Huntingdonshire principal to take up post at Cambridge Regional College

ANNE Constantine, principal of Huntingdonshire Regional College since 2002, is leaving to take up a new post at Cambridge Regional College.

Miss Constantine will take up the post in October.

She told The Hunts Post: “The opportunity arose because the current principal is leaving. I had no wish to leave HRC but this is a fantastic opportunity. Cambridge is a much larger college in a superb location and it was far too attractive not to go for.”

Miss Constantine, who is married but works under her maiden name, said there were still projects she would have liked to have seen through at HRC, but the plan to move to new buildings had been put on hold for a decade or more as promised funding had been withdrawn.

“We have developed an alternative strategy,” she added. “Next year, between February and August, we are planning to remodel the front of the main building in California Road to make it look more attractive and build better reception and teaching areas.

“We also want to introduce a training kitchen so we can offer catering apprenticeships, redesign the admissions areas and create more social spaces for students.

“The college will look and feel a lot better. Developments will take place over the next five to 10 years as things can be afforded.”

Meanwhile, the future of the St Neots campus of the college still hangs in the balance.

She is keen to point out that her achievements in improving results and morale at the college in the past eight years “is not a lone achievement”.

However, she acknowledges that scrapping A levels – where the results were poor - and introducing vocational courses in construction and computer skills, for example, has allowed students to play to their strengths.

She has also introduced a new management system and introduced an annual awards presentation for top students.

In 2008 the college achieved a grade two “good” from Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education) for leadership, management and the capacity to improve.

“Our results have improved massively (up by 25 per cent in the past five years), our income has doubled and our students aged 16 to 18 have trebled. We are now in good financial health and the college has a good future.”

Last year, student Craig Bucklow won a WorldSkills UK gold medal for designing a website and this year the college football team are the British College men’s football champions.

“If Fabio had come here looking for his footballers he would have done better!”