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18/11/2005
Beacon Awards light up NI colleges
Staff at two local colleges are celebrating today after winning Beacon Awards for their outstanding contribution to the further education (FE) sector.
Omagh College and Upper Bann Institute were the only local FE colleges to scoop top prizes in the annual UK-wide Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards, which is open to all providers of further education and recognises exemplary teaching and learning practice in the Further Education sector.
This year the Awards judging panel chose 25 winners out of almost 300 entries.
Omagh College picked up the Churches‚ Award for Sustainable Community Development for its work in the area of renewable energies, while Upper Bann Institute clinched the Department for Employment and Learning Award for College Engagement.
Beacon's Chair, Pat Morgan-Webb, says: "Over the last 12 years the awards have been, quite literally, a beacon of the immense progress made by Further Education colleges in opening educational opportunities for millions and raising standards and levels of achievement."
Categories this year included awards for inclusivity and reaching out to communities, leadership and partnership awards and curriculum-focused awards.
Beacons chief assessor, Eddie Long, says: "Again and again, innovative ideas which have won an award have been adopted by colleges across the sector until they have become standard practice."
Winners will be presented with a trophy at a local ceremony soon, and a certificate at the National Presentation Ceremony due to be held 16 May 2006.
Paralympian and AoC Charitable Trust Chairman, Giles Long, fully supports the role Further Education colleges play in people's development, he said: "What did I get from Braintree College? My A-Levels? I could have got those anywhere.
"What I really got from going to college was an openness of mind that I had not previously had. I believe that the ability to absorb new ideas is the driving force behind positive change and, in turn, that is what keeps individuals, institutions and the country as a whole moving forward."
(SP)
Omagh College and Upper Bann Institute were the only local FE colleges to scoop top prizes in the annual UK-wide Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards, which is open to all providers of further education and recognises exemplary teaching and learning practice in the Further Education sector.
This year the Awards judging panel chose 25 winners out of almost 300 entries.
Omagh College picked up the Churches‚ Award for Sustainable Community Development for its work in the area of renewable energies, while Upper Bann Institute clinched the Department for Employment and Learning Award for College Engagement.
Beacon's Chair, Pat Morgan-Webb, says: "Over the last 12 years the awards have been, quite literally, a beacon of the immense progress made by Further Education colleges in opening educational opportunities for millions and raising standards and levels of achievement."
Categories this year included awards for inclusivity and reaching out to communities, leadership and partnership awards and curriculum-focused awards.
Beacons chief assessor, Eddie Long, says: "Again and again, innovative ideas which have won an award have been adopted by colleges across the sector until they have become standard practice."
Winners will be presented with a trophy at a local ceremony soon, and a certificate at the National Presentation Ceremony due to be held 16 May 2006.
Paralympian and AoC Charitable Trust Chairman, Giles Long, fully supports the role Further Education colleges play in people's development, he said: "What did I get from Braintree College? My A-Levels? I could have got those anywhere.
"What I really got from going to college was an openness of mind that I had not previously had. I believe that the ability to absorb new ideas is the driving force behind positive change and, in turn, that is what keeps individuals, institutions and the country as a whole moving forward."
(SP)
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