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South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) had the honour of welcoming the Further Education Commissioner, Shelagh Legrave, to its Stroud Campus on Wednesday 1st May.
The visit provided an excellent opportunity for the College to showcase its commitment to educational excellence, discuss best practices, and highlight the impact of its programmes on both young and adult learners.
The visit included a tour of the Campus's exceptional facilities, including the newly launched SGS Create - a centre designed specifically for 14-16-year-old learners. SGS College is noted for its expansion and enhancement of educational services, offering a supportive and flexible curriculum with learners' needs at its heart. The visit allowed the Commissioner to observe how the College's efforts are transforming lives and explore how these practices might be modelled at a national level.
Shelagh Legrave also met with adult learners, particularly those engaged in innovative programmes, such as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
Sara-Jane Watkins, Principal of SGS College, said:
"It is very prestigious for the Commissioner to visit, and we were excited to showcase the excellent work of staff and the achievements of students. It is so important for people such as Shelagh and her team to see first-hand the day-to-day workings of further education colleges and understand all that we have to offer in serving our students and the wider community. We were especially keen to show her SGS Create, which was positively praised by Ofsted for our courageous work with 14-16 year olds, especially as so many had struggled within mainstream education. There is a huge opportunity for other colleges across the country to replicate our model and that was why Shelagh seeing our 14-16 provision, supporting those especially with social, emotional, and mental health issues was so important."
Learners and staff of SGS College have recently been celebrating the result of their 2024 Ofsted inspection, which saw the College receive an overall rating of good with outstanding judgments for personal development and adult provision.
The FE Commissioner and her team work with further education colleges to improve their quality and financial resilience. This visit underscores the importance of ongoing communication and partnership between educational leaders and institutions, aiming to foster environments where learning thrives.