Bishop Burton College welcomes new principal

‘COMING HOME’: Danny Metters

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

Bishop Burton College has announced the appointment of Danny Metters as its new principal and CEO.

Danny, currently principal of East Riding College and Scarborough TEC College, is re-joining Bishop Burton, near Beverley, and its sister site, Riseholme College, in Lincolnshire, after previously working there as vice principal.

He was selected after a rigorous selection process including students, staff and stakeholders. Danny will take up his post in August, replacing current principal and CEO Bill Meredith, who is retiring.

Danny said: “Joining Bishop Burton and Riseholme feels like coming home.

“Bill Meredith has been incredibly influential in enabling my career development – providing opportunities, support and coaching for which I will always be grateful. I am looking forward to working with the staff team and the board of governors, shaping our students’ futures.

“I am proud to be part of Bishop Burton and Riseholme’s legacy and excited to be able to build on that strong foundation for its future.

‘WISHING HIM THE VERY BEST’: Bill Meredith

“The impact we have, as custodians, on educating and training the next generations to enter the sectors we serve is key to shaping our students’ and our economy’s future.

“My vision is to be the leading land-based college of choice for the huge breadth and depth of specialist education and skills we offer.

“I am committed to delivering high quality education and skills to meet the needs of our employers and stakeholders through a focus on careers, not just courses.

“What better way of doing this than through our state-of-the-art land-based specialist facilities – whether that be our commercial farm, well-equipped engineering workshops, extensive equine arenas and stabling, or our Animal Management Centre.

“Equally, our skilled teaching teams and student support services bring our land-based and linked courses together to skill our students for a sustainable future for them and the planet. I am pledging a ‘students first, staff always’ approach.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at East Riding College and Scarborough TEC. The staffing body ensures the students and the community are at the heart of everything they do as a general education provider. I believe their future is bright as a north bank team.”

Danny has been involved at a local, regional and national level in the future direction of further and higher education strategies impacting on colleges.

He has taken on consultancy and voluntary roles alongside his previous and current roles. In the national context, Danny has served as a board member of Yorkshire and the Humber Institute of Technology since June 2022, on the North Yorkshire Schools and Education Forum and as a Scarborough ambassador education committee member. Danny was also a board member of the trustees for Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.

Ian Sackree, chair of the Bishop Burton board of governors, said: “The board of governors is delighted and excited in equal measure to have appointed Danny, who brings a wealth of further education experience, and has a significant history of working successfully at Bishop Burton and Riseholme colleges, and already knows many of our staff and external stakeholders.

“We were deeply impressed with Danny’s knowledge, ambition, enthusiasm and ideas to lead our college forward and this promises to be an exciting time in our history.

“I would like to place on record our deep appreciation for the work done under Bill Meredith’s leadership. Bill will be sorely missed, but I know that he shares our confidence in Danny’s leadership capacity to ensure that Bishop Burton remains a leading light amongst land-based colleges.”

Bill said: “I am delighted to hand over the Bishop Burton baton to Danny, whose commitment, energy and vision will doubtless take the college forward, continuing to build on its success.

“I know that Danny will strive for excellence and I’m sure our students, our dedicated staff team, the college board and our industry partners will want to join with me in wishing him the very best.”