20th Anniversary

92 Pages·2013·3.94 MB·English

City and islington College
the first twenty years: 1993 to 2013

City and islington College
the first twenty years: 1993 to 2013

City and islington College
the first twenty years: 1993 to 2013
tom Jupp and andrew Morris
aCknowledgeMents
we are indebted to the many staff, students and
governors of the college who have been so generous
with their help and time in assisting us in the writing
of this book. a list of the principal people who have
helped is given in appendix 3 at the back of this
book.
we would also like to acknowledge the support we
received from the project advisory group of graham
drummond, John nieto, Mary rimington, and adrian
whittaker.
we would particularly like to thank the staff who
wrote the named anecdotes and descriptions.
we are grateful to Caireen goddard for her creative
editorial work and management of the design.
the views expressed in this book are not necessarily
the views of City and islington College.
all errors and inaccuracies are down to us alone.
first published in great Britain in 2013
by City and islington College tom Jupp and andrew Morris
the Marlborough Building
383 holloway road april 2013
london n7 orn
Copyright © tom Jupp and andrew Morris 2013
editorial: goddardPayne Consulting ltd
tom Jupp and andrew Morris have asserted their moral
right to be identified as the authors of this work. design: Cleverbox
foreword
i have been a governor at City and islington College for as long as it has been in existence. for sixteen of the
past twenty years i have been proud to be its Chair of governors.
above all, for me personally, it has been an education.
when i arrived, shortly before incorporation, we were delivering education and training that was already pretty
good. we had dedicated staff and on the whole the standard of teaching was of a high quality. however, the
college was functioning out of a motley assortment of inefficient and outdated buildings that were neither
coherent nor fit for their educational purpose. in those early days, our main purpose was to find ways in which
we could improve the fabric of what we had inherited.
our aim, from the outset, was always to make the college the finest further education institution within london.
when incorporation took place and the organisation became free of local authority control, as a governor my
intention was to ensure the college provided significant public value through its education provision, but also
that it was run in a business-like way. the governing body, which has always combined a wide range of talented,
experienced and highly committed individuals, has been a wonderful collaboration and i am privileged to still be
a part of it.
what are the achievements that make me most proud? in the past twenty years we have created and delivered
one of the largest accommodation strategies in the history of the fe sector. as a result we have award winning
buildings that are fit for learning in the 21st century and which match the level of ambition and aspiration
of our staff and students (and anything you’ll see in the higher education or independent sectors). we have
radically improved the quality of teaching and learning, and in turn the results students achieve. we have created
meaningful partnerships that enhance and enrich the experiences of our students, especially in connecting them
to business and the world of work.
i believe our outstanding ofsted status and the many other accolades we have received are richly deserved
and we must not underestimate their achievement. in the early days we set excellence as our benchmark and
we had a good foundation on which to build (at least educationally!). together we have significantly raised our
game and as a result have had a life-changing impact on the quarter of a million or so students who have walked
through our doors. i believe that if you were to ask anyone who knows anything about fe, they would say City
and islington is one of the best colleges in the country.
in the next twenty years we must continue to be at the vanguard of developments in the sector, and keep
showing the strength of character, ability and creativity that have brought us this far. our challenge will be to
continue to be better than the competition, and i know we will do that by confidently creating opportunities for
growth and innovation.
everyone at the college has a story to tell, and this book captures just a small portion of them. at the risk of
sounding clichéd, for me, the greatest pleasure of being part of the college’s story is the people i have met
and what they have taught me. our staff and students’ enthusiasm and aspirations are inspiring and energising,
and i have had the privilege of working with people i would never have met in my professional or personal
life. Because of their experiences and individual talents i have learnt a huge amount. in my business life i have
