Scene & Herd - Moulton College Newsletter

In Principal

The latest phase in the College’s development got underway just before Christmas with the construction of 2 new farm cottages on Lodge Farm Drive. The enabling works, which include a new access road, have coincided with some of the worst weather that I have experienced during my time in the County and it is to the contractors’ credit that so much progress has been made against the odds.

By the time this newsletter is published, we shall know the outcome of the planning application for our new social centre which we hope to start building immediately after the awards ceremonies in July. It is a much needed resource that will provide catering facilities, common rooms, bars, shop, and a welfare centre, together with an informal learning space for higher education students.

Since the current social centre was built in the 1960’s, the full-time student body has grown from 100 to nearly 3000 students and is not surprising that our recreation facilities are under pressure. Given a positive planning outcome, the building should be ready for use by the start of the 2010/11 academic year.

Recession always affects public sector organisations later than it affects industry, and it is only now that colleges and universities are becoming fully aware of the impact that public funding cuts will have on the services that they are able to offer. At Moulton we are fortunate in having multiple income streams, but the reductions in funding for some of our activities are dramatic, and all staff are currently working hard to ensure that the experience we provide remains amongst the best on offer - and that any economies do not signifi cantly impact upon the services that we offer for students and employers. However, with record numbers of applications at all levels, it is inevitable that many late applicants will be disappointed this year.

However there has been much good news to temper the disappointment!

An outstanding ‘Care Standards’ inspection by Ofsted: ‘Best Companies Accreditation’ refl ecting our view that ‘employee engagement is a key driver in business performance’: a well deserved ‘MoleNet’ award: and some outstanding individual and team performances by students in both local and national competitions.

The glass is certainly more than half full!

Best wishes,
Chris Moody, Principal

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