college joined the National College for Nuclear (NCfN) as an Accredited Provider. It has also been acknowledged as
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#1732852198842616-619: The programme is school-led and reflects the needs of teachers on the ground. The centre was set up following the January 2016 government report Digital Skills for the UK Economy which highlighted the digital skills gap in the UK economy, produced by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which looked at research carried out by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), which itself closed in 2017. Funding of £84m
644-483: The second best GCSE English resit results in the country. Former Chairs of Governors at the college have gone on to be awarded an MBE , including Elizabeth Milburn and Richard Carter. The current Chair of Governors at the college and Suffolk Academies Trust, Elton D'Souza is a National Leader of Governance. The college offers a range of Apprenticeships and in 2016, it enrolled over 1,000 people onto its apprenticeships, with an achievement rate eight per cent higher than
672-890: Was already DfE prior to the 2016 changes. Following the merger of the Education Funding Agency and the Skills Funding Agency in 2017, funding for colleges is provided through the Education and Skills Funding Agency for all further education students.In 2018/19, colleges' income totalled £6.5 billion, of which £5.1 billion (78%) was public funding. Most college funding follows the learner. Colleges must attract students, competing with each other and with other types of education and training provider. Colleges can borrow commercially, own assets, employ staff and enter into contracts, and they may make financial surpluses or deficits. The Technical and Further Education Act 2017 laid out
700-538: Was announced in the November 2017 United Kingdom budget to upskill around 8000 computer science teachers. Simon Peyton Jones FRS, of Microsoft Research , was appointed as the organisation's chairman in March 2019. In 2023, the Department for Education renewed its funding for STEM Learning to deliver the next phase of its national support for computing education in England. Simon Peyton Jones FRS, of Microsoft Research ,
728-515: Was appointed as the organisation's chairman in March 2019. It has been created by STEM Learning at the University of York , the BCS ( British Computer Society ) and the Raspberry Pi Foundation . It is funded by the Department for Education . The Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge will also provide assistance. The Mathematics and Science Learning Centre at
756-553: Was laid out in sections 41 to 47 of the Education Act 1944 ; their role was to offer "full-time and part-time education" and "leisure-time occupation" for persons over compulsory school age. In the 1960s, A-level students predominantly studied at school rather than colleges (often referred to as "techs" at that time). More types of colleges were introduced over the next decades, and by 1990 colleges took in almost half of A-level students. Colleges in England are corporate bodies under
784-457: Was officially opened on 29 May 1961. In the 1970s and 1980s, the college expanded; from 1970 to 1977, the Engineering, Construction and Motor Vehicle training centres were built. In 1983, Australia House, a dedicated beauty, hair and hospitality school was opened. A year later, a purpose built facility for students with learning difficulties and disabilities was built. The expansion continued into
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