Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Bright spot
cation sector – not least because the government is carrying out a region by region review of it.
Mr Razey says much of his focus is on college staff. Before he took over the running of the college, there was disquiet about the way college was run and particularly its leadership.
“Communicating with staff is very important – staff want to know what’s going on,” he said.
“They want to know what the future direction of the college is and the more they understand the mission of the college and its core purposes, the more they are likely to get behind it.
“People spend a lot of time at work and they should feel happy to be here.”
But for 114 college staff these are anxious times as they have been told their jobs are at risk. Forty will find out next month what their fate is.
They are the casualties of the college’s need to find savings of £3 million.
“We’ve got to balance the books and there’s no point dilly-dallying,” Mr Razey said. “I appreciate this is going to be a tough time for the staff.
“But we cannot continue a situation where expenditure is higher than income.”
The next important stage in the college’s development is the region by region review of further education being carried out by the government.
Canterbury College’s place will be looked at this year with a report published in the spring. That document will almost certainly answer some of the questions about the college’s future.
Go to www.canterburycollege. ac.uk for more information Students from Canterbury College have injected a splash of colour to a street corner.
They created a mural for the building at end of Love Lane where it meets Ivy Lane on a space originally used for a large sign, but long neglected.
Art teacher Ben Kidger led the project. He said: “Street art is a popular subject with young people. It’s contemporary, there for all to see and has a certain kudos that more traditional mediums sometimes lack.
“I aimed to teach my students the importance of engaging in and with a community. They got a lot from working with an internationally renowned street artist and illustrator Greg Stobbs, aka Squirl, and I believe they feel proud to be part of a process and outcome that will have a lasting, positive effect on the environment for years to come.”