imported many of the values and philosophies that the college stands for and lives out.
thank you to everyone who has been part of our first twenty years, and to tom and andrew for taking the time
to compile this record. for me it brings back many memories (most of them good), reminds me of how far we
have come and makes me excited for the future. i hope you enjoy reading it.
Jack Morris, oBe
Chair of City and islington College Corporation
Chairman of the Business design Centre
City and islington College: the first 20 years | 1
Contents
foreword 01
Contents 02
tiMeline 04
1 the PeoPle who Make the College
what it is today 08
1.1 the student exPerienCe 09
atmosphere, supportive relationships and wider experience 09
student success and progression 12
1.2 the staff exPerienCe 16
it’s all about the students 16
the role and impact of professional development 18
staff satisfaction 20
1.3 the role and exPerienCe of governors 22
getting started 22
the role of Chair 24
evaluation and self-assessment 24
how the corporation works 25
independence and strategy 25
1.4 where PeoPle work and learn 26
the five centres 26
the contribution of student support services 32
2 aChieving suCCess for all 34
2.1 where the College started (1993 – 97) 35
2.2 develoPing College wide suCCess (1997– 2001) 37
2.3 aiMing higher (2002 – 04) 39
the teaching and learning unit 39
five centres 39
developing the work related curriculum and work with employers 40
2.4 Quality and the wider CurriCuluM 41
2.5 insPeCtion 2008 44
2.6 Maintaining a Culture of high standards 45
2 | City and islington College: the first 20 years
Making the College work 46
3
3.1 Merger and inCorPoration (1993) 46
3.2 Mission, strategy and values: getting started 47
3.3 the london faCtor 50
3.4 staff relations 50
3.5 widening PartiCiPation: a Change of direCtion in 1997 52
3.6 governanCe 53
3.7 organisational develoPMent and struCtures 54
four stages of development 54
organisational development after 2003 56
3.8 the develoPMent of Business suPPort serviCes 58
3.9 the iMPaCt of suCCess and external reCognition 59
3.10 twenty years of organisational develoPMent 60
4 Building a Better College: 1994 – 2005 61
4.1 what the College inherited 63
4.2 landMarks on the Journey 64
Purchase of the Marlborough Building and ending of the
essex road lease (1995) 64
the sale of the Bunhill row site and closure of other sites (1997 – 99) 65
the battle for the dame alice owen site at the angel (1998 – 99) 65
final plans take shape (2000 – 01) 66
4.3 Creating the new College (2001 – 2006) 68
Planning and designing 68
Building, reorganising and moving 68
staff involvement 68
4.4. the College Centres and Buildings seven years later 71
5 ‘Pre-history’: roots and inheritanCe of
the College in 1993 72
5.1 how islington federal College CaMe to Be set uP 72
5.2 adult eduCation in islington 74
5.3 City and east london College 75
5.4 islington sixth forM Centre 77
5.5 north london College 78
aPPendiCes 79
1 College governors 1992 – 2013 80
2 vision for the new College 1993 82
3 interviewees 83
City and islington College: the first 20 years | 3
tiMeline: 1990 – 99
1990
inner london education authority is abolished and responsibility for education passes to
london Borough of islington (lBi), which inherits City and east london College, islington
adult education institute, islington sixth form Centre and north london College.
1991
lBi establishes a review of post-16 education with a view to establishing a single
comprehensive tertiary college.
1992
further and higher education act: all colleges to be removed from local authority control
and transferred to independent corporations, subject to oversight by department for
education and a new further education funding Council (fefC).
lBi decides to create a single tertiary college called islington federal College merging the
four separate institutions.
1993
sir ashley Bramall, appointed first Chair of governors.
tom Jupp takes up post of Principal on 1 april, the day the college is incorporated.
all staff (719 full time equivalents) working in the new college and all land, leases and
other property (on 13 main sites) transfer to the new further education corporation.
income 1993/94 £23 million, the largest of any college in london.
formal launch of the new college on 3rd november at the Business design Centre, with
the new name of City and islington College.
1994
fefC establishes national unit of funding which means the college will lose 25% of funding
per student over the coming years.
new organisational structure of City Campus, islington Campus and sixth form Centre
established, integrating adult education.
dave yorath becomes Chair of governors.
first college website set up.
College wins first Queen’s anniversary Prize for pioneering innovative and successful
schemes for widening participation among inner-city students.
4 | City and islington College: the first 20 years