News

ESC Celebrates Colleges Week

This week, we are celebrating #CollegesWeek in collaboration with the Association of Colleges and along with colleges from across the UK. Now in its fifth year, this initiative is a great opportunity to reflect on, celebrate and shout about all the fantastic things colleges do throughout the year to support individuals and build communities.

The theme for the Week is ‘Staff, Students and Skills’ – the lifeblood of what makes a College.

OUR STAFF

Our dedicated team of tutors, teachers and support staff form the backbone of the College. They go above and beyond each and every day providing specialist guidance, support, safeguarding and advice to ensure all of our students achieve their full potential in a welcoming, safe and positive environment.

The first-class teaching staff have excellent subject knowledge and substantial industry experience. In Summer 2021 we achieved 100% pass rate on our Level 3 vocational courses. Positive destination was high, with 93% of students progressing to university, employment or an Apprenticeship. We have also featured in the top 40% for value-added nationally.

Each summer, staff members head out into the local community to share their time, skills and expertise with charities and groups. From sorting clothes and toiletries for homeless people, to enhancing a dementia-friendly hospital garden, read more about the Social Responsibility day here.

We’ve recently celebrated many staff successes. Here are a just a few highlights:

• Denise Felkin, Lecturer – Photography, won first place prize in the Segregation & Human Rights category of Julia Margaret Cameron Single Image Award for Women Photographers
• Jose Aguiar, Teacher Training Lecturer and Mentor was awarded The Butler Trust Commendation by HRH The Princess Royal for his tireless work and innovative and creative approaches in Prison Education.
• Victor Muriithi, Lecturer – Health and Social Care became a Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX)

If you would like to join the College’s dynamic team, working in an exciting and diverse learning environment, check out our latest vacancies here.

OUR STUDENTS

We are so proud of our students’ hard work and achievements in competitions, awards and events, both within the College and externally. Below we shine the spotlight on some recent successes:

• Our Motorsport Team have excelled this year – read about their triumphs at the Student Motorsport Challenge here.
• The creative writing of four of our students was chosen from over 19,000 entries to be included in the Young Writers’ publication ‘Twisted Tales – Tales from the dark side’.
• The work of two students from ESC’s Reigate School of Art was selected from nearly 500 submissions from FE students nationwide to be exhibited at Origins Creatives 2022 show in London.
• One of our Higher Education HNC Engineering students won ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at the Gatwick Diamond Business awards.
• An ESOL Level 1 student who completed a Leadership Course for Young People was awarded by the High Sheriff of Surrey for his excellent leadership, kindness to others and thoughtful and creative ideas. 
• Students from across a range of curriculum areas excelled at the national Cross-College final of the MEI FE Maths Challenge this summer. They walked away from the final triumphant with certificates, trophies and an increased confidence in Maths.
• At the national BTEC Awards, four of our students were recognised out of the thousands of entries with three silver awards in the BTEC Science Learner of the Year category and one bronze award in the BTEC Public Services Learner of the Year category.
• We love to shout about our Alumni students’ next steps and successes after ESC. Many of our students progress onto prestigious universities to continue their studies, whilst others choose to start on their career pathways. Read inspiring student stories here.
• Our Student Union serves as a channel of communication between the student body and the College Senior Leadership Team. This helps evolve the College experience for all, ensuring students’ views and opinions are included every step of the way. The Student Union also supports the local community through the causes they support.

SKILLS

Building, developing and taking skills to the next level for staff and students alike is one of our priorities. Our state-of-the-art facilities are designed with future careers in mind for students to develop their skills in realistic industry-standard settings.

With our brand new, purpose-built T Levels Centre, we are at forefront of recognising the potential, relevance and importance of T Levels, providing skills employers need in the workplace, now and in the future. Check out our new courses here.

We’re proud that East Surrey College ranked 11^th in RateMyApprenticeship’s Top 50 Training Providers for 2022-2023, placing us as the top FE College Training Provider in the UK as voted by apprentices themselves!

We're also delighted that the Department for Education (DfE) has recently approved the title of "Orbital South Colleges University Centre" for the College Group's growing Higher Education provision.

All of our staff are given CPD training opportunities throughout the year to upskill and stay up to date with the knowledge and skills. A Conference Day is held each summer where staff from across Orbital South Colleges come together for talks, activities and team building exercises.

GET INVOLVED!

Join in the Colleges Week conversation - share your ESC stories and memories from College online, using #LoveOurColleges and #CollegesWeek!

Check out our website, including our 360 degree tours, for more information on what the College has to offer.

Book on to one of our upcoming Open Events to tour the College to view our exceptional facilities and chat 1:1 with our knowledgeable staff.