The Tes FE Awards have been a fixture of the further education calendar for nearly a decade. Every year since 2011, the best and brightest of the sector have descended on London’s Park Lane for a glittering ceremony celebrating everything that’s brilliant about colleges and vocational education.
That’s obviously not possible this year. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from FE, it’s that your circumstances shouldn’t dictate your chance to shine. So that’s why we decided we weren’t going to let a tiny, piffling thing like a pandemic stop us from raising a glass (or two…or three) to further education.
And so, for the first time ever, the Tes FE Awards will be hosted online. The team at Tes will stream the ceremony for you to enjoy for free from the comfort (and safety) of your own college, office or home on Friday 16 October at 8pm.
This year was our best ever for entries as more colleges and staff across the UK shared their stories of success.
Another first for the 2020 ceremony was the introduction of two new awards recognising the unsung heroes involved in WorldSkills and outstanding GCSE resits provision.
As you can see, there’s a lot to celebrate, so here’s the deal: we’ll bring the glitz, you bring the glamour - dress up in your finest finery (even if you’ve got PJs on underneath) and join us for a night of surprises, revelry and fellowship.
Reserve your free spot at FE’s biggest party by going to tesfeawards.com
Tes FE Awards 2020: the shortlist
Apprenticeship programme of the year
Bridgend College
Edinburgh College
Ford
Gower College Swansea
Milton Keynes College
Royal Air Force
Skills Training UK
Total People
Best teaching and learning initiative
Cardiff and Vale College
Edinburgh College
Grimsby Institute
Havant and South Downs College
Lambeth College
Lincoln College
South and City College Birmingham
West College Scotland
Contribution to the local community
Cardiff and Vale College
City College Peterborough
East Durham College
Forth Valley College
Hull College
Myerscough College
Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
Wirral Metropolitan College
Employer engagement
Activate Learning
Gloucestershire College
Leeds City College
Lifetime Training
Lincoln College Group
North West Regional College
The Manchester College
Weston College
FE leader of the year
Simon Pirotte - Bridgend College
Mike Blakeley - Exeter College
Cheryl Smith - FutureSkills at MediaCityUK
Sam Parrett - London South East Colleges
Karen Dobson - Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
Mouhssin Ismail - Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre
Jacqueline McAllister - Northern Regional College
Lisa O’Loughlin - The Manchester College
Professional services team of the year
Bedford College Group
Berkshire College of Agriculture
Bridgwater and Taunton College
Dundee and Angus College
Fircroft College
Kirklees College
NPTC Group of Colleges
Weston College
Teacher of the year
Aisleen Parker - City College Peterborough
Peter Brown - City Lit
Helena Good - Edinburgh College
Mandy Gutsell - Fircroft College of Adult Education
Neil Godfrey - Hartlepool College of Further Education
Cheryl Hall - North Hertfordshire College
James Donkin - Sunderland College
Eleanor Turner - Windsor Forest Colleges Group
Outstanding GCSE resits provision
Activate Learning
Birkenhead Sixth Form College
Buxton and Leek College
Eastleigh College
Hartlepool College of Further Education
Inspire, Nottinghamshire
Nelson and Colne College
Shooters Hill Sixth Form College
Support for learners
Bridgwater and Taunton College
Cambridge Regional College
City College Peterborough
Derwen College
Fife College
Newcastle College
New College Durham
South Essex College
Outstanding use of technology for improving teaching, learning and assessment
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College
Berkshire College of Agriculture
Cardiff and Vale College
Forth Valley College
Gower College Swansea
Harlow College
Havant and South Downs College
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
WorldSkills unsung hero
Michael Swan - Dundee and Angus College
Steve Williams -Gower College Swansea
Manufacturing Engineering Team - Grimsby Institute
Mike Taylor - Grŵp Llandrillo Menai
Colin Galley - New College Durham
Claire Winnall - Reds Hair Company
Pete Walters - Stoke on Trent College
Joan Scott - Trafford College Group
FE college of the year
Bedford College Group
Forth Valley College
Gower College Swansea
Hartpury College
Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
Oldham College
Strode College, Somerset
The College Merthyr Tydfil
Training provider of the year
CDS Defence and Security
Corndel*
Lifetime Training
PM Training
Skillnet Limited
Skills Group
Skills Training UK
The Skills Network
Adult and community learning provider of the year
City College Peterborough
City Lit
Kent Adult Education
Inspire, Nottinghamshire
Northern College
Sutton College
Westminster Adult Education Service
Working Men’s College
Sixth-form college of the year
Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College
Cardinal Newman Sixth Form College
Carmel College
Durham Sixth Form Centre
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Huddersfield New College
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College
New College Pontefract
Specialist provider of the year
Belfast Metropolitan College
City College Peterborough
Coleg Elidyr
Foxes Academy
Landmarks Specialist College
North Hertfordshire College
Ruskin Mill Trust
Weston House, Bridgend College
