Achievements & awards

Our recent achievements have been varied and wide ranging, and here are a few of them. As a College we have:

  • undertaken a ground-breaking venture to run Reading College
  • developed a range of foundation degrees, with Oxford Brookes University, which launched in 2011 – with more to follow in 2012
  • celebrated the success of our students at Worldskills 2011, the world's largest international vocational skills competition. Former OCVC apprentice Adam Bushnell was selected for Team UK and won a bronze award in joinery, and our students from catering, furniture, hairdressing and performing arts took part in the skills showcase
  • completed two multi-million pound building projects – the Centre for Creative Arts at Banbury, and new catering and hair and beauty facilities at Reading
  • received the highest level of commendation by the Quality Assurance Agency for our management of Higher Education
  • introduced eco-technology courses at Bicester which will support local eco-town development
  • delivered training to more than 500 Oxfordshire businesses in 2011
  • developed new partnerships with both the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and the National IT Partnership
  • launched SweetFE, a social enterprise hub which develops enterprising initiatives and creative solutions for the further education sector


Other successes include:

  • establishing a National School of Furniture in partnership with Bucks New University
  • forming a partnership with CfBT Education Trust to manage Oxford Spires Academy, which opened in 2011
  • receiving a 'highly commended' rating from the South East Learning and Skills Council in May 2010 for our ‘Get That Job’ programme
  • a positive British Council Inspection in November 2009 which approved the continued accreditation of the College to offer English as a Foreign Language programmes
  • the acquisition of the full Training Quality Standard (TQS) for excellence in employer engagement in June 2010
  • a good Ofsted inspection for the College’s OLASS literacy, numeracy and employability skills programme, delivered in Oxfordshire probation offices to offenders serving sentences in the community
  • being the first college in the country to sign the ‘Qualify with a Business’ (QwaB) memorandum of understanding


None of these achievements would have been possible without the foresight and support of our partners, our local communities, employers, the leadership provided by our Governors, the commitment shown by our staff, and the drive and passion of our students.