It is a shame the TIMSS survey results get less attention than PISA given they are at least as robust. Good to see England the top non-Asian country at grade 8 for both Maths & Science (5th/6th in world). Says much about the quality of our teachers

I was really proud that the Bedford College Group was a trailblazer for sustainability even 15 years ago. First college to win Green Gown, first to offer training in Photovoltaics/solar water installation, first U.K. BREAMM excellent retrofit. Good film short

Pleased to see hot-off-press audited accounts for 23-24, covering my last six months The Bedford College Group show record income at £87m, compared to £10m when I started & college remained outstanding throughout the 26 years, despite five acquisitions of financially poor institutions

We know it is important that we invest in skills to achieve growth. The FE finance record for 2022-23 shows college assets depreciating by £503m p.a. That’s the investment needed just to stand still. Colleges like NCG & LTE need £14m & £11m alone each and every year

Looking at FE finance record for 2022-23 the spread of student numbers is interesting. For those included in the record (201 colleges) they had 1.4m funded students. But the biggest 20 account for 0.4m (about 30%) & despite sector consolidation, 19 have < 2k students & 70 < 5k

And so a chapter in Bedford College history ends. The involvement in school education covered Bridges (900 14-16s from 18 schools), sponsoring first local academy (Bedford Academy), project managing The Bedford Free School and creating Wixams schools. Total £80m inward investment!

Shelagh has done an amazing job for the sector. Despite the challenges we‘ve now far more colleges judged outstanding than in intervention & emphasis on support, especially post-intervention, is key. Often people drawn to intervening find reasons to keep doing so, not so here, very refreshing

Absolutely loved A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan film, so much I wanted immediately to do an FE version of one of Bob's songs. Then realised I did during lockdown - weird looking back - Ofqual algorithms & Trump out! youtu.be/_0knSw2LNAU?...

This is so sad. Sarah was so young. She was an excellent journalist, passionate about the importance of local media & professional investigative journalism. A friend of the college but not afraid to rightly criticise when appropriate. She had integrity plus humanity. Love to her family

In 70s wrote a song Rock Dreams with future brother-in-law, & was touched that my son’s band added it to their set list in 2000s. Now his dream has come true, landing job teaching future rock stars on multi-instruments. That formative insistence he become the next Mike Oldfield finally paying off!

Yes I agree! Of 16 year olds w/out L2 English & maths, 1 in 3 now have it at age 19. Up from 1 in 10 ten years ago. This is a huge success! Not popular when it was introduced. And we can do better through more investment. But let's celebrate progress & march on. Not row back in e.g. apprenticeships.

Given sheer scale of the policy, the action taken by colleges after introduction of the maths & English condition of funding - creating whole new depts, increasing supply of specialist teachers etc - is one of education’s most impressive success stories. Yet it’s over criticised & under celebrated

Have always thought that schools insisting branded uniform is wholly & exclusively required, should meet that cost & provide it, as they would for any branded staff uniform for receptionists or security staff etc

Very proud of son Rob for contributing to the research that has won the award for journal paper of the year sarg-sheffield.ac.uk/news-media/r...

So many fantastic books this year. These my pick of the non-fiction if you’re looking for something well-written & thought-provoking

When we bought the former Bedford Girls High School in 2012 & created The Bedford Sixth Form we set it the target of being the biggest for A Levels in the Borough within 5 years. It remains the biggest & no wonder with students like this. Congratulations www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/education/th...

Once a year the Chartered Institution for Further Education dress up to celebrate top people in the FE sector (it’s like Wolf Hall without the infighting!). Brilliant to see Bedford College Group’s Carl, Kevin & Dave recognised & four superb new fellows Andy, Keith, Graham & Rebecca

Given the extensive input from employers into T Levels, it doesn’t say much for their expertise in accurately assessing future skills needs if they invent things employers clearly don’t want. Students being badly let down

Agree with Andy. I was definitely Homo DIUS! One of the most exciting periods in recent FE history, with the I being taken as seriously as the U and S

I love that my Anglo-German grandsons always enjoy the traditional St Nicholas wake up to find your school shoes full of nuts and fruit, so “we get two Christmas’s grandpa”

Really good blog from Pat. These projects didn’t just transform the college, they transformed the physical landscape of two important towns. An iconic tower on Bedford’s central riverfront & a revitalised Corby town centre. Lot others can learn from her approach

I’ve tried to champion reading of plays, given people complain they have no time to read. They cost a bit more than fiction, but by definition they can be read in one evening and are dramatic. These my favourites this year. Quirky Christmas presents?

