The Bournemouth & Poole College are thrilled to announce that they have been shortlisted for two Times Educational Supplement Further Education Awards in 2021. These prestigious national award nominations recognise the incredible work of our staff and students in the categories ‘Outstanding GCSE resits provision’ and ‘Best teaching and learning initiative'.
The College’s work in their GCSE resits provision has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and to be recognised in shortlisting for the ‘Outstanding GCSE resits provision’ is a real moment of pride for the team of staff involved in its development. The College has adopted an effective and innovative approach to drive the performance of students resitting their English and Maths GCSEs. The College delivers a pioneering approach to resits that is carried out jointly across all departments, leading to students being able to reach their highest potential in both their resits and their further study.
Nicky Marchant, Expert Delivery Practitioner in Maths, was excited to hear about the shortlisting. She said, “Being shortlisted for the award is brilliant recognition of the effort that has been put in by the whole department. As a college, we have always pushed towards excellence and are proud of the results our students achieve. It’s really exciting to be shortlisted for the award and I know the whole team are thrilled.”
The Bournemouth & Poole College’s ‘Speak Freely’ initiative has been shortlisted for the ‘Best teaching and learning initiative’ award. ‘Speak Freely’ was created to encourage positive student discussions around topics such as religion and culture, behaviour and attitudes, British Values, Prevent and world events – all of which are integral to The College’s values and heavily contribute to the wider education of students. The College now run the unique initiative across all levels of study and encourage students to share thoughts, opinions and questions in a safe and free environment during their studies. A plan for conversation is shared between staff at all three sites each and every week, and feedback from both staff and students has been incredible.
Being shortlisted for the award is a proud moment for Alice Baumber-Copp, who created and rolled out the initiative. She said, “We are really proud as a college of the Speak Freely Challenge initiative, and the positive impact it has had on both the staff and students in terms of embedding the wider curriculum into every day college life. Having open conversations around relevant and thought-provoking topics is crucial in maintaining our college inclusivity for all. I was very proud to be selected to present a session on the Speak Freely Challenge at the annual AOC Conference this year, so finding out that it has also been shortlisted for a Tes award is really exciting and validates all the hard work that has been put in to making it such a success.”
Tracey Griffin, The College’s Assistant Principal for Curriculum calls the Times Educational Supplement Awards, “our industry’s Oscars! They celebrate those making remarkable contributions to the Further Education Sector.” She is particularly excited to hear of the GCSE provision shortlisting, and said, “For the English and maths team at The Bournemouth & Poole College to be shortlisted by the judges in the ‘Outstanding GCSE resits provision’ is testament to the amazing work of our teachers and the efforts of our students – I couldn’t be more proud.”
These award shortlistings are a real achievement for The Bournemouth & Poole College, and are even more exciting in a year where the team have had to come together to face the multitude of issues the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the education sector. The staff involved in both shortlisted initiatives look forward to attending the virtual awards ceremony on 28th May 2021 where the winners will be announced.
