London

Happy New Year. I hope you managed to enjoy a well-earned restful break alongside some festive fun with friends and family!

Thank you to all the colleges that sent wonderful Christmas greetings, it was lovely to see all the designs created by students. We very much appreciate the good wishes and personal messages of support and sincerely wish you all the very best for 2026. It was heart-warming to see so many London colleges partnering up with different organisations during the Christmas period to help those in need. Please do continue to share your good news stories during the year; we want to celebrate all the wonderful things our members are doing.

The year 2025 ended on a really positive note with a flurry of high-profile visits and good news stories. Twice in one week New City College hosted ministers and high ranking government officials, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Minister for the Cabinet Office, came to announce the welcome re-joining of the Erasmus+ scheme, he was joined by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister of State for Skills, who had been at Rainham Construction and Engineering campus a couple of days earlier – just couldn’t resist a high-vis jacket!

Other great news included Harvey Mclaughlin from Barking & Dagenham College, who won gold in additive manufacturing in the WorldSkills national finals and United Colleges Group being named one of the Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers for the second year running, ranking 30. The award recognises organisations who have committed to building inclusive cultures; UCG is also the only London College to hold Investors in Diversity Gold status from NCFD. Congratulations UCG!

As the new year started, we were delighted to learn that former CEO and Principal of West Thames College, Tracy Aust, had been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours for her services to further education. Tracy made a remarkable contribution to her college, her community and to London, we were so pleased to see this recognised. We are now seeking nominations for the 2027 Honours and more information can be found here.

Finally, look out for information on Colleges Week 2026 here. Please let us know what events you are planning – and invite us!

Best wishes for the start of term and as always, if you need any help or support, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mary Vine-Morris
Area Director – London

Calls for action

AI FE Leadership Event - 29 January 2026
HRUC invite you to an AI FE Leadership Event taking place on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 2:30pm at Amazon’s offices in Central London (14 Hewett St, EC2A 3NP). A virtual dial-in option is also available for those unable to attend in person.
This event, organised by the Community for the Adoption and Advancement of AI in Further Education and supported by the AoC Technology Group, will focus on shaping the next phase of AI adoption in further education. A key part of the session will be agreeing actions from the findings from the recent AI Leadership Survey, which provides a national view of sector priorities.
Register here.

Please be prepared: coming to this event will involve collective decision making and the planning of a national approach to system change and AI investment.

Great Mental Health Day 2026

On Friday, 30 January 2026, Londoners across the capital will be coming together to once again mark Great Mental Health Day, a regional awareness day with the aim of getting Londoners talking about their mental health and, importantly, raise awareness about the support and services that are available all year round and locally to them. Click here for more information.

Network Meetings:

AoC South SEND Forum, 27 January 2026, 10:00am - 11:30am

AoC London Clerks' and Governance Professionals' Network Meeting, 3 February 2026, 10:00am - 11:30am

AoC South Chairs’ Network Meeting, 4 February 2026, 4:00pm - 5:30pm

AoC London HR Directors’ Network Meeting, 11 February 2026, 10:00am - 11:30am

AoC South HE Forum, 12 February 2026 , 11:00am – 12:30pm

AoC South Apprenticeships Forum, 25 February 2026, 10:00am - 11:30am

AoC London Curriculum and Quality Directors’ Network Meeting, 4 March 2026 (In-person), 2:00pm – 3:30pm

AoC London Principals’ and Chief Executives’ Network Meeting, 5 March 2026 (In-person), 10:00am – 12:00pm

AoC London and South East Finance Directors’ Network Meeting, 19 March 2026 (In-person), 10:00am – 1:00pm

If you don’t receive direct communications from us and would like to be added to our distribution list, please email Ikran.Jama@aoc.co.uk.

We are also now able to share your individual college news stories on the AoC website. Simply use the self-publication form here and your successes will be shared nationally, as well as being accessible across the London region.