Two staff nominated for national awards
Principal and CEO pledges to support skills and good citizen missions
Suffolk New College were invited to two major events in Westminster.
Firstly, two staff members were recognised for their efforts at a national awards ceremony held inside the House of Lords.
Liam Cannon and Rosie Rawlins-Waumsley were both nominated for a ‘Good for Me – Good for FE’ award.
The ongoing campaign was set up by a number of colleges and aims to encourage staff and students to get involved in volunteering and fundraising activities.
Liam and Rosie both work as progress tutors at Suffolk New College.
Liam was shortlisted for a ‘long service award’ for his efforts over the past four years working on several social action projects including a music concert that highlighted the importance of funding for the arts.
Rosie was a finalist in the ‘inspirational role model of the year’ section thanks to a number of projects including a student led second hand thrift shop initiative, that raised money for Lighthouse Women’s Aid and The Bush Shelter in Ipswich.
Both were up against two others in their categories and both received runners up plaques and certificates.
Liam said: “It was great that the work that we do is happening all over the country. It’s all supporting young people to make positive change in their communities. The fact that we were the only college from the Eastern region to be recognised at this event was an honour. It’s great to be recognised nationally.”
Rosie said: “It was a nice opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded people working in the same sector as us and hear about some of the inspirational work that is taking place in further education. It has inspired me to go away and do more work like this in the future.
Also in the same week, the Principal and CEO of Suffolk New College attended the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual winter parliamentary reception that was held in the Cholmondsley Room of the House of Lords.
During this event, the AoC launched a paper called ‘mission accepted’ – that will ensure colleges across the country contribute to the government’s big five priorities that includes meeting skills needs and helping students become good citizens.
During this occasion, Mr Pease met up with Jack Abbott MP and Adrian Ramsey MP to help emphasise the important impact that Suffolk New College has on the many communities it supports.
On the back of this, Mr Pease will be launching a new college strategy on 17 Jan 2025 to help reinforce the work the college does in terms of supporting local people, charities, businesses and the government.