MAKING LEARNING WORK HIGHLIGHTS REPORT 2022/23
WELCOME TO OUR HIGHLIGHTS REPORT FOR SESSION
2022/23
Thank you for your ongoing support to the College. We look forward to working with you all again in session 2023/24.
Falkirk Campus finalist for 2022 Stirling Prize
Forth Valley College’s £78 million Falkirk Campus was short-listed for the 2022 Stirling Prize for UK’s best new building. The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Stirling Prize is the highest accolade in UK architecture and recognises the most significant building of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment.
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Falkirk Campus now up for Doolan Award
Fresh from being short-listed for the UK’s best new building, Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus was also competing for the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s (RIAS) Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland award for 2022!
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Centenary celebrated at the Gallery Restaurant
A Stirling lady chose Forth Valley College’s Gallery Restaurant to celebrate her 100th Birthday in July 2022.
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JULY 2022
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Craig’s Campus Cycle Quest
Forth Valley College staff embarked on a three campus cycle quest on Wednesday 17 August.
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Three FVC MAs to compete in WorldSkills finals
Three Forth Valley College and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) Stonemasonry Modern Apprentices were among an incredible 500 competitors who made it through to the national finals of the WorldSkills UK competitionbased development programme!
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Results day marks positive achievement
Students at Forth Valley College celebrated receiving their National and Higher qualification results on Tuesday 9 August with an impressive 77% achieving success.
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Construction Drive Aids Economic Recovery
A recruitment campaign which set out to train highquality assessors for the construction industry in Scotland has played a vital role in economic recovery.
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College recognised again as Microsoft Showcase School
Microsoft Education has once again recognised Forth Valley College as a Showcase School for session 2022/23.
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Young Creatives flock to FVC for Bafta Event
Nearly 200 primary and secondary school pupils flocked to Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus to find out more about working in the Television, Animation and Games Industries from British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) representatives and expert lecturers.
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Principal Appointed to CDN Board
Professor Ken Thomson, Forth Valley College’s Principal, was one of three new members appointed to the College Development Network (CDN) Board.
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Gordon is honoured for his Scouts work
All his adult life Gordon Berry has devoted his time, expertise and skills to the Scouts and in summer 2022, the popular worldwide youth organisation decided to honour him with the prestigious Blair Atholl Fellowship Award, in recognition for his excellent efforts.
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Cara’s results provide foundation for future career
Forth Valley College Foundation
Apprentices celebrated ‘Results Day’ with Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, at Stirling High School.
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First Festival of Biodiversity for Forth Valley
The University of Stirling, in conjunction with Scotland’s International Environment Centre (SIEC) based at Forth Valley College’s Alloa Campus, announced it would host its first ever Festival of Biodiversity.
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Voice UK star calls into Stirling Campus
Winner of the tenth series of the Voice UK - Craig Eddie – called into Forth Valley College’s sound production studios at the Stirling Campus and was impressed with what he found.
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Fun for students at Freshers’ Fairs
Students at Forth Valley College’s three campuses in Falkirk, Stirling and Alloa took part in fun and games at thes annual Freshers’ Fairs.
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SEPTEMBER 2022 AUGUST 2022
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FVC graduation prizewinners celebrate at Falkirk ceremony
Forth Valley College hosted two successful graduation events at Falkirk Town Hall on (Tuesday 4 October) and Stirling Castle on (Thursday 6 October).
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Forth Valley set to benefit from landmark new partnership
An ambitious landmark partnership between the University of Stirling, Forth Valley College and NHS Forth Valley was launched on Monday 3 October – with the mission to improve patient care and treatments, and boost health research and staff learning across the region.
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Grace’s
hard
work
leads
to change in awareness of Menopause issues
Ground-breaking research by Forth Valley College’s Grace Hepburn has led to the Scottish College sector adopting a new Menopause support and training policy.
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Professor Ken Thomson to retire after decade as Principal
Forth Valley College Principal and Chief Executive Professor Ken Thomson OBE announced plans to retire after a decade of Making Learning Work!
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Forth Valley College
Free breakfasts for students
Students at Forth Valley College will be offered their most important meal of the day for free after the launch of a new initiative.
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Allison is Student of the Year
Forth Valley College’s Student of the Year award for 2022 went to Allison Potts from Redding in Falkirk.
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welcomes international project partners to share IDEAS
Forth Valley College hosted a major international project visit at its Stirling Campus.
