Visionary Northampton College leader given lifetime achievement award

The “passionate” and “inspirational” deputy principal of Northampton College has been honoured for dedicating his entire professional career to further education.

Patrick Leavey was named the winner of the Lifetime Achievement category at the Northamptonshire Education Awards in recognition of his vision, passion and tireless efforts that have set a shining example for educational leadership, prioritising students, and raising the bar of teaching excellence.

His relentless dedication to improving and maintaining excellent teaching and learning standards has created an exceptional student experience and enhanced the College’s reputation for quality and success.

Judges praised Patrick’s ‘open-door’ policy and were impressed with his approachable nature that has cultivated a supportive and inclusive environment. They said the award was given to celebrate Patrick “dedicating his life to education demonstrating innovation, advocacy and career achievements that have improved the education sector”.

Patrick added: “I’m very grateful and extremely honoured to be the recipient of this award. I have been privileged to work with fantastically dedicated people over the years, who have been so committed to the vocation of education. It’s an incredibly rewarding sector to be involved with.”

Patrick, with 43 years in education, began as a teacher before progressing to Curriculum Manager and Head of Faculty at the College of North West London (CNWL). Now Deputy Principal, he oversees Northampton College’s Further Education, Higher Education, and Apprenticeship curriculum.

Patrick’s passion for construction and the built environment led to the establishment of a £4.75 million Advanced Construction Engineering Centre in 2019. The facilities, designed in collaboration with leading employer partners, address the skills gap and provide a sustainable, long-term, and modern construction industry workforce.

Other significant projects during his time as Deputy Principal include the creation of £6.3 million Digital Academy at Booth Lane, new initiatives in International Supply Chain Logistics, developing a revised strategy to improve GCSE maths and English performance and taking the College from an Ofsted ‘requires improvement’ rating to ‘good’.

Under Patrick’s leadership, student outcomes, as reflected in National Achievement Rates Tables (NART), have continually improved, with the College now ranked fifth out of 225 colleges. 96% of students pass their qualification and 94% progress to further study or employment.

Patrick has been instrumental in shaping Northampton College’s curriculum in response to the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) while he has championed the green agenda, launching initiatives such as the ‘Big Rig,’ a day-long teamwork challenge where students design and install a hot water solar thermal system on a large scaffold system.

He also led the development of a Green Skills Centre at the College’s Booth Lane campus, focussing on low-carbon and retrofit technologies, preparing students for a sustainable future.