Bridgwater & Taunton College is recognised as a chartered institute of education, a distinguished accolade affirming our status as a premier institution in governance, leadership, professional development, teaching practices, and community engagement. This excellence is demonstrated through our receipt of numerous prestigious awards, such as the Beacon Awards and Queen's Anniversary Prizes, underscoring our commitment to outstanding educational delivery and impact.
This prestigious accolade recognises his significant contributions to the field of education and his impact on community development through innovative educational practices and partnerships.
The largest and most prestigious awards in Somerset are a highlight of the local business calendar and recognise the achievements of Somerset’s highly vibrant and varied business community. BTC stood out as an outstanding, £62m business with a clear vision, a common culture and a strong ethos across campuses in Taunton, Bridgwater and Cannington, where it sits at front and centre of skills development for the South West region, addressing identified workforce needs through training programmes that are innovative, employer-led, and highly effective.
The AoC Beacon Awards capture and celebrate the best and most innovative practice among UK further education colleges. The aim of the awards programme is to demonstrate and promote the far-reaching impact of colleges on their students and the communities they serve. BTC has been recognised for their unwavering commitment to supporting students through innovative and inclusive educational pathways.
BTC is proud to have been awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Education in November 2023. This distinguished award recognises the College’s unparalleled commitment to addressing the critical workforce challenges faced by the NHS through its University Centre Somerset nurse training provision.
The UK Social Mobility Awards were set up to recognise organisations that are prioritising social mobility, through recruitment processes and progression programmes, outreach within the local community, or by developing innovative ways to create change.
BTC were honoured to receive the Silver Award for School/College of the Year in 2023.
In 2023, the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) panel judged that at University Centre Somerset, “very high quality and outstanding features apply to all groups of students and courses,” in relation to both student experience and outcomes. UCS consistently exceeds rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education.
The AoC Beacon Awards recognise high-quality technical and professional education and training excellence – highlighting the best and most innovative practice across the UK.
BTC were honoured to receive the City and Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers 2021.
The Taunton Deane Business of the Year Award is awarded to the business who has demonstrated proven sector leaderships, shown evidence of investment and has stood out in the local community.
This award recognises the use of digital advances in business. With the support of funders Ufi Charitable Trust and Edge, our National College for Nuclear – NCfN, Southern Hub features a virtual reality (VR) room and flow rig, replicating a nuclear plant in microcosm, and bringing theory to life.
Bridgwater & Taunton College’s National College for Nuclear, Southern Hub (NCfN) has won the SEMTA award for Skills Innovation of the Year, beating stiff competition from Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota Manufacturing.
The Skills Innovation of the Year category examines the ways in which organisations have harnessed the latest technology to improve their delivery of skills training, and the positive impact this has had on the workforce.
Bridgwater & Taunton College won the Apprenticeship Programme of the Year at the annual Tes FE Awards 2019 after responding quickly to help develop the skills apprentices need to pursue a career at one of the country’s biggest construction projects for a generation – Hinkley Point C.
Bridgwater & Taunton College’s Chair of Governors has been recognised with an MBE, presented by The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.
Derek Randall has directed transformational change to see the College become one of the largest and most successful in the country. Derek’s commitment to excellence has also directly resulted in the College’s sponsorship of the Bridgwater College Trust, a Multi Academy Trust supporting a number of local academies, transforming the educational experience of over 1,500 local pupils.
Beyond the College, as Chair of the Association of Colleges’ Regional Committee, he has elevated standards of college governance in the South West, mentoring many new chairs of corporation and supporting colleges through challenging periods.
Having been awarded a 2017/18 Medal for Excellence, a fantastic achievement in itself, the College was then selected as the City & Guilds Lion Awards ‘Centre of the Year’. Winning this prestigious award demonstrates that the College has displayed exceptional achievement and is at the very top of its field of expertise.
The National College for Nuclear, Southern Hub based in Cannington includes a virtual reality environment, a reactor simulator and training rooms, sports facilities and student accommodation. The new facilities will develop the UK’s nuclear curriculum while creating career opportunities and delivering economic growth in the South.
The awards celebrate outstanding property and construction projects in Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Dorset and Cornwall, across ten categories.
The Automotive Engineering Department at Bridgwater & Taunton College was awarded ‘Centre of the Year’ at the Outstanding Achievement Awards 2017, by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). The awards recognise outstanding individuals as well as the world-class training being delivered across the UK.
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are awarded to relatively few universities and colleges in the UK for outstanding quality and innovation at a world class level. This award recognises the College’s commitment to energy sector skills training for local and regional businesses.
A number of highly successful colleges entered in this category, but the judges felt our submission stood out from the rest. The college has sustained its outstanding performance over many years, and has built exceptional partnerships with employers and the local community.
The Computing and Games team were described by the judges as being “an inspiring and highly motivated team who are strong individually, but formidable as a whole. All the team’s activities have a core aim of enabling the student to thrive and flourish by being relevant and engaging.”
Bridgwater College was presented with Beacon College status in 2002 from the Learning and Skills Council, in recognition of our outstanding practice across all areas of the College. Disseminating good practice to other colleges is an important aspect of this award and something we regularly participate in.
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