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Falkirk Campus hosts 16 Day of Activism launch
Fourth Project Search cohort graduates
A fourth group of young people with additional support needs in the Falkirk area, who were on the hunt to find a job with the help of DFN Project SEARCH – graduated from their one year internship programme.
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Edina Trust funds STEM Boxes for Forth Valley
A fantastic new funding award from the Edina Trust allows Forth Valley College Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Boxes, to be loaned out to primary schools across the Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Council areas.
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Hospitality staff and students prepare charity Christmas dinners
Forth Valley College’s Hospitality Department once again stepped up to the plate to prepare 800 charity Christmas takeaway meals for the Start-Up Stirling Foodbank, The Stirling Community Enterprise and Barnardo’s.
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Falkirk Campus just misses out on 2022 Stirling Prize
Forth Valley College’s £78 million Falkirk Campus just missed out on winning the 2022 Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building.
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Forth Valley’s 16 Days of Activism programme was launched at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus on Friday 25 November.
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Laura Doubles up on Heriot-Watt University Award
Laura Fraser, Forth Valley College’s Business Transformation Manager, was awarded the same top prize by Heriot-Watt University for the second year in a row!
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NOVEMBER 2022 OCTOBER 2022
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DECEMBER 2022
Launch celebration for FVC’s new Falkirk Campus
Scotland’s Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training
HES stonemasons win gold and silver in national skills competition
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) celebrated success at the SkillBuild construction ‘skills Olympics’ after two of the organisation’s stonemasons – both Modern Apprentices at Forth Valley College - faced competitors from across the UK to take first and second place in the national finals in Edinburgh.
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Mr Jamie Hepburn, officially opened Forth Valley College’s award winning Falkirk Campus at a celebration event on Tuesday 6 December.
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MA Awards presented at Petroineos
Modern Apprentices from Petroineos celebrated at an awards ceremony held at their Grangemouth premises on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 November.
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New FVC Principal Announced
A former apprentice was appointed Principal of the college he attended as a 16 year old school leaver.
Kenny MacInnes (53) Forth Valley College’s Vice Principal for Learning and Student Experience, announced he would take up his post when Principal, Professor Ken Thomson OBE, retired.
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Virtual training became a reality thanks to funding
Forth Valley College has received an Immersive Soft Skills Education Grant from Bodyswaps and Meta Immersive Learning, to help boost training techniques for students.
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Student helps Stirling people create art to remember
A Contemporary Art student from Forth Valley College has helped local communities discuss how they might want to memorialise the pandemic in the Stirling area.
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Widening Participation Project Launches
Forth Valley College’s Widening Participation Project (WPP) was officially launched on Thursday 23 November at an event attended by many partners from across the Forth Valley region.
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Creative Industries students help Voice winner to record single
Craig Eddie – Winner of the tenth series of the Voice UK – returned to echo the sentiments of his last Stirling Campus visit in September, to record his latest single at the College’s sound production studios.
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BP Apprentices graduate from ground-breaking training programme
Students on an exciting new international BP Apprenticeship training programme based at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus –graduated in December.
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Courtney inspires others after FVC changed her life
Former Science student Courtney Gordon says Forth Valley College never gave up on her when she had just about given up on herself – so now she is delighted to help inspire primary school pupils to enjoy STEM subjects.
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Students offered soup and a roll at all campuses
After the successful launch of the free breakfast service, the College begins a similar soup and roll offer.
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JANUARY 2023
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Learning and Digital Skills Academy INVESTs in Partnership Success
Forth Valley College’s ongoing partnership with South Eastern Regional College (SERC) in Northern Ireland grew stronger with vital input from FVC’s Learning and Digital Skills Academy (LDSA) Team.
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FVC’s Renewable Energy Training Centre new courses
A set of eight new renewable courses were launched at Forth Valley College’s Renewable and Energy Efficiency Training Centre in Falkirk.
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‘Mental Health Matters’ project benefits Care students at
FVC
Funding from the NHS seen a ‘Mental Health Matters’ project become a huge success at Forth Valley College.
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Hospitality students will
be a HIT on scholarships
Two students from Forth Valley College’s Hospitality Department were chosen for HIT Scotland Scholarships.
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Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 round-up
As Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 began on Monday 6 March, Forth Valley College revealed that an ‘Adopt an Apprentice’ scheme has helped MAs to find new employers after being made redundant.
