For South Tyneside College, being named both college of the year and overall provider of the year at the Tes FE Awards in 2017 was a landmark moment.

Chief executive Lindsey Whiterod says that winning has been “motivational to staff and inspiring to students, and has brought tremendous opportunities to develop positive new relationships with businesses and business leaders across the North East and beyond”.

Now, Tes unveils the individuals and institutions that are in the running to emulate South Tyneside’s success by being shortlisted for the Tes FE Awards 2018, held in association with the Education and Training Foundation.

The awards celebrate excellent and innovative practice across the further education sector and are now in their seventh year. With colleges and training providers having submitted a record number of entries, next year’s awards - which will take place at London’s Grosvenor House hotel on 23 February - are set to be the biggest yet.

Once again, a number of new categories were added this year, with awards for specialist provider of the year and adult and community provider of the year up for grabs for the first time.

On the night, the winners of these two new categories will go head-to-head with the winners of the FE college, training provider and sixth-form college of the year titles for the right to be named overall FE provider of the year. The winner of the lifetime achievement award will also be announced at the ceremony.

‘A standard bearer of high quality’

And winning the flagship award last year has proved to be a game-changer for South Tyneside, Whiterod explains.

“The college’s education and training provision was already highly respected, but our awards success has raised the esteem in which we are held - and our profile - higher still. We are now looked upon as being a standard bearer of high quality and innovation. The effects of winning have been entirely positive, both inside and outside of the college - and we have a stronger and more influential voice because of it.”

Tes FE editor Stephen Exley says: “We were absolutely thrilled that the number of entries this year exceed our previous record by a quarter, which reflects the growing stature of the Tes FE Awards.

“Our expert panel of judges was extremely impressed with the calibre of entries and I look forward to celebrating the excellence that exists across the FE sector. Congratulations to all of the shortlisted entrants.”

Apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton, who will be attending the awards, says: “I’m delighted to see a record number of entries for the Tes FE Awards - especially at such an important time for our FE sector. Congratulations to those excellent institutions on the shortlist, as well all those doing their bit to provide high-quality education and training right across the country.

“We need a world-class FE provision in order to create more opportunities for young people and provide businesses with the skills they need. The Tes FE Awards give us the opportunity to recognise examples of exceptional leadership in the sector, providing inspiration for others looking to follow.”

For more information about attending the awards, please visit www.tesfeawards.co.uk

Tes FE Awards 2018 - the shortlist

Outstanding use of technology for improving teaching, learning and assessment

* Basingstoke College of Technology

* Blackburn College

* Bolton College

* Cardiff and Vale College

* Harlow College

* Portsmouth College

* Solihull College & University Centre

* Westminster Kingsway College

Employer engagement

* Ayrshire College

* Belfast Metropolitan College

* City of Glasgow College

* Derwen College

* Keighley College

* Lincoln College Group

* Milton Keynes College

* Stephenson College

Support for learners

* Ayrshire College

* Canterbury College

* Elatt

* Fircroft College of Adult Education

* Kirklees College

* Northampton College

* Northern College

* South Tyneside College

Contribution to the local community

* Abingdon and Witney College

* Barnet and Southgate College

* Bury College

* Elatt

* Redbridge Institute of Adult Education

* Warwickshire College

* West Lothian College

* Weymouth College

Best teaching and learning initiative

* Barking and Dagenham College

* Bedford College

* Cambridge Regional College

* Cardiff and Vale College

* Coleg Cambria

* Forth Valley College

* Gateshead College

* Portsmouth College

Professional services team of the year

* Abingdon and Witney College

* Bedford College

* Central Bedfordshire College

* City Lit

* Dundee and Angus College

* Grimsby Institute Group

* Kirklees College

* Leicester College

Apprenticeship programme of the year

* Bridgwater & Taunton College

* Busy Bees Training

* City of Glasgow College

* Gloucestershire College

* Hartlepool College of FE

* Royal Air Force

* Warwickshire College

* West Suffolk College

Assessor of the year

* Calogero Alaimo - Newcastle Under Lyme College

* Kelly Cave - Strode College

* Keith Haynes - Bedford College Group

* Joanne White - Walsall College

* Julie McNab - London South East Colleges

* Murray Stark - Inverness College UHI

* Lucy Hedges - Smart Training and Recruitment

* Tim Robinson - Coleg Cambria

Teacher of the year

* Alison Scattergood - East Durham College

* Keith Shiels - Lowestoft Sixth Form College

* Deborah Koder - Barnet and Southgate College

* Leon Johnson - Leeds City College

* Nick Carroll - Belfast Metropolitan College

* Shane Guildford - South Cheshire College and West Cheshire College

* Tom Genillard - Long Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge

* Wesley Davis - Worcester Sixth Form College

FE leader of the year

* Anthony Harmer - Elatt

* Garry Phillips - West London College

* Lowell Williams - Dudley College of Technology

* Mike James - chief executive, Cardiff and Vale College

* Mouhssin Ismail - The Newham Collegiate Sixth Form

* Paul Little - City of Glasgow College

* Sarah Le-Good - Derby College

* Simon Pirotte - Bridgend College

FE college of the year

* Belfast Metropolitan College

* Blackpool and The Fylde College

* Coleg Cambria

* Dudley College of Technology

* East Kent College

* Fareham College

* South Devon College

* Truro and Penwith College

Training provider of the year

* Elatt

* Hart Learning & Development

* HIT Training

* Learning Curve Group

* Lifetime Training

* St Helens Chamber

* The Michaeljohn Training School

* West Berkshire Training Consortium

Sixth-form college of the year

* Birkenhead Sixth Form College

* Durham Sixth Form Centre

* Greenhead College

* Hills Road Sixth Form College

* Huddersfield New College

* Loreto Sixth Form College

* Richard Huish College

* St John Rigby College

Adult and community learning provider of the year

* City College Peterborough

* Fircroft College of Adult Education

* Kent Adult Education/Community Learning and Skills

* Lancashire Adult Learning

* Morley College London

* Skills & Learning Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole

* Thurrock Adult Community College

* Walsall Adult and Community College

Specialist provider of the year

* Abingdon and Witney College

* Coleg Elidyr

* Derwen College

* Elatt

* Foxes Academy

* National Star College

* Weston College of Further and Higher Education

* Weston House (Bridgend College)