Carol Thomas announced as new Principal and CEO at Coventry College

A highly-experienced college director has been appointed as the new Principal and CEO of @coventrycollege

Governors have confirmed the appointment of Carol Thomas as the new Principal and CEO of the College which has campuses in Coventry’s city centre and Henley in Bell Green.

She is the Group Director of Curriculum & Performance at Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, an outstanding Further Education provider, and her role has focused on the development and delivery of the curriculum, working with managers to ensure high-quality teaching, learning and assessment, and ensuring a great learning experience for students to achieve excellent results. She also played a leading role in the merger of the two colleges in 2016.

Carol has worked in Further and Higher education for over 36 years, including at three other large Further Education Colleges, and also has experience of working within the school sector, in addition to experience as a regional examiner for the City & Guilds London Institute, holding a role at the Vocational Training Charitable Trust for many years and being a Trust Board Member and a governor at her local Multi Academy Trust.

Carol said: “I am thrilled to be appointed as the Principal and CEO of Coventry College and I look forward to meeting all staff as soon as possible.

“The College has a number of challenges to work through in addition to the challenge we, and the entire Further Education sector, find ourselves in at the moment.

“I am confident, however, that together we can successfully move the College forward to ensure that we provide an outstanding service for our students, building on the extensive good practice that has been demonstrated during the last three months.  

“I look forward to working with everyone in our quest to ensure that Coventry College becomes the College of first choice for our local communities and beyond.”

Sue Noyes, Chair of Governors at Coventry College, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Carol Thomas as the new CEO and Principal for Coventry College.

“Carol, as a very experienced Director at an outstanding Further Education provider, will become leader of Coventry College at a time of opportunity as well as challenge.

“As a Board, we are confident that her wide range of skills and her strong track record will mean we can accelerate our focus on achieving the very best quality teaching and learning for all our students.”

 Sue also paid tribute to Gill Banks, Interim CEO, for her leadership and support to the Board and commitment to steering the College during a challenging period last year.      

She also thanked Vice-Principal (Curriculum & Quality), Debi Donnarumma, for her valued leadership contribution as Interim Principal.

 Carol will begin her role on a part-time basis in the next few weeks, and will be in post full-time by the start of the new academic year.