Supporting students to achieve their ambitions
“IF WE’VE got one job, that’s it,” says principal John Rees.
Calderdale College, he enthuses, is the escalator that connects students from the world of education to the world of work.
“It’s creating opportunities, creating an inclusive organisation where there is something that can suit you.
“We try to get an idea of what’s your starting point, where do you want to get to, and how you try and put that journey together.
“Everybody’s escalator is different, some are longer and flatter, some are quite steep, some are faster.
“But you can’t plan the journey if you don’t understand their starting point and their intended end point.
“We’re here to support people and develop them so that whenever they leave us, they’re in a better place than when they started, and closer to what they want to achieve.”
It is very much Calderdale’s College.
It could be the nurse who cared for you in hospital, the bricklayer who built your house or the plumber who repaired your broken tap.It could be the chef at your favourite restaurant, the owner of the new shop down the road, or the borough’s future sports star.
Students come from every corner of Calderdale, and hopefully become graduates who contribute to the local economy and community for decades to come.
“We have really good relationships with other Calderdale institutions and organisations,” says John, 48, who lives in Luddenden valley and became principal in 2015.
“Whether it’s the council, large employers such as Lloyds Banking Group. Two years ago we had almost no relationship with them, but they provide input to our business and computing programmes.
“We also support Covea with a large amount of their apprenticeship delivery, and they support us with input into the digital offer we have.
“We work with dozens of voluntary organisations, with the Piece Hall. Some of our students are creating artwork for them, and they’re facilitating a pop-up business for a group of our students.
“We worked with around 20 healthcare organisations looking at what’s required for healthcare workers, and as a result of working with them, we’ve re-written part of our health and social care curriculum.”
The college focuses on technical and vocational qualifications, and doesn’t offer academic qualifications.
“Our relationships with employers allows us to develop high value programmes built around technical skills for employment,” John says.
“Creative and digital are emerging areas in the job market, we’re very focused on health and care, which is a huge employer in our area, as is financial services.
“We do other things but we shape what we teach in the context of what people might do when they leave.
“We also support brickwork, carpentry, joinery, plumbing, electrical.”
Of around 200 general further education colleges in England, Calderdale College was fourth in the most recent set of results for 16-18-yearolds.
“I’m proud of the team, our students. There’s a huge amount of work that goes into that, but it’s nice to see all that reflected in a great end result for students,” says John.
“The end result of that is more of them progressing to the next level of study, or employment.”
Nine out of 10 students at the college go on to employment or further study.
“It’s been sustained and we’ve shifted the dial in terms of what students can achieve here,” says John.
“My team have worked
It’s not just about churning out qualifications, it’s about creating better life chances for people
incredibly hard to create those opportunities for students. It doesn’t happen by accident, it takes hard work, dedication and commitment to engage with change, embrace new ways of doing things and recognise we’re trying to do the best for our students.
“I’m an extremely lucky principal, because I wouldn’t swap my team for any other.
“It’s not just about churning out qualifications, it’s about creating better life chances for people. And I think we do that pretty well.”