When Albert Einstein was asked to explain his theories about the elasticity of time he famously said that spending five minutes in the company of a beautiful woman went far too fast, while five seconds with your hand on a hot stove could feel like an eternity!

It is not always so straightforward though, sometimes a College year can feel like a long struggle, but can also produce some beautiful results.

Our Achievements Evening on 24 November allowed us to look back and reflect on the previous year.  It was a tough year, like it was for most organisations given the state of the economy, but it was also a very successful year.

Against the national trend the College continued to grow its full-time numbers, mostly 16-18  – we are now twenty times the size of a typical school sixth form, greatly expanded the number of apprentices we train for local employers.

Plus, we won additional funding for exceeding our targets for adult students, and even managed to significantly increase our income from employers for commercial training courses.

In addition to impressive student recruitment we have continued to improve our learning environment in Bedford and at Shuttleworth campuses.   Our 1964 Workshop Block has been transformed into one of the most energy-efficient retro-fitted buildings in the country, within a whisker of achieving the BREEAM Excellent standard usually only achieved by a few, new buildings. 

Perhaps the year is best summed up by our winning the first ever Times Educational Supplement Leadership award a few weeks ago.  It was special because it is possibly the most respected educational newspaper in the world and the judges summing up of the college was the best early Christmas present ever: “The College is outstanding.  Its whole approach is fantastic: in teaching and learning, in how it contributes to the local community, its understanding of green issues, and its work with schools and employers.  This is an outstanding long-term success story which aims to be more than just a good college and to take its success beyond its own walls”