Association of Colleges
AoC Board
AoC is governed by an elected Board of members, both Principals and Chairs of Governors of member Colleges.
Below is a selection of Board member biographies.
-
Andy Wilson, Principal, Westminster Kingsway College
Andy Wilson has been Principal of Westminster Kingsway College since July 2004. Previously, he was Deputy Principal at Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College (EHWLC) for three and a half years, where he was part of the management team overseeing the successful merger, and Vice Principal at the College of North East London (CoNEL). Andy was born near Leicester, studied in Liverpool and has been based in London for the last 25 years. His teaching career has included establishing a groundbreaking Media Education facility as well as Nurse Education, IT and Communication Studies at CoNEL. More recently, his management experience has taken in quality systems, MIS, resource management and curriculum development. Andy is Chair of the Royal Institute of British Architects Learning & Skills Sector Client Forum, which provides support to Colleges involved in capital projects, and of the AoC London Region Marketing Committee. He is also the AoC National Skills Champion for the Hospitality industry.
-
Angela O'Donoghue, Principal, City of Sunderland College
Angela O'Donoghue is Principal of City of Sunderland College which is a large Further Education/Tertiary College with over 10,000 students. It provides education for 16-19 year olds via four sixth forms and two vocational skills centres. It provides significant adult programmes in College, including higher education, and also up-skilling for those in employment. As Principal of the College, Angela plays a significant role within the City and the region. She is a member of the Education Leadership Board, the Sunderland Partnership and the Children's Trust Strategic Partnership. She is a Governor of the University of Sunderland and is a member of the Regional AoC Committee. Angela is committed to providing students of all ages, and from all backgrounds, with the opportunity to undertake education and training in order to improve their employment prospects and enhance local communities.
-
Asha Khemka, Principal, West Nottinghamshire College
Asha Khemka took up her post as Principal and Chief Executive of West Nottinghamshire College - which has 16,000 students and an annual budget of £45m - in May 2006. At a national level, she has been a member of advisory boards committed to the improvement of both teaching and learning, and the qualifications framework. Asha currently sits on the Board of the National Institute of Learning Technology Association and is a Trustee of the Helena Kennedy Foundation Trust. She is also a member of the Derby University Court, a Board Member of Experience Nottinghamshire and the Mansfield Area Strategic Partnership. In July 2007, Asha was awarded the National Jewel Award for Excellence in Healthcare and Education, in recognition of her professional achievement, personal dedication and contribution to the College sector. In May 2008, she was honoured with the Asian Women of Achievement Award.
-
Carole Stott, Governor, City Lit
Carole is Chair of Governors at City Lit in London. City Lit is the largest adult education centre in Europe and Carole joined the Board there following a long career in, and commitment to, adult and further education. She is a qualified teacher who has taught in further education as well as in schools and University. She then worked as a manager in regional and national roles focusing on provision for unemployed adults, and then on curriculum and qualification reform to provide improved opportunities, especially for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. She has worked as a CEO, including CEO of a national qualification awarding body. She is currently a consultant in the sector. Carole has developed a keen interest and commitment to supporting good governance across the sector and was co-opted to AoC's Governors Council in 2008.
-
Di Roberts, Principal, Brockenhurst College
Di has been Principal and Chief Executive of Brockenhurst College since September 2006, having been Deputy Principal at the College from January 2004. Brockenhurst College, situated in the heart of the New Forest, is a Beacon College, providing education and training to over 3,200 full-time 16-18 year olds, 8,000 mainly part-time adults and over 350 local and regional businesses. Di has taught across the ability levels and spent time as an Ofsted Inspector. She also has significant experience in business and training over a number of years. Locally, she is a member of the Hampshire Childrens' Trust Board, Southampton University Council and the Defence Maritime Logistics School's Independent Advisory Panel.
-
George Trow, Principal, Doncaster College
George Trow is Principal and Chief Executive of the College, he was appointed in May 2010. Prior to this position George was Principal and Chief Executive at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology where he had worked for eight years. Having worked in Colleges since 1983, George is passionate about student success and brings with him a wealth of experience gained in six other Colleges. George studied at Scarborough Technical College and after a career in the hospitality industry he started as a Lecturer at Bournville College, Birmingham. George completed his Masters in Business Administration having studied at Leicester University and was proud to be granted Fellowship of City and Guilds of London Institute for his contribution to further education in 2008. He is an AoC National Board Member and Vice Chair of JISC Yorkshire and Humberside. George enjoys an interest in classic cars and for exercise and relaxation likes spending time in the countryside walking.
-
Helen Pegg, Principal at the City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College
Helen was appointed as Principal in August 2002 following a year as Acting Principal at New College in Telford, having originally taught Law and Economics in a number of schools and a Sixth Form College. As a recently appointed Principal, Helen participated in one of the first CEL programmes: 'The Art of Leadership'. Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College is located in a city ranked 16th in the most recent index of multiple deprivation. The College works hard to play its part in working with partners in seeking to improve the aspirations and life chances of young people in the area. It is strongly committed to boosting the social and economic regeneration of the Stoke-on-Trent area. Key developments include the relocation of the College in 2010 to a site adjacent to Staffordshire University - this collaborative project includes the development of five shared facilities catering for learners from Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent College and the Sixth Form College.
-
John Allen, Principal, Lincoln College
John Allen has been Principal at Lincoln College since August 2000. Previously he held senior management positions in both the North West and North East. Lincoln College is a large General Further Education College with three sites spread across the counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. As Principal of the College he is a member of a number of Boards including school governing bodies. He is currently Chairman of the East Midland Further Education Council (EMFEC) and is also a member of the Regional AoC Committee and chairs the Region's Principals Committee.
-
John Bingham, Chair, Thomas Rotherham College
John Bingham was born in Yorkshire and attended Rotherham Grammar School before becoming a Telecommunications Engineer, studying at Sheffield University as well as at Further Education Colleges in Rotherham (Rotherham Technical College) and Sheffield (Granville College of FE, now part of The Sheffield College). His career has developed from Telecommunications Engineering through Senior Management to setting up and running a successful technical and managerial consultancy practice, specialising in telecommunications and IT. Having worked in a professional capacity in the telecommunications environment for some 38 years, John became Chairman of Thomas Rotherham Sixth Form College at its incorporation and was elected to the AoC Board in 2001, having been a founder member of AoC Yorkshire & Humberside during the mid-nineties.
-
John Widdowson, Principal, New College Durham
John Widdowson joined New College Durham as Principal and Chief Executive in August 1998. He began his career as a lawyer in local government after which he held a series of teaching posts in Derbyshire and East Anglia. Before joining New College Durham, he was Vice Principal at Cambridge Regional College. New College Durham is a Mixed Economy College and as such the College is a significant provider of full-time and part-time vocational further and higher education in the county and the region. John is Chair of Aimhigher County Durham, part of the national Aimhigher network which exists to encourage greater participation in higher education. Nationally, he is Chair of the Mixed Economy Group of Colleges, which represents those Colleges offering significant amounts of higher education and Chair of the Further Education National Consortium, a group of over 100 Colleges and other educational bodies involved in the development of vocational learning materials.
