18th May 2012
Chancellor gives Bedford College a “Licence to Skill”
27th Jan 2006
Gordon Brown includes Bedford on his whistle stop tour of top towns. Bedford College was delighted to receive Chancellor Gordon Brown as a visitor on January 26th.
The Chancellor toured the college’s Construction and Aerospace facilities and was impressed with the new learning resource space and jet aeroplane funded by the regional development agency EEDA.
The Chancellor then had a private session with college students, staff and local employers, and discussed the role colleges can play in raising the skills levels of young people and those already in work.
Principal and Chief Executive Ian Pryce said the visit was a big success, and showed the Chancellor’s commitment to community-based colleges like Bedford College:
“The College has been delighted with the government investment in further education in recent years. We have been able to treble our student numbers, and produce many more trained young people to boost the local economy. The government has recognised us as a centre of excellence in an astonishing five areas: Plumbing, Care, House building, Management and Sustainable Technology, and we are receiving substantial capital investment to develop new Sports, Arts and Technology buildings. The Chancellor has given us a “Licence to Skill” and we intend to play our full part in developing the talents of everyone in our community”.
The Chancellor’s visit came at the end of an exceptional week for the college. On Thursday the college gained approval for the building of a Ł6m Arts Centre on the riverside site, on Saturday the college’s football academy beat the England Schoolboys U18 team at Lilleshall, Shropshire so the visit of the Chancellor provided a hat-trick of good news.
BBC Television Look East used the Chancellor’s visit, part of his nationwide tour of top towns and cities, to “showcase” Bedford in a special edition.
