New Principal

New Principal takes the helm

16 June

Gerard Garvey has been appointed as the new Principal for Newcastle Sixth Form College.

Mr Garvey joins the Sixth Form College in August in time to lead the organisation into the new academic year. The College, which was officially opened by Professor Lord Robert Winston in 2014, is the City’s first dedicated Sixth Form College providing state-of-the-art facilities for 16-19 year olds from across the region. Newcastle Sixth Form College has an excellent track record of success with over 25% of its students going on to study at Russell Group Universities last year.

Mr Garvey is currently Principal at Barnsley Sixth Form College. He is an experienced Sixth Form leader who has a great deal of experience as both an A Level teacher and manager in inclusive, high performing Sixth Form Colleges across the country. He will succeed former Principal Steve Gibson.

Newcastle Sixth Form College is a division of NCG and, as well as leading the Sixth Form; Mr Garvey will also take up a position as a member of the NCG executive board.

He joins NCG from the senior management team at Barnsley College which has been outstanding since 2010. During his time at Barnsley, Gerard has led on the separation of Barnsley Sixth Form from the main college brand and the construction of a brand new £18m Sixth Form facility. He has also overseen major improvements in success rates and a significant increase in the number of students progressing into Higher Education.

Commenting on the appointment, NCG Chief Executive, Joe Docherty, said: “Gerard is an excellent appointment to lead our Sixth Form College. He is an experienced leader, who has achieved outstanding success rates and highly responsive partnership work with schools, learners and parents. I am confident he will take Newcastle Sixth Form College to even further success.”

Gerard Garvey said: “I am delighted to be taking on a new challenge at Newcastle Sixth Form College and look forward to joining in August. The impressive facilities and strong brand identity have established the Sixth Form as an aspirational place to study. My focus will be on making Newcastle Sixth Form College the preferred A level choice of study for young people in the region by developing quality and working to guarantee that learners achieve the highest success rates and make exceptional progress.”