The AoC Charitable Trust’s primary purpose is to raise funds and oversee their application for the benefit of post-16 education and its vision is to have great colleges transforming lives and communities. The Trustees are appointed from the Association of Colleges’ Main Board, AoC's executive officers and independent representatives. Trustees appointed from the AoC’s Board include the Chair, the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance; executive officers include the Trust’s Director. Independent representatives are appointed for their knowledge, experience and status in the sector.

Beacon Award and Student of the Year Award

The Trust has oversight for a range of awards that’s celebrate best practice in further education and more. Information can be found by following the specific links on this website; this includes the Beacon Award and Student of the Year Award.

Find out more about the awards here

Our Strategy

Established by colleges for colleges in 1996, Association of Colleges (AoC) is the national voice for further education, sixth form, tertiary and specialist colleges. The AoC Group includes the AoC Charitable Trust, AoC Sport and AoC Services.

Since inception, the AoC Charitable Trust’s core purpose has been to recognise and celebrate excellence in colleges. Our Awards Programmes demonstrate the positive impact that colleges, staff and students have on the communities they serve. We expand on the work of the awards through programmes and projects to share best practise and create lasting change in the sector.

The Charitable Trust’s strategy aligns with the AoC Group strategy, and has the following five key priorities:

1. advance social mobility and aspirations
2. equality, diversity and inclusion
3. physical and mental wellbeing
4. creativity and innovation
5. environmental sustainability.

AoC Charitable Trust Who We Are

The Association for Colleges Charitable Trust is part of the wider AoC Group. Its purpose is to raise funds for the benefit of post-16 education, and ultimately, its vision is to ensure that every community has a great college which transforms lives.