Thursday 21st October – Plans to form new Yorkshire colleges group are progressing

Exciting times are ahead, as our plans to form a new college group with Wakefield College have today progressed.

Together, we will serve the education and skills needs of residents and employers from our campuses in Castleford, Selby and Wakefield with a wider range of courses and Apprenticeships.

Love our Colleges Week has provided the perfect setting for both colleges to launch the statutory consultation process for the proposed merger.

As part of this, we will detail our reasoning behind the merger and our combined strengths, such as our closely aligned strategic visions, missions and values and positioning to serve key employers along the M62 corridor, in West Yorkshire, in North Yorkshire and the East Riding, including Goole.

Most importantly, the process provides stakeholders of the college including staff, employers, partners and other key stakeholders, with the opportunity to feedback on the proposed merger.

We will also propose the name of the newly formed group to the Secretary of State, which is ‘Heart of Yorkshire Education Group’.

The consultation period will run from Thursday 21st October 2021 until Monday 22nd November 2021, closing at 5.00pm.

Details of the proposed merger are outlined in the Merger Consultation Document which can be accessed via the colleges’ joint microsite, as well as the consultation questionnaire, at: www.stronger-together.org.uk.

Thursday 21st October- External Visit from Tan Cream

Gillian Robson and Katy Foxcroft, from Tan Cream visited our Business department to talk to our students about how they founded their luxury self-tanning skincare product, which later appeared on BBC Dragons Den.

Gillian Robson’s life changed dramatically six years ago when she was diagnosed with skin cancer, advised to wear SPF 50 with 5 star UVA protection. Busy mum and a lover of tanning, set out to find a product that could provide her with sun protection whilst still giving her a glow.

Along with business partner Katy Foxcroft, they set out on a journey to create an all in one sun protection product, with the help of Dr Jack Ferguson they managed to create a unique product combining a high factor sun cream with self tan and luxury moisturising lotion.

In 2019, Gillian and Katy appeared on Dragons Den where they managed to secure a investment of £75,000 from Sara Davies and Touker Suleyman.

They continue to grow their business targeting Aesthetic Clinics, health spas and working closely with skin cancer charities to offer awareness on the importance of sun protection.

Our business students were thrilled to hear such an inspiring story and a cannot wait to get stuck into the business entrepreneur projects in their studies.

For more information on Tan Cream visit https://www.tancream.co.uk/

Monday 18th of October - Drax Visit

Principal Phil Sayles, Deputy Principal Liz Ridley and Sam Wright, Principal of Wakefield College kickstarted Love our Colleges Week with a tour around Drax Power Station.

As a local partner and employer of Selby College, the team met with representatives at Drax to discuss its plans to form a new college group, as well how together the new group and Drax can strengthen its long-term partnership.

Located just outside Selby in North Yorkshire, Drax is the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator and pioneer of cutting edge negative emissions technology, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) which could enable the company to go even further and become carbon negative as soon as 2030.

This comes a year after Selby College and Drax launched a five-year partnership, which aims to deliver community education programmes, and support for retraining, ensuring that students are developing the skills needed in innovative clean technologies which will help to drive a zero carbon economy.

Graduation Highlights: Classes 2020 and 2021

Last week, our 2020 and 2021 Higher Education graduates were able to celebrate their achievements as part of our first in-person Graduation Ceremony in two years, at Selby Abbey.

Students who completed their degree-level programmes at Selby College in 2020 and 2021 were honoured at the ceremony, with 80 students attending across the two cohorts.

Family and friends of the graduates were welcomed by Selby College’s Chair of Governors, Richard Stiff, alongside teaching and support staff, governors and special guests of the College including: the Mayor of Goole, Christopher John Bailey; the Chairman of Selby District Council, John Duggan; and the Chairman of East Riding Council, Nigel Wilkinson.

Here is a snippet of some of the highlights from the prestigious event.