Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton MP praised Uxbridge College’s “brilliant work” and shared her passionate support for further education with students and staff during a recent high profile visit.

The Minister toured computing and engineering facilities, and saw hands-on skills such as mechanical engineering and motor vehicle maintenance being taught in the college’s workshops, as well as cutting-edge creative technologies at work with computing students.

The Minister said: “It was fantastic to visit Uxbridge College and to meet the staff and students. They are doing some brilliant work to make sure people of all ages and backgrounds gain the skills they need to get a good job and career.

“We are transforming technical education in this country and T Levels are a once in a generation opportunity. I’m thrilled Uxbridge College will be offering our gold standard T Levels in Education and Digital from September 2020.

“I congratulate the college on their amazing work, and I look forward to hearing more about the progress they make."

Laraine Smith OBE, Principal of Uxbridge College, said: “Like Anne Milton our Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, everyone at Uxbridge College is passionate about providing the best possible training and education to young people.

“We are proud to be involved in offering the new T Level qualifications and have also got our fingers crossed that our success so far in moving forward towards becoming an Institute of Technology will continue. We would like to say a big thank you to Anne for her visit and her obvious commitment to supporting further education.”

The forthcoming ‘T Level’ - Technical Level - qualifications - are equivalent to 3 A levels and will be launched nationally in 2020, with Uxbridge College offering Early Years Education and Digital programmes.

During the visit Anne met with Principal Laraine Smith and Vice Principal Darrell DeSouza to discuss key concerns around post-16 education, including creating the best quality opportunities for young people to learn technical and practical skills needed by employers.

For more photos from the visit go to: https://www.facebook.com/pg/uxbridgecollege/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10156627382285283