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Former FVC student announced as new Blue Peter presenter
Abby Cook – a former Forth Valley College science student - was announced as Blue Peter’s newest presenter.
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FVSA up for top award
Forth Valley Student Association were shortlisted for a prestigious award by the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland.
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National launch of the
#LoveScotlandsColleges campaign
Colleges across Scotland launched their annual #LoveScotlandsColleges campaign in time for Valentine’s Day, and Forth Valley College celebrated the vital role played by colleges right across the country.
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Students benefit from creation of Design Collective
HND Graphic Design students –based at the Stirling Campus - reap the rewards of working on live briefs for real clients whilst studying at Forth Valley College.
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FVC supports Big College Open Week
Colleges across Scotland – including Forth Valley College – marked the first national Big College Open Week from Monday 27 – Friday 31 March –aka #BigCOW.
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Innovative
short courses offer a start to career in Health and Care
Three new courses to lay the foundations for a career in the health and care sector, started recruiting at Forth Valley College.
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Launch of new Student Mental Health Agreement at FVC
A refreshed and updated Student Mental Health Agreement (SMHA) at Forth Valley College, aims to continue to raise awareness and promote positive wellbeing for students during their studies and as they transition out of College.
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FVC receives Positive report from Education Scotland
A ‘Positive Progress’ report was received by Forth Valley College after a team of HM Inspectors from Education Scotland visited the College in October 2022 to undertake an Annual Engagement Visit.
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MARCH 2023 FEBRUARY 2023
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Sarah Higgins-Rollo announced as New Vice Principal
Forth Valley College appointed Sarah Higgins-Rollo as the new Vice Principal Learning and Student Experience.
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ESOL students are proud of their poster project
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students explored the cultures of other countries as well as their own in a globe-trotting project this month.
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College Expo Roadshow event held at
FVC
Falkirk Campus
Forth Valley College hosted the second College Development Network (CDN) College Expo Roadshow event, themed as ‘Developing Practice Across Tertiary Education’ – and billed as the most exciting professional learning event for tertiary education in Scotland.
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First Minister meets FVC students on Parliament trip
Students from Forth Valley College met Scotland’s new First Minister Humza Yousaf on a trip to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday 26 April.
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Best ever Student Presidential election results announced
Forth Valley Student Association (FVSA) announced their new President and Vice President after what is believed to be the ‘best ever’ campaign for the sabbatical fulltime roles.
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Students revive décor at ambulance station
Two groups of students came to the aid of Falkirk Ambulance Station to revive the décor in their mess room.
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2023 FVSA Student Award winners announced
Ten award winners were announced on Thursday 18 May as Forth Valley Student Association (FVSA) celebrated achievements and success across the College.
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Certificates for Forth Valley SCOTS pupils
High school pupils from the Forth Valley area who completed the School-College Opportunities to Succeed (SCOTS) programme, were presented with certificates to recognise their achievements.
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Additional Support Needs in focus at FVC Stirling Campus
Forth Valley College, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Stirling Council teamed up to organise an event to help people with Additional Support Needs (ASN).
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Staff, students and wildlife to benefit from ESOL and Workstart project
Two groups of students have been cultivating their skills to transform unused areas around the new Falkirk Campus.
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World and European Championships beckon for Robert
A quest to keep fit to enjoy time with his grandchildren, has led to Forth Valley College’s EPOS Coordinator to represent Great Britain as a Duathlete!
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MAY 2023 APRIL 2023
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Art Exhibition prize winners announced at Stirling Campus
Forth Valley College’s celebrated degree and diploma art exhibition returned to its pre-pandemic best, when it was launched at the FVC Stirling Campus on the evening of Thursday 1 June.
Sweet smell of success for Bake Off Students
An end of term ‘Bake Off’ competition served up a tasty display of kitchen skills from student cooks at Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus.
MAs develop electrolysis technique to make learning more efficient
Switched on Mechanical Engineering Modern Apprentices at Forth Valley College developed an innovative electrolysis technique to give them more time learning in their workshops.
College awarded ‘Established’ level by Carer Positive Scotland
Carer Positive Scotland visited Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus in June, to certify the College’s latest level in its journey towards being a top ‘Carer Positive’ organisation.
JUNE 2023
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MAKING LEARNING WORK Information contained within this document was correct at time of publishing but may be subject to change. CM1201 May. Registered Charity Number: SC021191. www.forthvalley.ac.uk