College part of prestigious Research College Group

The College is proud to announce its involvement in the newly formed Research College Group. Launched recently, the group represents 10 founder organisations comprised of General Further Education and Sixth Form colleges who lead in teaching practitioner research.  

These organisations have come together to bring practitioner and other forms of post-16 education and training research, into the heart of sector organisations. This collaborative endeavour is run by and for the sector and seeks to raise the profile, standing and value of post-16 education and training through its own research undertaken by its own community, and by leading thinking to develop forms of research and enquiry that reflect the requirements of the sector.

Principal, Darren Hankey said, “We are proud and privileged to be a founding member of the Research College Group. We have a strong track record of developing our teaching staff and delivering outstanding teaching and learning experiences. We are sure through our work with the Research College Group we can learn from others as we constantly strive to improve in order to transform students’ lives.”

The 10 founder member organisations are: Activate Learning, Ashton Sixth Form College (Stamford Park Trust), Better Futures MAT (Bilborough Sixth Form), Hartlepool College, Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion, Lincoln College, Solihull College and University Centre, One Sixth Form, The Bedford College Group and York College. Founder individual members are Sara-Jane Crowson, Roy Halpin, Peter Shukie and Amy Woodrow.

The College involvement will be led by our team of Advanced Practitioners. Neil Godfrey, Lead Advanced Practitioner commented “Hartlepool College of Further Education, along with its partner Founding Colleges, now leads FE research across the UK, giving our staff the opportunity to engage with other FE practitioners and researchers across the country. It supports our vision of our staff becoming truly exceptional teachers.”

Sam Jones Chair of the steering committee comments:  "Using practitioner and other forms of research to make organisational decisions is an important part of shaping the post-16 education and training landscape.  Using context rich, locally conducted research can give a unique advantage to these organisations.We hope that through this collaborative work across the UK sector, important insights can be shared within a central point.”   

You can find out more about the group on the newly launched website http://www.researchcollegegroup.co.uk