The Ipsos annual almanac always a great early Christmas present. Well worth 5 mins of time. Much to ponder - fatalism among young men; nouveau nilhilism; escape to individiualism; people feeling both techno-wonder & techno-worry, but trust in teachers still very high! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsLp...

One of the spin-off benefits of mentoring is you don’t just meet fantastic people, you get time in beautiful places. Envious of Bournemouth & Poole college staff working so close to the sea

It was probably inevitable colleges would come down from last year's high water mark. They are also disadvantaged by being judged holistically when MATs are judged by individual school, especially as colleges become fewer but bigger as they absorb weak neighbours 1/2

Nothing restores your faith in humanity more than a group of bright, excited year 6s showing you round their new school buildings. £11m well spent by DfE. Learning a lot from being part of Knowledge Schools Trust

This is so good to see. @getfurther.bsky.social is exactly the sort of credible organisation we need in FE, and exactly the sort of recognition we need from the Education Endowment Foundation. Well done @sarahjwaite.bsky.social & team

Much to admire here but should be cautious on two things: 1) Pretty sure any 18-21 year old wanting to learn would already get a place at their local college? So already guaranteed? Maybe not a place on a particular course though. Increasing supply of places on oversubscribed courses will cost 1/3

Book isn't an argument against exams per se, as focus is on question “What is school for?”. Spent much time on that at Bedford College concluding our young people should leave us expert & skilled in their subject, resilient, reliable, caring, good citizens, able to navigate the world confidently

As Chair of the Regulatory Committee of one of world’s largest examining organisations & someone who thinks exams aren’t perfect but still have proven the most inclusive & fairest approach, I found this genuinely thought-provoking & mind changing. You will too! Thanks Sammy

Always had problem understanding money & how it really works. Still no expert, but David @davidmcwecon.bsky.social’s superb book has certainly helped. Especially loved the character portrait of Gutenberg, meaning of Wizard of Oz & crypto not being money & a solution without a problem. Thank you

Was inspiring to be grilled by a full house Eastern region college student governors on leadership & governance Unloc this week. A superb programme & an investment that will reap big dividends for college communities. Lovely venue too Hills Road Sixth Form College

An excellent & important piece from Jacquie. Reclassification is one of the worst developments in FE since 1993, condemning future FE students to poor accommodation like we see with schools. Access to private capital is vital alongside recognition that depreciation is a real cost

Jill is a great leader. I work closely with her at Cambridge Assessment as Chair of the Regulation & Compliance Committee, and have learned much from her around internal and external relationship-building in particular. She has achieved a lot in her seven years

As far back as 2000, inspectors recognised Bedford College’s commitment to the environment & was first FE college ever to win a Green Gown, so lovely to see last week’s Green Gown award, showing how long-term is the group’s commitment

18/11/2017 - After 18 glorious years organiser Steve Rothero judged way for Joules Acoustic Nights to end perfectly. Audience rendition of Donovan's Sunshine Superman. Mass guitars, mass kazoos, even tennis racquets! Leave them smiling. Great memories

I loved being CEO of The Bedford CollegeGroup in part because of the brilliance of our staff. Leah has gone on to achieve so much & looking forward to her new book out today

Shelagh spot on as usual. Still common to hear colleges say they are making a planned deficit (corrected in some mythical benign future) when the circumstances are nowhere near unique/bad enough to justify not tackling the issue in-year & facing the brutal reality feweek.co.uk/stop-depleti...