‘Hull College used to be a beacon in this city … it will be again’
PROUD: Hull College principal Debra Gray. Picture by Tom Arran
EXCUSIVE by Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
The principal of Hull College has outlined her vision for it to become “world-class” as it embarks on a “new era”.
The college was recently rated ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features by Ofsted, marking significant progress since Debra Gray became principal and a new senior team was established.
Following its previous two full inspections, in May 2019 and February 2022, the college had been graded as ‘Requires Improvement’.
During a turbulent recent history, an FE Commissioner Intervention Summary report published in 2021 detailed a culture of fear, lack of leadership and financial difficulties. The college also experienced multiple changes in leadership and job losses.
Now though, Debra, who joined in April 2022, insists the latest Ofsted report signals the start of a bright new beginning for the college, with limitless possibilities.
ON THE UP: Hull College
She told The Hull Story: “This has been a long time coming for the college but to be able to recover as we have in the last 18 months to two years has been quite something.
“It’s been a real journey for the staff, and I’m incredibly proud of them.
“This marks a new era for the college now, in terms of the quality we offer students, the reputation we’re building with our employers and our stakeholders, and the place we’re taking in the educational landscape across the Humber region.
“It’s much needed. Hull College used to be a genuine beacon in this city, and I want to return it, with my team, to that level.
“There’s a lot of pride. The staff are rightly proud of each other and the journey they’ve been on. They’re incredibly proud of our students because ultimately that’s why we all come to work.
“But ultimately, I think the prevailing mood is excitement about what the next few years will bring. We’ve managed to achieve ‘Good’ with Outstanding’ features after 18 months of work – imagine where we’ll be in two more years.
“We’re aiming to be a genuinely world-class college here in the heart of Hull. You can’t let a rating of ‘Good’ by Ofsted by the enemy of becoming great.”
When Debra joined, the college had suffered multiple changes in leadership, job losses and financial difficulties.
Now, the picture is very different.
Debra and her senior team, plus the new board of governors, have helped stabilise the college, as recognised by Ofsted, and are now pushing for it to become one of the leading colleges in the country in the coming years.
‘ON A MISSION’: Debra Gray talking to The Hull Story
“We aren’t interested in sitting on our laurels because we’re on a mission to make sure Hull as a city, and the wider Humber region, are not just well served by their college, but exceptionally well served,” she said.
“It’s about elevating every single function of the college to be absolutely the best it can be, as well as building a culture that demands that of itself. Culture change is really, really hard and it needs to be shared by everyone in the organisation.
“The culture at this college has been turbulent. My view is that we evolve, we change and we adapt – and we do it with people, not fighting against them.”
The college has had to overcome its well documented issues to get to the point it is at now, but Debra insists the foundations for success were already in place.
“The first thing to recognise is that the staff were always top notch,” said Debra. “These are people who are good teachers, good people, who care deeply about their students and Hull and the East Riding as a place.
“The responsibility for the college’s difficulties didn’t lie with them.
“So, although the base was low, it wasn’t their base. It was the leadership and management of those good people that needed to be pulled together.
“It had been a turbulent time for senior staffing – I was the seventh principal in three years. I’ve got no comment to make about those individuals because I firmly believe that everyone who worked here wanted the best for the college, but that turbulence didn’t help.
“We made some excellent appointments to the senior gaps we had and once we set out our stall that we wanted to become world-class, we became an attractive place to come to work.
“It was about getting a team of really, really talented people in place and giving them a vision. I was very clear 18 months ago that in three years we had to be ‘Outstanding’, because the city needs it.
STUDENT FOCUS: Hull College is improving
“We’ve now been rated ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features, which indicates we’re well on our way.
“It’s about having a relentless focus on always putting our students first. It’s not about egos or what we want, it’s about what will get our students the jobs of the future.
“I want our students to be on the boards of companies. I want them to not just be good employees of the future, but good employers of the future.”
So, what does “world-class” look like for the college?
“It’s a culture of excellence, it’s not a destination,” said Debra. “For me, you never stop trying to achieve world-class, because what is world-class changes, what the city needs changes and what businesses need changes.
“It’s about being agile, it’s about being adaptable, it’s about being efficient. But I think that, for us, it’s about caring really, really deeply about our people and our place.
“It’s about taking our responsibility seriously and realising we aren’t here for ourselves – we’re here for our students and our city.”
