Charitable Trust projects

Buraries: AoC Student Leadership in FE Programme

November 2025 - March 2026

What is it?

The AoC Charitable Trust are pleased to be providing bursaries for college students to attend the AoC Student Leadership in FE programme. This pilot will offer a mix of in-person and online activities designed to develop essential leadership skills, including communication, influencing, collaboration, and confidence building - helping students reach their full potential.

More information can be found here.

Creating a Greener London – Sustainable Construction Skills

December 2022 – November 2027

What is it?

This project, delivered with support from JPMorgan Chase, is a programme that aims to provide future generations in London with the skills and knowledge necessary for green jobs in the building and home sector. It focuses on developing green career pathways at Level 2 and above through partnerships between further education colleges and employers, and co-designing and delivering green skills training alongside existing Level 2 qualifications.

How will I benefit?

The two pilots, South Thames College Group (STCG) and London South East Colleges (LSEC) will establish local collaborative partnerships, to identify existing and emerging green job opportunities available, and the skills required from level 2, which enable progression to green employment in the construction sector. The selected pilot projects will provide the opportunity for students to gain valuable green skills, as well as access to high quality careers information and guidance.

How can I find out more?

A project blueprint has been developed to draw on the initial findings from the pilot projects, demonstrating effective processes and procedures for establishing partnerships working to deliver green skills training in the homes and buildings sector. Our aim is for this blueprint to be used by as many organisations as possible, outside of the pilot projects.

Click here to view the Year 1 Blueprint for the Project. For more information - click here for our project webpage

Funded places: AoC Student Governor Summit

November 2025

For the second year, the AoC Charitable Trust are pleased to be funding places for student governors to attend the AoC Staff and Student Governor Summit. As part of the wider AoC Annual Conference, we hosted a summit aimed at equipping student and staff governors with essential skills, knowledge, and networking opportunities to support their critical roles within colleges. It demonstrates the significance of inclusive governance in shaping the future of further education. With 39 student governors in attendance, the event showcased the diverse perspectives and vibrant engagement that student representatives bring to the sector.

The event’s success reflects the AoC Charitable Trust’s commitment to supporting governors at all levels.

"Great sessions. Fun and engaging. Gave learners the chance to express themselves." Student Governor

"Really loved the session and being part of the overall AoC conference as well. Can't wait for next year!" Student Governor

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at conference and am very thankful for the opportunity to attend this prestigious event. I know the 3 Student Governors that attended with me had a great time networking and participating. I applaud the AoC Chartibale Trust for enabling students to attend for free, without which none of us would've been able to attend." Staff Governor

Creative Arts in FE 2025 – developing student voice through creativity

March 2025 – November 2025

Creative Arts in FE gives students in FE colleges the chance to create their own piece of work in response to a brief set by UAL Awarding Body. The theme for this years brief was ‘Love Letters’. Celebrating creative writing remains at the core of this opportunity, and we loved to see responses to the brief that included photography, visual and fine arts, film, animation, performance, creative writing and spoken word.

Creative Arts in FE was a great opportunity for students to creatively explore issues that are important to them. We of course welcomed submissions from the whole college community and particularly encouraged students who might not be enrolled on creative courses to take part.

With the help of an editing panel, we read, looked at and watched every submission and selected a number of works to be included an online anthology and gallery. We also shared selected submissions throughout November 2025 in a social media celebration and at the AoC Annual Conference in Birmingham.

The key ethos of this programme is taking part, and we are so pleased that students have been encouraged to put pen to paper, transform ideas into designs and most importantly embrace their creativity since 2023.

The Creative Arts in FE 2025 programme has been supported by programme sponsors the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and UAL Awarding Body. It is facilitated and coordinated by AoC's Charitable Trust.

The submission window for 2025 has now closed.

Click here to view the Creative arts in FE anthology and art gallery

Creative Arts in FE

December 2023 – November 2024

Supported by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and UAL Awarding Body the Creative Arts in FE 2024 encouraged students to submit creative writing, film, animation, fine arts and photography

UAL Awarding body developed a brief for students to respond to, which used aerograms as a framework to build submissions around, and CLA supplied lesson plans and additional resources for colleges to use.

Click here for the Creative arts in FE anthology

Funded places: AoC Student Governor Summit 2024

November 2024

The AoC Charitable Trust were pleased to support the AoC Student Governor Summit for the first time in 2024. It ran parallel and in conjunction to the AoC Annual Conference. It demonstrates the significance of inclusive governance in shaping the future of further education. With 26 student governors in attendance, the event showcased the diverse perspectives and vibrant engagement that student representatives bring to the sector.

The summit provided a dynamic programme, including keynote speeches, interactive workshops, and opportunities for collaboration and networking. Student Governors appreciated the focus on practical skills, with one attendee sharing, “It was an amazing experience for team building, networking, and learning more about the role we do as student governors.” Workshops and breakout sessions also addressed current governance challenges, providing actionable takeaways for participants to equip student governors with confidence and key tools for use as part of the college governance team and in their future careers.

The event’s success reflects the AoC Charitable Trust’s commitment to supporting governors at all levels. As one delegate concluded, “I’m now ready to embrace the challenges of governance and celebrate some wins along the way!”