Leicester College wins prestigious AoC Beacon Award for Functional Skills
22/11/2010
Leicester College is celebrating after being named as an Association of Colleges Beacon Award winner. The Awards, which this year celebrate 17 years of outstanding teaching and learning in Further Education Colleges, were announced at the AoC’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham on 17 November.
Lord Willis of Knaresborough, President of the AoC Charitable Trust, announced the 2010 Beacon Award winners and Highly Commended Colleges in the Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Design and Development category.
Leicester College won the OCR Award for Functional Skills. The Award recognises Colleges that have embedded Functional Skills of English, Maths and ICT, across the curriculum and are developing innovative and creative approaches that allow students to use and apply these skills when tackling problems that arise in work and life.
The College won the Award for its comprehensive strategy for embedding Functional Skills (FS) in all areas of the curriculum following a successful pilot scheme.
This has resulted in an 80% success rate for students, significantly improving key skills rates across all FS work.
The UK-wide Beacon Awards provide national recognition for excellence and innovation as well as acknowledging the talents of staff at all levels. They highlight the breadth and quality of education in the College sector.
Chair of the AoC Beacon Awards, Dame Patricia Morgan-Webb, said: “Beacon Award winners raise the bar when it comes to finding new ways of doing things to enable Colleges to play a leading role in the communities they serve. They help contribute to social justice by widening participation in further education and play a key role in local economic and social regeneration by encouraging links with local businesses and supporting people, both in and out of work, in learning new skills.
“We are pleased that this year’s winners have been drawn from all parts of the UK and demonstrate traits of innovation, creativity, responsiveness and a collaborative approach. Once again, I am delighted on behalf of the AoC Charitable Trust to acknowledge and reward the exemplary contribution made by these Colleges.”
Maggie Galliers, Principal at Leicester College said: “We are delighted that for the second year running, Leicester College has won an AoC Beacon Award. This award is a testament to the dedication of those who have worked so hard to embed Functional Skills across all areas of the curriculum. I am extremely proud of them and their achievements.”
Anne-Marie Gillespie, Qualifications Manager for Functional Skills at OCR, said: “OCR is delighted to award Leicester College with the 2010 Beacon Award for Functional Skills. The functional skills programme at the College is an outstanding example of how the delivery of functional skills can be embedded across a large number of curriculum areas. It is an approach which OCR fully endorses and helps learners develop true functionality. The learners and the staff at Leicester College should be congratulated for their success and huge enthusiasm for functional skills.”
Roger Marriott said: “As Chief Assessor for the AoC Beacon Awards I am immensely impressed by the high quality of the work that is being done in Colleges, in all parts of the UK, to provide exemplary support for learning to such a wide range of students.
“The commitment of the sector to meeting the needs of learners and the degree of excellence which was displayed by Colleges during our assessment visits was outstanding. By presenting these Awards, the AoC shines a spotlight on best practice, innovative development and continuous improvement; these Colleges create shining examples that other institutions can look to for help, inspiration and encouragement.”
Leicester College will host a local celebration event in the New Year and will be presented with their Award by John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, at a national presentation ceremony due to be held in Westminster on 9 February 2011.