Beacon Awards winners 2025/26 announced

Nine colleges across the UK are celebrating after being named as AoC Beacon Award winners for 2025/26.

The winners, revealed at an event in Westminster today, represent the very best of the further education sector. From an AI tutor supporting GCSE students to a town-centre hub reengaging hundreds of adults, they are shining examples of the incredible work going on in further education colleges.

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: “Every year I am blown away by the standard of the Beacon Award entries. They are tribute to the scale of innovation and expertise in further education colleges across the UK, and the impact they have in their regions. This year, it was harder than ever to decide on just one winner per category.

“I want to say a huge congratulations to everyone who met the Beacon standard, and of course, to our winners. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the communities you serve. I hope you enjoy the celebrations, you should be proud of the work you do and the impact you make on people's lives.”

• The Sustainable Energy First Award for Education for Sustainable Development: New City College
• The Careers & Enterprise Company Award for Excellence in Careers and Enterprise: Cambridge Regional College
• The RCU Award for Support for Students: Hugh Baird College
• The City of Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers: Glasgow Clyde College
• The AoC Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Derwen College
• The Jisc Award for Effective Use of Digital Technology in FE: Activate Learning
• The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning: Chesterfield College Group
• The Bell Foundation Award for Excellence in ESOL: The City of Liverpool College
• The British Council Award for Excellence in International Work: Lincoln College

The Sustainable Energy First Award for Education for Sustainable Development: New City College

New City College demonstrates how deep, sustained partnership working can turn sustainability from a set of projects into a shared civic mission. Its approach brings together employers, local authorities, schools, community organisations, and sector bodies to embed green skills, climate literacy and carbon reduction across curriculum, estates, and community life.

Partnership is central to delivery. Employers co-design curriculum in construction, hospitality, media, and engineering, ensuring sustainability learning reflects real workforce needs. Local councils, job centres, and schools use college facilities such as the Bridge Partnership VR space to support training, careers guidance and access to green jobs. Third-sector organisations and national bodies including BAFTA albert, the Sustainable Restaurant Association and Transport for London contribute expertise that strengthens relevance and reach.

The college also plays a system leadership role. Practice is actively shared through AoC networks, London Construction Technical Excellence Colleges, The College Collective, sector conferences, and informal college-to-college visits. This outward-facing model means sustainability is not treated as an internal agenda but as a collective endeavour, supporting regional skills pipelines, community engagement, and employer productivity.

The assessors said: “Sustainability is embedded across curriculum, estates and partnerships and has become part of the college’s culture.”

The Careers & Enterprise Company Award for Excellence in Careers and Enterprise: Cambridge Regional College

Cambridge Regional College’s Citizen Hub shows how colleges can widen opportunity by taking careers advice and employability support directly into the community. Based in St Neots town centre, the hub brings together Cambridge Regional College, employers, and local voluntary groups to support people who might not normally come into college. This includes young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), adults changing careers, people made redundant, and those facing social or financial challenges.

The hub is set up as an open and welcoming space where anyone can walk in for support. It offers careers advice, help with job searching, referrals to training, and access to other local services. Around three hundred people visit each week. College staff are based at the hub and can quickly connect visitors with specialist advice through live digital links, helping people move quickly into short courses, bootcamps, jobs, or further study.

The hub has been especially important in improving adult skills provision. Regular meetings with local employers help shape training to match local job opportunities. This has led to the growth of adult bootcamps in areas such as logistics, teaching assistant roles, cyber security, and construction, with many learners moving into work or further training soon after completing their courses. For example, most learners on a teaching assistant bootcamp in autumn 2025 moved into employment or further study within weeks.

The impact goes beyond employment. Many people say the hub helped them rebuild confidence after long periods away from education or work. One former member of the armed forces told assessors that after leaving service: “It felt like the rug had been pulled from under my feet, coming to the hub helped me get a piece of the rug back under my feet.” Others described overcoming fears linked to age, redundancy, or negative past experiences of education, supported by the hub’s friendly and non-judgemental environment.

The Citizen Hub is part of Cambridge Regional College’s wider careers strategy and is supported by senior leaders and governors. It also creates new opportunities for current college students, who take part in live projects, volunteering, and community activities. Employers use the hub to recruit staff, offer work experience, and help shape future training.

The assessors said: “Individual case studies of success voiced by those involved were moving and life-changing, filled with positivity, enthusiasm and hope for the future.”

The RCU Award for Support for Students: Hugh Baird College

Hugh Baird College’s “Education for All” initiative shows how colleges can transform opportunity and social mobility by reshaping provision around the real needs of their communities. Serving one of the most deprived areas in the UK, the college prioritises accessibility, early intervention, and continuity of learning for young people who are furthest from education, employment, or training.

