NCG Awarded TEF Silver

NCG is celebrating after achieving a Silver rating in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), thanks to the positive impact its employer-led curriculum design has on students. 

 
TEF is awarded by the Office for Students (OfS) and recognises higher education providers that deliver excellence in teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes for their students. A Silver rating determines that the student experience and student outcomes at NCG are of a ‘very high quality’. 
 
The report also assessed several areas at NCG as ‘outstanding’, including its ‘commitment to prepare students to meet local skills challenges through a technical and highly vocational curriculum’ and the learning environment and academic support on offer. 

The TEF rating, which will apply until November 2027, comes at the end of a milestone year for NCG’s higher education provision, which is delivered at four of its seven colleges (Carlisle College, Kidderminster College, Newcastle College University Centre and Southwark College), making it the country’s largest provider of HE in an FE setting.

In April, it celebrated 10,000 graduates in 10 years from Newcastle College University Centre and in June NCG became the first further education provider to be granted the power to develop and award degrees indefinitely.  

The group is also continuing an £8million investment programme into higher education facilities, which will continue over the next three years. So far, students have benefitted from brand-new cyber security and immersive digital labs, STEM equipment including drones, motion-capture suits and VR headsets, as well as avionic training simulators and a new private-jet training aircraft. 

Jon Ridley, Deputy Principal and Executive Lead for HE at NCG, said the TEF result was “a fantastic achievement which recognises the outstanding work of colleagues across NCG to provide high-quality higher technical education in collaboration with industry and in response to and readiness of the needs of the communities and economies served by our colleges.” 

He continued: “Preparing students for their future careers is at the heart of everything we do, and the panel recognised the positive impact our employer-led curriculum design has on the student experience. 

“We encourage individuals to achieve their ambitions and we have programmes of tailored support to make the most of every opportunity at our University Centre and in their studies.  

“Thank you to every colleague across NCG for the work they do to provide a fantastic student experience. The work of our colleagues puts thinking into action and our graduates leave us work-ready for their chosen career.”