Bath Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse recently paid a visit to Bath College, the city’s further education (“FE”) college.
The college has been the city’s main further education and vocational college in one form or another since 1892, and currently offers more than 1,400 courses right up to degree level. It is home to around 10,000 learners across its two campuses, in central Bath and Radstock.
The college is also the largest provider of apprenticeships in the area.
It has a strong vocational emphasis and a strategic focus on building links with business across the region. It also provides an inclusive learning environment for the community, which is committed to providing education, support and guidance. Together, this ensures that over 85% of learners and apprentices go on to secure positive destinations following their studies.
The drive to support learners to successfully access their next steps was mirrored amongst the students Wera met on her visit. She chatted to students from several departments including, Digital, Fashion & Photography, and heard from Film and Media students who were enthused about the hands-on work and practical elements to their course, which they said really brought the subject to life and made them relate to its applicability to the real world of work.
The college is also home to the West of England Institute of Technology, (IoT) part of a government flagship programme designed to spearhead the delivery of higher technical education in STEM subjects. The programme brings together employers with FE colleges and the University of the West of England, while the facility at Bath College provides world class digital facilities, across two floors, for both learners and employers to access.
This unique space comprises employer lounge, hardware and network labs, modern independent and group study areas, as well as a VR and gaming space supporting the computing, media, health sciences and care, and electronic, electrical and mechanical engineering sectors. Key employer partners include Airbus and the Royal United Hospital, B&NES Council, CareUK, the Peggy Dodd Centre, Bath Spa University, Boomsatsuma and Windsor Hill Mortgages.
During her visit, Wera met with department heads Shaun Mullen (Arts & Performance, Music, Sport and Protective Services) and Sam Kenny (Quality & Performance), along with others from the senior leadership team to get an update on the changes at the top since the Ofsted report of October 2023 found a number of areas, including the quality of education, to be ‘requiring improvement’.
Martin Sim, Interim Principal, told Wera, “This year the college has recruited above target from 16-18 year olds and is now financially robust with a significant surplus. Work is now centred around ensuring consistent quality across the entire curriculum. As evidenced by our recent Ofsted Monitoring visit, the college is an improving college and we look forward to continuing to drive this progress.”
Wera ended her visit with a tour of some of the college’s facilities, including the IoT labs, the fashion design studios and the new health and social care centre, which provides a true-to-life representation of a care service user’s home to give their health and care students a realistic training environment to hone their skills.
Wera commented, “A huge thank you to staff and students at Bath College for hosting me and showcasing the incredible facilities on their vocational courses. Such brilliant opportunities for our young people, and older learners, to gain the skills they need for fulfilling careers! I look forward to hearing of the college’s continued improvement and future successes and partnerships.”
