New Principal for City's first choice college
Angela Joyce has been appointed as the new Principal of Peterborough Regional College. Having previously served for three years as Deputy Principal, Angela will be building on the many strengths of the College. With a turnover of £25 million and over 6,000 students attending the College annually Peterborough Regional College is the regions major provider of post-16 education. The College has extensive vocational education and training facilities providing courses from construction and engineering to hospitality and social care. Angela is delighted with her appointment and told us that “I am very proud to be appointed Principal, the College has been successfully providing education and training for the people of Peterborough and the surrounding region for over 50 years and I am keen to develop our provision to meet the needs of even more people.”
Angela has a clear vision for the College and she explained that “The College exists to serve the City and I want to make people and employers more aware of what the College has to offer so they can benefit from our services. We are predominantly a vocational College and we work closely with the Local Authority and Schools to ensure that young people have as wide a choice as possible.”
The College has an excellent track record of student pass rates “The success rate of our students has risen by 9% over the last three years to 81%, which is a fantastic achievement and a tribute to the hard work of all our students and staff”, said Angela.
Angela is particularly concerned about the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training, “A number of youngsters drop out of the education system each year with little chance of finding a job. We offer them the opportunity to learn new skills, restore their self belief and put them back on the road to employment”. Support is also provided to the longer term unemployed through the College’s “Step Back to Work” programme.
The College works in partnership with a number of local employers to deliver apprenticeships and adult skills training, both at College and in the workplace “We try to be as flexible as possible and work around the needs of the business,” said Angela. The College is also developing a national reputation having completed an agreement to train apprentices for BAE Systems. But Angela is keen to point out the benefits to the local economy, “When we work with national employers, we always ask for a commitment to recruit apprentices from within the region”.
Those students who go on to higher education can stay on campus at University Centre Peterborough. The Centre was set up in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University and as a Director Angela said, “I am committed to the creation of a University in Peterborough and UCP brings us a step closer to that ambition.”
At 35, Angela is one of the youngest College Principals in the sector. So will the responsibility of running a £25m organisation keep her awake at night? “PRC employs over 700 staff and I am confident of our ability to work together to make this a college that Peterborough will be proud of,” she said.