Since 2021, the college has significantly expanded its foundation studies provision for NEET learners and strengthened specialist provision for students with high needs through Thornton College. Provision has been deliberately designed to meet learners where they are, including delivering education across multiple sites and community settings, rather than relying on a single main campus. Flexible entry points and programmes such as Hugh Choose allow learners to join at different times of the year and remain in learning while progressing towards vocational courses, apprenticeships, or employment.

Strong partnership working underpins the model. The college collaborates closely with local authorities, schools, careers services and employers to support transitions from Year 9 onwards, anticipate needs and reduce the risk of disengagement. This long-term, collaborative approach has contributed to NEET levels in the locality being significantly lower than the regional average.

The impact on learners and families is evident in both data and lived experience. The college demonstrated sustained improvements in attendance, retention, destinations, and outcomes for learners with SEND and other barriers, alongside powerful learner and parent testimony. Students described feeling supported, valued, and able to rebuild confidence, while parents spoke of profound changes in their children’s independence, wellbeing, and future aspirations.

The assessors said: “Parents, stakeholders and learners articulated and contextualised the significant impact the college has had, continuously outlining how the college ‘bucks the trend,’ ‘thinks outside the box,’ ‘puts the learners first’ and is ‘giving me my son back’."

The City of Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers: Glasgow Clyde College

Through the College Local Innovation Centres (CLIC) programme, led by six colleges, digital innovation and business productivity have been strengthened across the Glasgow City Region.

Funded by Innovate UK, CLIC brings together six specialist college centres to support businesses with digital improvement. The programme follows four clear steps: identifying business needs, assessing challenges, connecting companies with the right support, and measuring progress. Since April 2024, CLIC has supported more than 390 businesses, delivered over 100 programmes, and worked with more than 620 employees. Businesses taking part have increased their digital capability by an average of 38 per cent, helping them grow, redesign services, and secure new funding.

The programme has also shaped college courses, with employer feedback leading to investment in new technologies and new training in areas such as digitally supported health and dental nursing.

By working together across the region, CLIC shows how colleges can play a key role in local innovation, helping businesses grow while keeping training closely linked to employer needs.

The assessors said: “The CLIC project is recognised at a regional level by Glasgow City leaders in that it is raising productivity and contributing to the regional innovation action plan.”

The AoC Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Derwen College

Derwen College’s Sleep First project shows how strong partnership working, both inside and outside the college, can improve outcomes for learners with learning disabilities and additional needs. The project puts healthy sleep at the centre of the college’s mental health and wellbeing strategy, recognising that good sleep helps learners manage emotions, behaviour, learning, independence, and overall quality of life. Sleep First is not a separate programme but is built into everyday college life. It is used across teaching, therapy, residential living, and student support. The occupational therapy team leads the work, working closely with psychology staff, speech and language therapists, PSHE staff, residential teams, and senior leaders. This joined-up approach means learners receive consistent support both in lessons and in residential settings, with sleep now included in care planning and wellbeing support.

The project was developed through consultation with learners, staff, parents and carers, governors, and external partners, building on two years of research and shared learning.

The project has led to clear improvements in learner wellbeing, including fewer behaviours of concern and better understanding among learners of their own sleep needs. Care plans now recognise sleep as an important part of wellbeing, helping staff step in earlier and reducing the need for outside support services. The model is designed to be low-cost and easy for others to use, combining staff training, assistive technology, changes to living environments, and learner education. More than three hundred staff have been trained, and the college plans to share its approach nationally, helping to address the lack of guidance in this area across the sector.

The assessors said: “The initiative is strategically positioned, operationally embedded and clearly aligned to learner needs.”

The Jisc Award for Effective Use of Digital Technology in FE: Activate Learning

Activate Learning has developed an in-house AI Tutor to support learners studying GCSE English and maths, with a particular focus on adult learners, online students and those who have previously struggled with core subjects. Embedded directly within the college’s virtual learning environment, the AI Tutor provides immediate, scaffolded feedback that guides learners to improve their work without giving answers, supporting independence rather than shortcutting learning.

The project is rooted in a clear educational purpose: to reduce anxiety, rebuild confidence and widen access to achievement in subjects that are critical gateways to further study and employment. Learners spoke about feeling more confident to attempt tasks, redraft work and persist with learning outside class time, particularly those returning to education after long gaps or balancing study with work and caring responsibilities. The tool’s 24/7 availability was especially valuable for online and adult learners, enabling flexible engagement at a pace that suited individual circumstances. What distinguishes this initiative is its evidence-led development. The college piloted the AI Tutor carefully, analysed usage and outcomes, and refined the tool before scaling.

