South & City College Birmingham Crowned Further Education College of the Year

South & City College was recognised along with some of the West Midland’s most successful educational establishments at the Education Awards, where they walked away with two awards.

South & City College Birmingham, one of the largest further education colleges in the country, announced today that it was named the winner of both the Further Education College of the Year and Impact Through Partnership at the awards ceremony held at Millennium Point on Friday 1st July. This is great recognition for the work the College does for its students and the wider community.

Principal for South & City College Birmingham, Mike Hopkins said, “We have been a supporter of the West Midlands Education Awards since its inception, but I am particularly pleased that this year we have been successful in winning two of the prestigious awards. It is a great achievement and recognises what the College does within Birmingham.“

The Education Awards is an event that rewards and celebrates the most outstanding contributors to the education sector. Education plays a vital role in growing and supporting the local economy by transforming lives. The awards celebrates the achievements of people and organisations that go above and beyond to promote excellence.

“Huge congratulations to South and City College on two wins at Friday evening’s Education Awards,” said Jas Rohel, Founder & CEO, Education Awards. “South and City demonstrated through what’s been a very difficult few years how they have helped its learners. Its work with businesses within the city has to be recognised and their nomination and evidence provided demonstrated how business engagement is key in delivering the curriculum. We congratulate South and City College on their two wins.”

For the Further Education College of the Year, the College had to demonstrate how they had gone the extra mile to impact on students and their lives to turn them into high achievers.

The category for Transforming Lives Through Partnerships recognises those who have transformed the life chances of young people through working with other organisations. For this award, they showcased their partnership with National Express. 2022 sees a 10-year anniversary of the College’s partnership working with the bus and coach company National Express, providing training and apprenticeships.

In 2018, the National Express Engineering Training Academy was created at the College’s Bordesley Green Campus. The focus was to create a workspace that encompassed all of the facilities needed to enable apprentices to have a realistic learning experience whilst in college that closely matched the workplace experience.

“From the very beginning of the project to create the National Express and South & City College Engineering Training Academy, we all knew that we had the opportunity to create something very special that would transform the opportunities and lives of people in the local area whilst addressing the skills shortage within the bus and coach industry.” Said Lee Sandford, Engineering Training Manager, National Express “Through true partnership working that included innovative thinking, joined-up processes, and open communication, this initiative is making a fantastic positive impact.”