It is a significant responsibility but one Debra says she and her team are motivated by, rather than burdened.
“The college has been in the city since the 1860s, in one form or another. So, when I say it’s trained generations of Hull citizens, I’m not exaggerating,” she said. “It’s trained whole families. That’s a really, really precious responsibility.
“As a principal, all you ever really are is a custodian of a college. You have to be able to hand it over to the next custodian in a really, really spectacular state.
ON A JOURNEY: Hull College has been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted
“Having inherited it at the very start of that journey, my plan, and the plan of the whole team – because I’m the least of it, in many respects – is for the college to not just be the best in the Humber, but the best in the country.
“Why wouldn’t we want that? Hull needs it and our students deserve it. I don’t say it with any arrogance. I want it for the city.”
When Debra joined Hull College, which will typically see 10,000 students pass through its doors over the course of an academic year, from Grimsby Institute, she set about rebuilding relationships with businesses and stakeholders across the city.
“The goodwill that the business community still held for Hull College, after all of its troubles, was incredibly heartwarming,” she recalled.
“As a new principal, you don’t always quite know what the reputational landscape looks like. That first year in post involved a lot of shoe leather. I tried to knock on every CEO’s door – not because I wanted their business, but because I wanted to build relationships to better the city.
Become a Patron of The Hull Story. For just £2.50 a month you can help support this independent journalism project dedicated to Hull. Find out more here
“I have to say that every door that was opened was done so with real welcome. People have generations of history with this college. Many of them came here, so what was really lovely was that they wanted us to succeed.
“These CEOs, whether of a micro business or a major company, are the employers who will eventually employ our students. I want to make sure that’s a really smooth transition for our students.
“During some of its more difficult times, I think the college pulled back, and was focused more on internal challenges, but we have a responsibility to take our place as the anchor partner in the city.
“We are the biggest college by a considerable distance in Hull and the East Riding, and one of the biggest in the Humber, so for us not to have that presence was a crying shame really.
“When I look at what we do, I want to serve Hull, I want to serve the East Riding and I want to serve the businesses along the banks of the Humber. That’s really our core mission. But I also want to do that in a way that attracts inward investment. These investors know what world-class looks like and I want them to walk through our buildings and say ‘yes, this is it’.
WORTH CELEBRATING: Fireworks over Hull College
“It’s about providing the very, very best for students, for our own staff, for businesses and for the city.”
The reaction to the news the college had received a positive inspection report from Ofsted was overwhelming, says Debra, further highlighting the desire across the city to see it succeed,
“My inbox was flooded when the news was made public,” she said. “People were delighted and surprised that we’d managed to move the college to that standard in the short period of time we’d had.
“We aren’t pushing against any resistance in the city. The businesses in Hull have always been our allies, even when we might have let them down in the past. They haven’t let that stop them from opening their doors to myself and my team to come and try to rebuild those relationships.”
Debra is keen to stress it has been a team effort to turn things around, and it will be a team effort that will take Hull College to the next level.
STRIVING TO BE THE BEST: Hull College offers a range of vocational qualifications
“This isn’t about me, it’s about my team,” she said. “I love my people here – they’re amazing. I don’t just mean the senior team, I mean everyone. Everyone is fighting for the college and fighting for it to be world-class.
“I love this place.”
The Hull Story COMMENT
It’s heartening to see Hull College back on track.
The college, and its staff, have had an incredibly difficult recent history.
Multiple changes in leadership, financial difficulties, numerous rounds of redundancies and poor Ofsted ratings have all contributed.
Now though, it seems the college has finally come through this turbulent period and things are looking up.
Under the leadership of current principal Debra Gray, her senior team colleagues and new board of governors, the college has been rated ‘Good’ overall by Ofsted, with ‘Outstanding’ features.
It’s start of a “new era” for the college, according to Debra, who’s outlined her vision for Hull College to now go on to become “world-class”.
The Hull Story welcomes this ambition.
Hull College is an institution in our city. It has educated, trained and employed generations of families and plays a crucial role in Hull’s economy.
It is more than just a college.
It has been in the doldrums for too long now, which has had a negative impact on the city more widely, but hopefully those days are now behind it.
The college has strong leadership in place, a talented and loyal workforce and, crucially, the support of stakeholders and the business community to now go from strength to strength.
Debra says this is the just the beginning. We hope that’s the case.