Asa Gordon Joins Sandwell Family of Colleges as Deputy Principal, Curriculum and Skills
This week, Asa Gordon joins the Sandwell Family of Colleges – of which Cadbury Sixth Form College forms part – as Deputy Principal for Curriculum and Skills, stepping into this role as David Holden retires after a successful decade at the College.
Asa comes to Sandwell from his previous position as Vice Principal at Bradford College, where he had a remit from the Governors to deliver a curriculum that meets the needs of students, employers and the community. His achievements there included introducing a skills-focused programme for young people, a responsive adult offering aligned to meet the skills gap identified through the Local Skills Improvement Plan, and the launch of Higher Technical Qualifications and Higher-Level Apprenticeships.
With extensive experience in leading apprenticeships, Asa previously led apprentices at Bradford to success before becoming Assistant Principal for Study Programmes and Adult Provision. He is committed to the transformative role of Further Education, having served the sector for over 20 years and participated on several strategic boards. Additionally, he is an experienced school governor.
Asa’s appointment will be followed in January by the new Senior Vice Principal for Quality and Student Success. Asa joins Lisa Capper MBE, the new CEO and Principal, who also took up her post this week.
Lisa Capper MBE commented: “I am delighted that Asa is joining the Sandwell Family of Colleges for his next challenge. Developing the skills pipeline for young people, adults, and apprentices is crucial for the areas surrounding our colleges and the West Midlands region. Asa brings invaluable experience in curriculum development across key sectors, and we look forward to the exciting opportunities ahead.”
Asa shared: “I can’t wait to get started meeting colleagues and learners and supporting our plans for continued success. It’s an exciting time to be joining and contributing to the local area and the wider City region.”
Alan Taylor, Chair of Governors, added: “Asa is a great addition to our team as we move forward with our exciting developments and our relentless focus on learner success.”
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The Titan Award finalists have been announced for 2023 – and one of the nominees for Further Education/Higher Education Student of the Year is from Cadbury Sixth Form College!
Zainab Mallah is an A Level Science student at Cadbury.
Here’s why she was nominated by her personal tutor Emily Broome:
“Zainab is a conscientious, kind-hearted, caring student who holds a real maturity beyond her years and always treats both staff and students with an incredible amount of respect and kindness. Zainab is very well liked and willingly gets involved in group discussions and speaks out appropriately if she has any concerns. She willingly supports those around her and has volunteered for open days as a student tour guide, supported fundraisers and petitions and has been involved with external companies such as SafeUp. She also started her own Medicine and Healthcare Society and always supports her peers with genuine care and enthusiasm.”
Emily added: “Zainab is a genuine delight and always makes me smile and brightens my day! I really hope her nomination will provide her confidence and allow her to see how truly hard-working and special she is! She is a credit to our college and an outstanding role model to our students! Our college truly wishes her the best of luck in her nomination and her future, I have no doubts that she will excel in everything she does!”
The winners will be announced at the upcoming Titan Awards & Charity Dinner in July at Aston University, and each will receive a trophy, framed certificate and Amazon gift voucher.
Good luck Zainab!
We were delighted to host Group Captain Deputy Lieutenant Ian Sargeant OBE today for our Big Coronation Party and tree planting ceremony.
Many of our staff and students have been making big preparations for this event to commemorate the historic Coronation of King Charles III.
Creating colourful bunting and learning about the significance and history of the Monarchy, students also enjoyed Coronation-inspired cakes and games and sang celebratory songs live on stage.
Royal representative Group Captain Sargeant, who is also a Queen’s Honorary Surgeon, joined in with the celebrations and met members of staff and students, before helping Head of Curriculum Ian Vogel to plant a commemorative tree in the campus grounds.
The Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Crabtree OBE, who attended the Coronation on Saturday, is appointed by the King to represent him in the region and attend events and activities on his behalf.
He said: “The Coronation is really bringing people together to celebrate and get involved in some amazing projects. You can feel the excitement mounting across the region and there is a wonderful community spirit with many people volunteering for the first time to support their community.”
The West Midlands is the second largest Lieutenancy in England and Wales supporting nearly 3 million people across seven local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The Lieutenancy is active across the community supporting projects and initiatives that benefit the community and it helps recognise people through the Honours awards. It also coordinates Royal Visits and acts as a connection between the civic, military, religious, armed forces and emergency services.
The Lieutenancy is involved in a number of events that will be held across the region for the Coronation.
We asked our Digital Design and Production T Level students what they were enjoying most about their course so far, and to tell us a bit about themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
Abas – The reason why I have chosen this T Level course is because I believe it teaches me everything to send me in the right direction to become a software developer. Since the start of college, we have learnt a lot such as python, HTML and SQL. The teachers are also pushing us to work hard in building websites during our lessons and to do research at home. The course offers us the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand how the work environment is. My hobbies include playing basketball, reading and spending quality time with family.
Haneef – My experience of the new T Level Digital Production course I am taking has been excellent. I have expanded my knowledge of Computer Science and understanding of the Digital World, additionally I have learnt many core skills such as using tools from the Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office. I would highly recommend this course for anyone looking to go into any computer related career such as Web Design, Software Engineering and Cyber Security. It is a great environment and I couldn’t ask for more. The amazing support I get from my lecturers has really helped prepare me for any future industry placements.
Hassan – I have chosen this course as it will help me achieve my ultimate career goal of becoming a software engineer at Google, Facebook and TESLA. I have already learned a lot, like how to use CMS software Drupal. I have also learned a lot of different coding languages including python, JavaScript, HTML, SQL, CSS and PHP. My teachers are good and have real-world experience in the field of STEM and building websites for clients. We have learned how to use applications like Photoshop and InDesign to create the front end of a website. This course will help me achieve my future career goals because it offers me the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand what it is like to work in the software industry and how it operates. I’m enjoying this course because it’s helping me to understand how games, websites and apps are built. It also teaches us how to create and maintain databases with advanced security, plus how to build a really well functioning website and how to add good security features to prevent it crashing and breaking down. My hobbies are going to the gym, gaming and helping my brother build computers.
Shahzeb – Since this course became part of my schedule, I’ve come to understand how committed and enthusiastic I am about this subject. This T Level is excellent because it opens doors to careers in the digital industries, including web design, programming, game design, data analytics, software engineering, cybersecurity and many more. Outstanding instructors that have real-world expertise teach the course, which makes it easier and more entertaining. Amazing web design instructor Stuart has expertise creating websites for paying customers. I’ve learned how to design a website front end using Photoshop and InDesign. My career goal is to learn how to operate the (CMS software) Drupal and also learn the different computer languages such as python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, HTML and PHP. I am already very good with computers and how they operate, but this course offers more challenges which is what makes it so attractive and fun. I always wanted to understand and learn how to build/design different games and software, which this course allows me to do. Studying this T Level course opens up a lot of opportunities for me and allows me to work on actual digital projects. This is one of the best courses in Birmingham, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in computers.
If you’d like to find out more about our T Level or Digital courses, register here now for our next Talk & Tours event or Open Day.
