South Devon College welcomes National Colleges Week
49 year old Simon Raymont from Devon has assured himself a brighter future by going back to study at South Devon College.
He is one of thousands of students across the country who is taking advantage of what colleges have to offer and to mark this the National Association of Colleges is holding its annual National Colleges Week in early March (3-7).
Colleges Week is a chance to celebrate the brilliant things colleges do, day in and day out to help people to upskill, retrain, support employers across innovation and skills, and to acknowledge the role they play as anchor institutions within local communities.
The theme this year is building brighter futures and alongside this the National Association of Colleges is using the government’s five missions as a framework to celebrate Colleges Week.
Mission: Build on NHS fit for the future that is there when people need it. With fewer lives lost to the biggest killers, in a fairer Britain where everyone lives well for longer.
Simon Raymont spent years working in factories before becoming a care assistant for a private ambulance company. But as the hours got les he knew he had to find something else and applied to be a healthcare assistant at Derriford Hospital. After 17 years he decided to do an Assistant Practitioner Foundation degree apprenticeship at University Centre South Devon, part of South Devon College to boost his career.
The University Centre has seen a large increase in the number of people who have signed up for the Assistant Practitioner Foundation degree apprenticeship.
“We’ve seen a 403% increase in the last year,” said Lucy Parkin, Head of Curriculum for Health and Care at the University Centre. “This is due to the role being more in demand and the fact that it opens up a lot of career opportunities with pathways including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Theatres, ICU, A&E, Care of the Elderly, Speech and Language, Podiatry among many more.
“It’s a direct route to work in the NHS or other health or care organisations and is essential to the future development of the sector.”
Mission: Take back our streets by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels:
Former police detective of 30 years, Caroline Knight, has helped rewrite the Youth Justice and Youth Studies Foundation degree apprenticeship at the University Centre.
The Youth Justice and Youth Studies programme seeks to explore the current debates around the changing world of youth and youth crime so that students are confident with the necessary skills to work with young people who are at risk of offending and support those already offending through the criminal justice system.
“We look at the psychology of why people and young people commit crime and why some people don’t commit crime and others do and what society can do about it and what should be done,” said Caroline.
We look at child development and what happens in children from 0-18 years old that makes them develop into a different type of person.”
Recently South Devon College students joined forces with Devon and Cornwall Police recently in a bid to tackle local crime and anti-social issues.
Inspector Shardlow was tasked with addressing the persistent challenges in Torquay’s Castle Circus area, and he immediately turned to the College’s Public Services students for help.
Under the banner of Operation Liberty Shield, students were divided into small teams and challenged to tackle the deep-rooted issues of drug and alcohol dependency, homelessness, and anti-social behaviour in Castle Circus.
To gain first-hand insights, students visited the area, taking photographs, engaging with residents, and capturing the atmosphere of the space. They also consulted council workers, charity leaders, and local police officers, analysed key data, and participated in an expert-led problem-solving workshop.
Inspector Shardlow praised the students’ efforts, saying: “From the start, it was clear that this wasn’t just an educational exercise – it was a genuine opportunity for these young people to contribute to solving a real-world issue. Their creativity, energy, and fresh perspectives have been invaluable.”
The students gained critical skills throughout the process, including data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and public speaking, while experiencing the challenges and rewards of working on a live project with community impact.
“This project has shown the importance of authentic education,” said Glyn Potter, Programme Coordinator of Uniformed Public Services at South Devon College. “It’s not just about learning theories in the classroom – it’s about applying that knowledge to real challenges.
“Our students have demonstrated resilience, teamwork, and creativity, and their contributions have been genuinely impactful.”
Other ways South Devon College supports the government’s five missions as highlighted in the National Colleges Week.
Mission: Kickstart economic growth to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 with jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.
In a recent Ofsted South Devon College was top of the class for its skills provision.
Inspectors from Ofsted reported in that “the college makes a strong contribution to meeting skills needs” and highlighted the high-quality training designed to progress learners’ skills.
“(College) Leaders are highly effective at involving stakeholders in the planning and revision of existing curriculums across all provision types. All curriculum areas have highly relevant links to stakeholders,” the report stated.
The College prides itself on its strong working relationships with employers and local businesses across many sectors. These collaborations ensure there is understanding of skills gaps, informing a robust curriculum to meet evolving local, regional and national need for employees now and in to the future. This was an area commended by the inspectors.
Steve Caunter, Assistant Principal at South Devon College, said: “Strong employer engagement is crucial for South Devon College to align its education and training with current and future jobs and the skills required in the workforce.
“When employers contribute to designing course content or offer insights into industry trends, education can focus on developing competencies that are directly applicable to the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed in the workplace. As a result, students and apprentices are job-ready and better prepared and able to progress in their careers. This makes the transitionfrom education to employment much smoother.”
Mission: Make Britain a clean energy super power to cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero.
Last year South Devon College scooped the coveted Green Gown Award for Sustainability Institution of the Year.
The College was recognised for its "unbroken green thread"- its ambitious sustainability strategy that has woven sustainability into the hearts, minds and actions of learners and staff.
"Winning this Green Gown Award, sponsored by EAUC, is a game changer,” said Laurence Frewin, Principal and CEO at South Devon College.
“To be recognised as the Sustainability Institution of the Year is a celebration of all the significant work that the College has been doing for the last 15 years.
“To win a Green Gown Award is a prestigious achievement but this is special. This is the culmination of the hard work of colleagues and students over the last 15 years and across the whole institution. This is not the end but another milestone on what is a long, but vital journey. We know there is more to do but we are proud of what we have achieved and are achieving and hope that we are a beacon for others!"
The judges praised the College for its unwavering commitment to action stating they ‘appreciated the evolution of their approach to all areas of sustainability in the college and found that their integrated approach, from strategy to implementation and beyond, meant that their work not only positively affected those directly connected to the college but their impact extended throughout their region as well as globally.’
The college, based in Paignton, started to take sustainability seriously 15 years ago.
Key milestones over the years at South Devon College have been launching a Green Travel Plan, investment in solar panels and air source heat pumps and opening the £17.5 million Hi Tech & Digital Centre built to high BREEAM standards with many sustainable features. And more recently securing £1.5 million of funding for a centre if excellence in the South West for the development of clean energy technologies – the South Devon Clean Energy Centre, set to open its doors later this year.
Mission: Break down barriers to opportunity by reforming our childcare and education systems to make sure there is no Class Ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain.
When Jasmine Ullah from Paignton started at South Devon College she didn’t know what she wanted to do.
“I was 16 I’d just left school and I was going through my own struggles. I started Youth Work Level 3 and I found a passion for young people and mental health and supporting people and being there for people in their time of need.”
Jasmine then went on to do a Level 3 in criminology and volunteering at her local church and then a foundation degree in Psychology and Sociology.
In 2024 25 year old Jasmine received her BSC in Social and Therapeutic Intervention.
“All the staff at the University Centre are so helpful. They’ve been so supportive if ever I’ve had a bad day or my friends are struggling. The class sizes are small, lots of one on one support, financial support and study skills support.”
Jasmine says the passion she has for her degree is that she’s been through her own mental health struggles and she wants to help others in their times of need.
