College Governance

Sixth-form College Corporations (Governing Bodies) have the legal status of statutory corporations and exempt charities. A college, is a charitable activity undertaken by its Corporation. As laid down in the Higher and Further Education Act of 1992, the Corporation of the Sixth Form College, Colchester, has ultimate responsibility for the College and it is the responsibility of the Members of the Corporation (the Governors) to ensure that the College achieves its mission as a sixth form college.

The core functions of the Corporation (Governing Body) include:

• setting and communicating the College’s educational mission, vision and quality improvement strategy 
• holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance and quality of the college and the performance of staff 
• exercising effective control to ensure that funds and assets are used efficiently, and legal obligations are met

The Corporation is made up of members from a cross-section of the community. They come from a variety of backgrounds with the skills and expertise required to ensure that the Corporation functions as effectively as possible and in the best interests of the College and its stakeholders. The Corporation comprises of up to 20 members, including parent, community, student and staff representatives.

Members of the Corporation (governors) are also charity trustees and have six main duties under charity law. These are to;

• ensure the Corporation carries out its purpose for the public benefit
• comply with the Corporation’s governing document and other laws and regulations that apply to the Corporation
• act in the Corporation’s best interests
• manage the Corporation’s resources responsibly
• act with reasonable care and skill
• ensure the Corporation is accountable

In addition, governors also commit to following the Nolan ‘7 Principles of Public Life’, which are the ethical standards expected of people in public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

The Corporation operates a limited committee style of operation governance, supported by dedicated Lead Governors  who focus on key areas of its responsibilities including:

• Safeguarding, including child protection
• Health and Safety
• Finance
• Curriculum, Data and Educational Quality
• Pastoral incl. SEND
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Strategy and Skills
• Equality, Diversity, Inclusion
• Careers and Destinations 

Information Updates

Corporation Chair & Vice Chairs:  M Atherton has been elected to serve as Chair of the Corporation, and K Finnigan and S Codling were elected to serve as Vice Chairs of the Corporation, for a 2-year period commencing 01.09.2022. The Chair can be contacted via the Clerk to the Corporation using the contact details below.

Parent Governor: We will be contacting all parents and guardians to notify them when we have a parent governor vacancy.  If you are interested in serving the college as a parent governor, a copy of the eligibility criteria and a self-nomination form can be downloaded using the links below or by contacting the Clerk to the Corporation.  

Download Parent governor eligibility information.

Download Parent governor self nomination form

Should you have a query regarding any of the information contained on this page or would like to register an interest in becoming a governor, please contact:

The Clerk to the Corporation
The Sixth Form College, Colchester
North Hill
Colchester
Essex
CO1 1SN

 01206 500700

Email the clerk to the corporation