Furness College starts the new term with a series of new appointments in the management team.
Zee Walker, Sue Hannan, Helen Gibson and Kate Colebourn have all been promoted to more senior roles within the college, which has campuses at Channelside and Rating Lane.
Zee is now Assistant Principal Planning, Performance and Quality while Sue is Assistant Principal Curriculum.
Helen Gibson moves from her role as Deputy Head of Sixth Form to become Director of Curriculum Head of Sixth Form at Rating Lane while Kate Colebourn will move from Head of Area for Technical and Build Engineering to become Director of Curriculum, 14-19 and Higher Level Learning at the start of next month.
Principal and Chief Executive Andrew Wren said the restructure had come about after long-serving Deputy Principal, Curriculum and Quality Mark Nicholson retired in the summer.
“Mark served the College and the community for over 30 years and his expertise, knowledge and good humour are already sorely missed. We wish him every happiness as he and his wife enjoy a well-deserved retirement.
“However, Mark leaving gave us an opportunity to look at the structure of our team and provide additional capacity to lead the college in what are currently challenging times for everyone in education.
“We have a number of exciting developments on the horizon including our forthcoming Institute of Technology submission and the introduction of T levels in September 2021, and we have an experienced team to ensure that both of these initiatives are a success for the benefit of our students and our wider community.
“We are very fortunate to have such exceptional talent within our college that we were able to appoint to all the positions from our current staff.”
Nicola Cove, who joined the college in 2018, is now the sole Deputy Principal while Steve McAloone remains on the senior management team as Director of Curriculum, Technical Adult and Employer Learning.
Mark Nicholson said it had been an ‘honour and a privilege’ to work at the college for the past 33 years.
“I will miss the brilliant staff and students immensely but it is time for me to seek out new adventures,” he said. “It’s really exciting to see the new appointments that have been made at the college, as they will all bring a wealth of skill and experience. I’m more than confident that the college will continue to have a very bright future in serving the community.”
Chair of Governors Jan Fielding thanked Mark on behalf of the Corporation of the College.
“I wish to thank Mark Nicholson for all he has done for the college during his long years of service but also for the major contribution he has made to the education of young people across Furness and the broader region of Cumbria. I have no doubt that he will make the most of his well-deserved retirement and we wish him well for the future,” she said.
“The resulting management restructuring has given opportunities to several college staff and the many skills they bring to their respective posts will ensure that the college continues to go from strength is strength.
“I should like to thank all the staff for their sterling efforts during these unprecedented times and wish them and all the students luck as they start a new academic year.”
