The head who turned Wolverhampton College around
Mark Robertson is the man who turned one of the country's worst colleges into one of its most successful.
Mr Robertson took over as principal at the City of Wolverhampton College in May 2013 and walked into the aftermath of a maelstrom.
Judged inadequate in a scathing Ofsted report the previous year, success rates at the college were rock bottom and those students that bothered to sign up for courses were sitting in quarter-full classes and often dropped out altogether.
Jump forward two years and the situation has been turned on its head.
Now rated good by the watchdog, the college is in the top 15 per cent for success rates for 16-18-year-olds and runs a host of classes so popular that they have waiting lists.
[related_posts]
[breakout align="right" title="The rise of City of Wolverhampton College"]
In its next inspection there's a strong chance the college will be rated outstanding, but the man behind the turnaround won't be there to see it.
Mr Robertson is moving on to a new challenge in a new city.
March 2012: The college is branded 'inadequte' by Ofsted following a disastrous inspection.
July 2012: Principal Ian Millard retires.
August 2012: John Hogg takes over as interim principal.
September 2012: The college cancels all GCSE courses on the eve of the new term, leaving hundreds of students facing a last minute scramble to find places at other colleges.
November 2012: Ofsted revisits the college and notes improvement in some areas, although progress is said to be 'too slow' in others.
May 2013: Mark Robertson is appointed new principal, arriving from South Staffordshire College. One week later Ofsted returns for a full inspection, upgrading the college to a grade 3 rating of 'requires improvement'.
July 2013: The college's horticultural centre The Cedars on Compton Road West is closed down after bosses said it was no longer financially viable.
September 2013: Ninety-four staff, including 36 lecturers, are either made redundant or take voluntary redundancy.
May 2014: Plans to forge links with 'blue chip' employers bear fruit as the college wins contracts to provide apprenticeships for the BBC and aerospace giant Moog.
July 2014: The college invests £500,000 in state-of-the-art IT equipment.
September 2014: Bold plans are announced for a new multi-million pound campus in the city centre.
October 2014: A report by the Government's FE commissioner says the college has undergone a transformation and had 'repositioned itself as part of the fabric of the city'.
November 2014: An Ofsted report praises the college for driving up standards, giving it an overall rating of 'good', noting 'outstanding' features.
April 2015: New Government figures rate the college in the top 15 per cent in the country for success rates for 16-18-year-olds.
May 2015: The college lands the prestigious Investors in People Gold award.
August 2015: The college is shortlisted for two national awards by the Association of Colleges in recognition of its outstanding leadership and engagement with employers.
September 2015: The national learner satisfaction survey ranks the college as one of the best in the country for student satisfaction.
[/breakout]
At the end of the month he will take the reigns at Barking and Dagenham College, another college that is currently graded good and that needs one final push to hit the top rating.
It poses the question, why leave Wolverhampton with the college on the brink of completing such a remarkable turnaround?
"It was the hardest professional decision I've ever had to make," Mr Robertson said.
"This job has been a labour of love and a part of me will always be in Wolverhampton.
"I've taken the city and its people to my heart but a new opportunity arose and after a great deal of soul searching, I decided the time was right to move on.
"When it came down to it the pull of London was so strong. I can leave Wolverhampton knowing the college is in a great position. I know it has an outstanding future."
Accepting credit is something that doesn't come easy to the self-effacing Scotsman. Brought up in Dundee the son of a teacher, he says having the backing of a strong team has been pivotal in marshalling the turnaround in fortunes in Wolverhampton.
To fully understand the extent of the journey the college has made under Mr Robertson's guidance it's worth revisiting the Ofsted report from March 2012, some 14 months before he arrived in Wolverhampton from South Staffordshire College.
It painted a picture of a college in terminal decline, with teachers delivering courses to sparsely populated classes and leaders considered incapable of bringing around the necessary improvements.
The lack of bums on seats in the classroom plunged the college into a perilous financial position that inspectors described as 'weak'.
Students were failing to reach their potential and success rates were well below the national average, inspectors said.
The message was loud and clear: If you want to gain qualifications and get yourself on the employment ladder, don't go to the City of Wolverhampton College.
John Hogg took over as interim principal and steadied the ship, leading to Ofsted noting improvements in some areas during a further visit in November 2012.
It was into this environment that Mr Robertson appeared, and with another Ofsted inspection taking place a week after his arrival there was little time for a bedding in period.
"To be honest the decline had been arrested to some extent by the time I came in," he said.
"The college had badly lost its direction, but there were a lot of people here who I felt had the drive and skills to create a great college.
"It was a case of harnessing that energy and getting everyone pulling in the same direction to move us forward. Ofsted came back and upgraded us to 'requires improvement'.
"We knew the college was already moving forward, but it was nowhere near where we wanted to be."
To continue the improvements Mr Robertson admits that he's had to make some tough – and unpopular – decisions along the way.
In the months after his arrival the college's horticultural centre The Cedars on Compton Road West was shut down after it was deemed to be a financial drain.
Then 94 staff, including 34 lecturers, were either laid off or took voluntary redundancy.
Mr Robertson said: "We had to be relentless to be successful and that meant making some painful decisions that I felt were in the best interests of the college.
"We had a team that managed change, and the results have been overwhelmingly beneficial to students and staff. It's a better place to work and a better place to study."
A key part of the college's improvement stems from a plan to bring employers on board, with courses specifically tailored to meet the needs of the local economy.
Links were forged with Moog, JLR, the BBC, the Express & Star and Wolves. Recruitment improved, as did retention, while hundreds of thousands of pounds was spent on new facilities including state-of-the-art IT equipment.
Ofsted returned to a very different City of Wolverhampton College in 2014. The watchdog's second tier rating of 'good' matched a report from the Government's FE commissioner that described it as 'transformed'.
And the college has continued to rise, landing a number of accolades including the prestigious Investors in People Gold Award. It has also been singled out for high levels of student satisfaction and outstanding engagement with employers.
Having joined the college as deputy principal in June 2013, a month after Mr Robertson arrived, Claire Boliver has also taken a key role in the success story. The pair had previously worked together for five years at South Staffordshire College where she was director of curriculum.
Currently acting as interim principal, Mrs Boliver said: "We held the same vision for the college when we both arrived and I want to carry that through," she said.
[interruptor]
[video_expander]
"The foundations have been laid and we want to be 'outstanding'. Our next inspection is likely to be in the next 12 months and hopefully we will reach our goal."
Mr Robertson added: "It's been a pretty incredible journey. I'm tremendously proud. In education people come to work to give kids a chance for a better life. I think it's something that we've achieved in Wolverhampton."
