South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) welcomed the further education commissioner to its Stroud campus yesterday (May 1).

The visit was a great opportunity for the college to showcase its commitment to educational excellence, discuss best practices and highlight the impact of its programmes on both young and adult learners to the commissioner, Shelagh Legrave.

The commissioner had a tour of the campus's facilities, including the newly launched SGS Create - a centre designed specifically for 14-16-year-old learners.

The visit allowed her to observe how the college's efforts are transforming lives and explore how these practices might be modelled at a national level.

Shelagh Legrave also met with adult learners, particularly those engaged in innovative programmes, such as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

Sara-Jane Watkins, principal of SGS College, said: "We were excited to showcase the excellent work of staff and the achievements of students. It is so important for people such as Shelagh and her team to see first-hand the day-to-day working of further education colleges and understand all that we have to offer, in serving our students and the wider community.

"We were especially keen to show her SGS Create, which was positively praised by Ofsted for our courageous work with 14-16 year olds, especially as so many had struggled within mainstream education.

"There is a huge opportunity for other colleges across the country to replicate our model and that was why Shelagh seeing our 14-16 provision, supporting those especially with social, emotional and mental health issues."

The FE commissioner and her team work with further education colleges to improve their quality and financial resilience.