Data presented during the visit showed statistically significant improvements for learners who actively used the tutor, alongside positive feedback from staff and students. Importantly, the AI Tutor is positioned as a complement to teaching, freeing staff to focus on deeper feedback, motivation, and pastoral support. Assessors noted that this project demonstrates how digital technology can be used responsibly to widen opportunity, not replace professional judgement.

The assessors said: “This is AI used properly, it supports learning, builds confidence and gives learners another way to succeed, without taking away the role of the teacher.”

The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning: Chesterfield College Group

Chesterfield College has brought construction training onto a real housing development through its Smart Site Construction Skills Hub, linking learning directly to local housing and regeneration projects. Learners train on an active building site, follow industry safety rules, take part in real construction work, and develop both technical skills and the professional behaviours employers expect.

The course has been designed with 32 employers to make sure training matches current and future workforce needs, including new sustainability standards such as the future homes standard.

The hub has helped re-engage learners who had previously dropped out of education, including young people who are not in education, employment or training, care experienced learners, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also creates clear routes into jobs and apprenticeships. With 97.6% of learners moving into work, apprenticeships, or further study, and the hub becoming a permanent training centre from 2026, the project shows how employer-led college training can directly support local economic growth and skills needs.

The assessors said: “Delivering training on a live housing site offers learners authentic, hands-on experience in a real construction setting that traditional classroom settings can’t replicate.”

The Bell Foundation Award for Excellence in ESOL: The City of Liverpool College

The City of Liverpool College’s English into vocational model shows how colleges can support both economic growth and social integration by linking English language learning directly to local job opportunities. Instead of treating ESOL as a separate course, the college has built English teaching into seven Level 1 vocational programmes, including health and social care, construction, motor vehicle, and teaching assistant courses. This allows learners to build job skills and sector-specific English at the same time.

The programme is now a core part of the college’s strategy to help fill skills gaps across the Liverpool City Region. It started as a pilot and is now part of regular college provision. Learners see themselves as vocational students rather than just ESOL learners, which has helped improve motivation, confidence, and success rates. In the first year, all learners passed their courses, and an average of 88% progressed into Level 2 study, employment, or further training.

Courses are planned and taught together by ESOL specialists and vocational tutors, so language learning matches real workplace tasks and expectations. Learners practise English in practical situations, such as writing care notes, understanding safeguarding rules, reading technical drawings, and completing risk assessments. This helps learners progress faster, reduces drop-out rates, and allows them to move into work more quickly.

The programme is supported by strong regional partnerships and college leadership. Initial funding from Liverpool City Region helped test the model, and the college now funds it as part of mainstream delivery. New courses continue to be added to meet local workforce needs, and the college is sharing its approach with other colleges as a model that can be used more widely.

The assessors said: “This initiative has the potential to be transformational for ESOL learning.”

The British Council Award for Excellence in International Work: Lincoln College

Lincoln College has developed a long-term, partnership-led approach to international engagement that combines commercial delivery overseas with inward and outward student mobility. International activity is embedded as a core institutional strategy rather than a standalone project, with partnerships deliberately designed to generate mutual benefit for learners, staff, and the wider college.

A defining feature of the model is the scale and longevity of Lincoln College’s international partnerships, particularly in China and Saudi Arabia. These commercial partnerships generate significant recurring income, which is reinvested directly into UK provision, including facilities, curriculum development, and staff professional development. This creates a sustainable cycle in which international partnerships strengthen domestic education and institutional resilience.

Alongside commercial activity, the college has developed structured international mobility opportunities for students and staff through schemes such as Turing. Partnerships with providers in Denmark, Norway and China enable learners to gain international experience aligned to their curriculum areas, including hospitality, construction, and A Level programmes. Students reported increased confidence, independence, and clearer career aspirations as a result of participating in these partnerships, with learning shared on return to benefit the wider student body. Staff partnerships also play a critical role. International collaboration has informed curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment practice, with staff describing changes to teaching approaches and a greater emphasis on learner independence and global industry standards. In construction, joint projects with Chinese partners demonstrated close curriculum alignment and shared technical expertise, strengthening both delivery and progression pathways.

Partnership governance is well established, with senior leadership oversight and clear alignment between international activity, financial planning, and educational priorities. The college’s approach demonstrates how sustained, reciprocal partnerships can support financial sustainability, enhance teaching and learning, and widen opportunity for learners, even in a challenging funding environment.

The assessors said: “International work is positioned as a long-term institutional strategy rather than a discrete project.”