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Welcome
to the latest edition of the Fircroft College enewsletter.
Here’s what’s been happening recently.
Students’ achievements
recognised at Awards Ceremony
College ground floor reopens!
A trip to Parliament in support
of adult education
Fircroft honoured by Ofsted
Chief Inspector
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC to deliver
Fircroft Centenary lecture
Students’ achievements recognised at Awards
Ceremony
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Students from Fircroft College of Adult Education were
recognised at an annual awards ceremony, held on Tuesday
7th April at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts,
University of Birmingham.
Over 300 students received certificates for achieving on
their course, from Professor Michael Taylor, Chair of
Fircroft Governors and Fiona Larden, Principal of
Fircroft College.
In addition, the Dave Turner Award for the most
deserving Access student was given to Samantha Clarke.
This award of a laptop computer is sponsored by the
family of Dave Turner, a former tutor at Fircroft
College who sadly passed away in 2007. The James Wong
Award for the two students who overcame the greatest
personal and educational barriers to progress was given
to Daniel Chatfield and Rob Everitt. James is a former
student of Fircroft, now a barrister in Hong Kong, who
kindly sponsors this award of £100 each.
Fiona Larden commented, "Our students work really hard
and thoroughly deserve recognition for their efforts. I
would like to pass on my congratulations to all of these
students - they are what makes Fircroft College
special."
The Awards ceremony was also an opportunity for Fircroft
to present an honorary fellowship to Carol Thornton, in
recognition of over 25 years service as a member of
household staff.
As well as hosting the Awards Ceremony, The Barber
Institute will be the venue for a special
Fircroft
College Centenary Lecture
on Monday June 8th (evening), to be
delivered by Baroness Helena Kennedy. |
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College
ground floor reopens!
Six months
after a major fire damaged much of the historic main College
building, staff gathered for an informal ‘reopening ceremony’ of
the ground floor. This was a momentous and happy occasion for
everyone present, particularly as the dining room/kitchen and
common room areas - the ‘heart of the College’ - can now be used
again by staff and students. Redecoration and refurbishment has
left the whole of the ground floor of the historic Edwardian
building looking better than ever. Building work in the
reception area also discovered an unexpected surprise – an
original grand fireplace with decorative wooden panelling,
previously plastered over and hidden from view, which has now
been uncovered and restored to its former glory.
The
remainder of the building is expected to reopen in September.
A trip to
Parliament in support of adult education
Fircroft staff
Zed Bhatti and Helene Pursey went to London on 25th
February to lobby Parliament and meet Skills Secretary John
Denham, as part of the campaign to protest against the serious
reduction of funding and lack of adult education courses
available to many constituencies in the UK.
After a long
wait to enter the Parliament building, Zed and Helene made their
way to Committee room 14 which was full to over flowing with
representatives and participants from across the country.
The audience
were addressed by Shadow Skills Secretary David Willetts and
former Education Secretary David Blunkett, before John Denham
himself spoke. There followed a number of questions with many of
those in attendance showing concern about the current and future
state of adult education. Recent government figures show that
the number of adults in education or training has nearly halved
in the last two years. According to Niace (The
National Institute of Adult
Continuing Education), groups who have been
particularly affected include the over 60s and ‘Skills for Life’
learners. Fircroft College continues to offer a number of
courses tailored to meet the needs of these groups, as well as
many other adults who may not otherwise have access to
education.
Fircroft honoured by Ofsted Chief
Inspector
Christine
Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s
Services and Skills, has praised Fircroft in the annual list of
outstanding providers published by Ofsted.
Providers
on the list provide an excellent quality of education across the
full range of their work and attain high levels of achievement
across an often diverse and complex range of circumstances.
Hosting the celebration, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector recognised the
determination, ambition and commitment it takes to become a top
performer.
Addressing college and adult skills leaders in London, the Chief
Inspector said, "I wholeheartedly congratulate the management,
staff, and students of all outstanding settings on their success
and hard work. Outstanding providers have vision, courage and
conviction, and the ability to create and inspire their staff,
their students and the communities they serve. They show what
can be achieved with aspiration and determination.”
Jonathan Skidmore, Deputy Principal of Fircroft College said,
“We are delighted to have been invited to this event and proud
to be recognised as an outstanding adult learning provider.”
Providers that appear on the Outstanding Providers list 2007/08
receive commemorative certificates and are authorised to use an
exclusive “outstanding provider” logo. 2940 schools, colleges
and social care providers in England were judged to be
outstanding in the inspection cycle 2007-2008. Fircroft College
received its ‘Outstanding’ inspection report in November 2007.
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC to deliver Fircroft
Centenary lecture
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Monday
June 8th is the date of the next event to celebrate the
centenary of Fircroft College. The Barber Institute of
Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham will be the
venue for a special centenary lecture to be delivered by
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. The lecture, entitled
‘Unfinished business in widening participation: the end
of the beginning’, is free of charge and open to members
of the public.
Helena Kennedy is a Labour peer, one of the country’s
leading barristers and a champion of civil liberties,
social justice and human rights. As an acclaimed and
passionate public speaker, she is a frequent guest on
current affairs and discussion programmes on both radio
and television, including Any Questions, Newsnight,
Question Time and The Today Programme. She has presented
Heart of the Matter, Raw Deal and the award-winning
Time Gentlemen Please, all for the BBC.
She is also president of the
Helena Kennedy
Foundation,
whose mission is to tackle injustice and social
exclusion through education by supporting disadvantaged
students from the further and adult education sectors to
complete their studies in higher education and move on
successfully into employment. Each year the foundation
awards a number of bursaries to adult students in order
to meet this mission - a number of Fircroft students
have been grateful recipients of these awards in the
past.
Staff and friends of Fircroft will be at the event and
there will be an opportunity to purchase a special
souvenir Fircroft College teddy bear, with the proceeds going to the
College Centenary
Appeal. The
lecture will last from 5.30pm-6.30pm – there’s no need
to book in advance so please come along to what will
undoubtedly be a fascinating and entertaining evening. |
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To find out
more about Fircroft College call us on
0121 472 0116,
email us
or go to
www.fircroft.ac.uk
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