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A new college takes flight....

Published on: 18 Oct 2018

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TWO OF THE LARGEST FURTHER EDUCATION COLLEGES IN EAST SUSSEX HAVE COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A NEW EDUCATIONAL POWERHOUSE.

Sussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College, which has campuses in Eastbourne, Lewes, and Newhaven, have joined forces to form East Sussex College. The newly named college group will provide excellent lifelong learning opportunities for students of all ages, within their local communities.

This merger is one of the most exciting developments within the local educational landscape in recent years, and will see the two colleges come together to offer the highest quality provision of education and skills in the county.

The colleges already have a deep understanding of the communities that they serve, and have adopted a group structure so that meeting each towns’ educational and training needs remains at the heart of every decision made.

East Sussex College mission statement:

Provide excellent and sustainable lifelong learning opportunities that put the needs of our students and our local communities at the heart of everything we do.

The new college logo has been specifically designed to represent the ambition of the college’s learners, staff, towns, and communities they serve. It uses the image of the Martlet, a heraldic bird which features on the county flag of Sussex. The Martlet is pictured as soaring above the Sussex landscape, symbolising the aspirations of the new college and its desire to meet the needs of the local community.

The new organisation will become one of the largest colleges and employers in the county, drawing on the existing expertise from the original colleges to reflect the very best practice. They will continue to retain and attract the best teachers, in order to ensure that high standards of teaching and learning are maintained.

The group’s vision is ambitious, and it will continue to improve and invest in the campuses to create inspiring, industry standard facilities. This will allow the college to play a significant part in generating economic growth, supporting business start-ups and entrepreneurial skills, and supporting workforce planning and up-skilling.

The colleges will also have a committed approach to supporting the health, wellbeing, and social inclusion of the older population and vulnerable people. It will forge strong relationships with County, Borough, and District councils and locals schools, to provide careers advice and learning opportunities in further education, apprenticeships, and degree level courses.

Clive Cooke, CEO of East Sussex College said:

“This is a really exciting time for the new college group. We aim to be a catalyst for change through the positive power of education and skills training. We are ambitious. We encourage innovative thinking and action to meet the learning and skills needs of the county. We are determined that each of our colleges will become a beacon of excellence in their local areas.

We are passionate about promoting equality of opportunity for all and celebrating diversity, and we will cherish the uniqueness of each college so this matches the wide range of communities that we serve.”

Over the next two months, the Colleges will be welcoming Year 11 students and their parents and carers to each of their campuses. This will allow them to showcase their facilities and courses. Students will have the opportunity to speak to both tutors and current students, to discover for themselves, why East Sussex College is an inspiring and rewarding place to study.

To find out what East Sussex College has to offer, come along to the open events in October and November.