"IT'S the best job I've ever had!"

York College and University Centre’s principal and chief executive Ken Merry took over as acting college boss almost a year ago, getting the role permanently in March this year.

Looking back on his time at the helm he said: "It's the best job I have ever had - it has it's challenges as you'd imagine, we have some golden students - respectful, well-prepared and eager to learn.

"This was my first Summer here and I found myself in largely empty buildings, but I didn't really appreciate how much I missed the students until they returned in the Autumn.

"On any one given day we have between 2,000 and 2,500 students on site and it's just great. I have worked in lots of colleges and it's my favourite."

Recommended reading:

Mr Merry, 41, was formerly vice-president for quality at Barnsley College and has also served as an Ofsted inspector.

He said that as the institution approaches its 200 year anniversary in 2027 he sees himself as a 'custodian and caretaker' of the college in Sim Balk Lane.

"I want the college to be brilliant in ways you don't find elsewhere," he said.

"I care about what students and staff think about us. Also our stakeholders - the community and the employers that we work really closely with, as if we're not satisfying them we're not doing our job.

"We have great staff here with a lot of people really enjoying their job, and I have not met a single member of staff who doesn't care."

Ken with Lord Lingfield in December 2023 when the College became only the 25th training provider in the UK to be awarded Chartered Institute for Further Education (CIFE) membership statusKen with Lord Lingfield in December 2023 when the college became only the 25th training provider in the UK to be awarded Chartered Institute for Further Education (CIFE) membership status (Image: Supplied) The college has about 4,000 16-18 year olds, around half of whom come from York and the rest come from all across North Yorkshire - Selby, Scarborough, Northallerton, Thirsk, Hambleton, Richmond and into East and West Yorkshire including Pocklington, Hull and Wakefield.

The college also caters for between two and four thousand adult students each year.

Talking about funding Mr Merry said: "I'm really fortunate as I inherited a really strong financial position, but for us one frustration is when it comes to recruiting staff. Although we pay well, further education was left out of the recent five and a half per cent pay rise that schools got. We often compete with schools for staff on the one hand and with businesses on the other and we are kind of in the middle.

"Another frustration felt by the sector is that if you are a sixth form college that's converted to an academy you don't pay VAT and we do.

"In November 2022 colleges, which were previously classed as private sector were reclassified as public sector. This means we can't borrow money from banks and we are restricted in terms of our activities."

Mr Merry, who lives in Wakefield, said that the next big step for the college will be to launch their strategic plan in January next year with the ambition of being 'the best 16-18 college in the North of England'.

"We want to focus on educating students really well and as part of that we are developing a really knowledgeable and skilled staff body," said Mr Merry.

Brought up on a council estate in Wath upon Dearne in Rotherham,  Mr Merry was the first person in his street to do A-levels and to go to university - American history and educational psychology at Sunderland.

"I have been fortunate, I have worked really hard and I have worked with some really good people who have guided me," he said.

Mr Merry said the strategic plan will 'reset ambitions post-Covid' looking ahead from 2025-30.

Set out in four sections: staff; students and apprentices; sustainability and surroundings (place) the college is looking to launch the plan in January.