EKC Group shortlisted for Association of Colleges Beacon Awards

EKC's Broadstairs College campus

EKC Group, which has a college campus in Broadstairs, is celebrating after being shortlisted for not one but three prestigious national awards.

The Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards are seen as The Oscars of Further and Higher Education Colleges, with only the best across the country being shortlisted – or ‘commended’ across their 12 categories.

Assessors have deemed EKC Group to reach this high standard in a quarter of the categories, with the finalists for each being announced at the Association of Colleges (AoC) Conference in Birmingham on Tuesday (November 15).

The awards which EKC Group has been ‘Commended’ in are:

  • The Nous Group Award for Education for Sustainable Development
  • The AoC Award for Excellence in Governance
  • The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning

With the AoC’s website listing 273 member Colleges, yesterday’s announcement is being met with jubilation across EKC Group’s six colleges.

Photo by Matt Bristow.

Chief Executive Officer Graham Razey OBE said: “To receive commended status in not one, but three of these prestigious awards is absolutely outstanding. It’s such a wonderful celebration of the huge amount of work our team put into delivering an outstanding experience for the communities we serve, and it makes me tremendously proud of their efforts.

“I’m particularly proud of our commended status in the AoC Award for Excellence in Governance category because I know what unsung heroes our governors are. They guide our organisation and do an incredible job to ensure we remain absolutely focused on delivering a brilliant experience for everyone in our Group. As volunteers, they richly deserve the plaudits from this commendation.”