Selby College & Wakefield College
Working together, stronger together...

We believe that the local people, the employers and the communities we serve deserve the very best from their local college. At the same time, we want to ensure we have a strong and sustainable future. We believe that by merging, we will be stronger together as a group. We will be better placed to continue to provide excellent education and training that positively impacts on individuals’ lives in our local communities of Selby, Castleford and Wakefield.The merger will also create a much larger college entity, which will mean more funding and the ability to invest in developing our offer to benefit students and apprentices across a wide geographical area.

As a new, combined institution, we will continue to share proven expertise in quality improvement, ensuring that students across our communities can access a high-quality learning experience with excellent standards of support. As a result, our students and apprentices will get an even broader experience, more of them will stay and progress on to their next course with us (including enhanced higher education options) and enjoy their learning. We will also provide an enhanced student experience and additional opportunities for enrichment. In planning future courses, we will widen our offer at all campuses, and will run classes and courses where there is a clear need and a demand.

We will be a larger college group, stronger financially, with more funding and the ability to invest further in our students and their experience at college. We will take the very best practice from both colleges and combine it to enhance students’ experiences inside the classroom and outside. We believe this will result in better results for our students, improved progression opportunities and career enhancement.

In practical terms, for our students, very little will change. There will be no difference to where students study – they will continue to be a student where they currently learn. Our staff who currently engage with our students, both teaching and support staff, will stay the same, and courses will continue as planned. There will be no disruption or interruption to the delivery of provision and there will be no requirement for students to travel to different campuses for curriculum/classes. There may be occasions where it would be beneficial to offer opportunities that engage the wider college community - to enhance the student experience, enrichment, inter-college sport, master classes or guest speakers etc. In this case, we would ensure transport is provided.

We believe this is a natural partnership - our two colleges already have closely aligned strategic visions, missions and values, and our joint aim is to provide an outstanding experience for all. We recognise the special place both Selby and Wakefield Colleges have for people in their local communities, and we want to maintain and enhance this. Furthermore, by combining our strengths under a powerful group structure, we will be able to accelerate our growth and deliver the best possible educational outcomes, as well as additional benefits. Skills development will be critical to the region’s recovery from Covid-19 and we are committed to combining our expertise to support our residents and employers in reskilling and upskilling to respond to and anticipate labour market needs.

A key priority during the merger process will be to minimize disruption by ensuring a seamless transition period, and there will be no change to students’ or apprentices’ chosen place of study. In addition, your key contacts will remain constant, as will assessing and teaching arrangements and work experience programmes.

The merger will facilitate some exciting new developments. With an annual turnover of £35m, the new group will serve more than a thousand employers with apprenticeship provision and work-related training and will be able to provide enhanced levels of service and extended pathways into higher levels. There is also a strong geographical coherence in both organisations working together to serve key employers along the M62 corridor, in West Yorkshire, in North Yorkshire and the East Riding.

We will work with and engage employers effectively by consulting on all aspects of what we do, identifying industry best practice and planning our curriculum and delivery models based on their requirements. Employers will also benefit from access to a wider employer engagement support team, resulting in enhanced levels of responsiveness and improved service levels. Taking into account the curriculum strategies for both colleges and opportunities to improve on business engagement activities, the merged college would be in a strong position to grow employer-led provision, by growing apprenticeships and higher-level professional and technical education. At the same time, our students will benefit from wider opportunities for work experience, live briefs, competitive projects and entrepreneurial ventures.

Both Selby and Wakefield Colleges already work effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders and partners and are integral hubs within their local communities. We will continue to play a key role in addressing social exclusion, working with disadvantaged individuals and raising aspirations by providing inclusive opportunities and high levels of support. We will continue to work effectively with our local partner schools to ensure clear progression pathways and opportunities for all. As a larger organisation, we believe we will be able to provide our local stakeholders with an even greater voice.