College staff and students rose to challenge of a year like no other - Stella McManus

Last year began with another lockdown in Scotland, and South Lanarkshire College rose to the challenge, by working safely to ensure student health, wellbeing and educational needs continued to be met throughout 2021.

Stella McManus, Depute Principal, South Lanarkshire College.

We worked tirelessly to ensure we did not close during the second lockdown, which began in January 2021. As an anchor institution in our local community, we were very mindful that we were and continue to be, a safe place for students and staff. From online learning to blended learning – on campus and virtually – and then through to having small groups of students back on campus, we remained open throughout 2021, to support our staff, students and the community. Our passion to deliver for our students continued in the activities we offered throughout the year. For instance, in February we held our first ever Virtual Graduation Ceremony, which was viewed by more than 900 students along with their friends and families. The event included video messages from celebrities including TV presenter, Lorraine Kelly, and radio presenter, Callum Gallacher, and the online ceremony allowed students the chance to celebrate in their success despite the pandemic.

We continued to meet student needs in the spring, when the Students’ Association provided free soup to students attending the campus. During this time, we wanted to ensure no student was worried about studying whilst hungry. Strict health and safety procedures, including adherence to social distancing and mask-wearing, increased cleaning processes and regular inspections, allowed small groups of students to complete their courses back on campus. For many students, deferring completion to the next year was not an option – and they needed to complete their qualification to ensure a job.

As summer approached, we held our first in-person open event for two years and we worked safely with our graduates to hold our first ever on campus graduation ceremony in a heated marquee in October. It was really great to see students back on campus celebrating safely with their classmates.

South Lanarkshire College graduates celebrate their achievements.

Throughout the year we continued to play our part in the community by fundraising and donating to local charities and in November, we showed our support for climate action, when we held a fortnight of sustainable activities to coincide with COP26.

As 2021 ended, our students continued to astound us by competing and winning a substantial number of awards including the Wella Exposure Hairdressing competition in London and the Slate Off competition in Hereford. As a college we were also honoured to be the winner of the s1jobs.com Recruitment Awards in the inclusivity and diversity practices category and we are delighted to say that college performance indicators published by the Scottish Funding Council in July 2021 demonstrate that South Lanarkshire College students have continued to achieve well despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. The college has continued to provide learning opportunities for more students than in previous years and continues to exceed Scottish Government targets.

It certainly has been a year like no other, it has been a learning curve for everyone in education, however I can categorically state that our staff and students have successfully risen to the challenge. Looking ahead, South Lanarkshire College has learned a lot from the last 12 months. It is likely we will continue to offer a mix of online and on-campus learning in some courses, as we have realised for some people – for example, those with childcare issues – it can be easier. We are also very aware of the important part our college will play in supporting the post-Covid economic recovery. Helping people made redundant by Covid, for example, or supporting those in need of retraining or upskilling will be key alongside supporting existing students and helping them catch up on any lost learning time.

As a college, in 2022 we will continue to work creatively and flexibly to support all of our students to complete their courses.

Stella McManus, Depute Principal, South Lanarkshire College