These days thousands of athletes are able to
run a mile in under 4 minutes, yet no-one claims a mile is not what
it was, or stopwatches have become slower! We accept that
athletes are fitter and benefit from advances in technology and
from what we’ve learned about the human body – learning transmitted
by better coaches (teachers).
There is evidence that there has been a steady
increase in the IQ of young people, and evidence that there has
also been a steady improvement in the quality of teaching in
schools and colleges. It is harder to pin down the cause of
the increase in IQ but it has been suggested it is due in part to
exposure to so much new technology and the increased exposure very
young children to others at an early age in playgroups etc.
When you add every Government’s determination
to see improved educational attainment, it is little wonder young
people are performing better and better. That is why we
should unconditionally praise this year’s GCSE and A Level students
for achieving the results they deserve for all their hard work, and
praise all those that have helped them achieve.
The wider community now needs to make sure we
capitalise on this hard work and optimism by using the collective
intelligence of our young people to make Bedford more prosperous
economically and socially.
A few years ago Bedford College recognised it
needed to do more itself as one of the town’s largest
employers. We had far fewer young people on our staff that
there were in our community. We made it a target to have 2%
of our staff under the age of 18, and to employ more young people
under the age of 24. Whilst we have already achieved that
target, and seen many of those we took on move on to even better
jobs very quickly, it was heartbreaking for staff to have to turn
down so many exceptionally qualified people.
With a record-high one million young people
now unemployed, the contrast with record-high GCSEs makes this a
key issue for all of us in education. It is the reason why
Bedford College has worked to become the major provider of
apprenticeship training locally to capitalise on its strong links
with employers, why we have continued to expand our advanced
technician level training with its excellent employment outcomes ,
and continue to develop new, inexpensive, local higher education,
as well as providing employment-focused full-time academic
and vocational education to 3,500 16-18 year olds.
Congratulations to everyone who achieved great
results in the last few weeks.
Investing in success
Tough times economically make big investment
decisions even more risky, even though future growth depends on
real investment. I am delighted that the College Corporation
has maintained its programme of investment with three major
projects at the Bedford campus being completed in the next
fortnight. Our 1960s Workshop Block has been transformed into
a showpiece national Sustainability Centre, we have comprehensively
redeveloped our Library and Resource Centre, and we are making our
town bridge entrance more attractive and secure, complete with
biodiversity garden created by our horticulture students from
Shuttleworth.
Unfortunately these new projects are too
recent to be included in our new acclaimed film introducing the
college. Check that out at http://vimeo.com/27864185