THE BEDFORD College Group is preparing to welcome a new chief executive from January 2024.
Ian Pryce, who has held the post for 25 years, is to retire in January next year and will be succeeded by Yiannis Koursis pictured above, currently the principal and chief executive of Barnsley College.
Work has already started on the hand-over.
Mr Pryce pictured right said: “I am fortunate to have got to know Yiannis over the last couple of years as members of the FE Commissioner’s Principals Reference Group. He has an excellent reputation in the sector and I know he will be great to work with and will take our college group to the next level.”
Chair of governors Allan Schofield added: “Both I and the Corporation are excited to appoint Yiannis as our new CEO. We are committed to making The Bedford College Group a truly excellent institution leading the region’s training and skills agenda and we are confident that Yiannis will help us achieve this in building on our already sound foundations.”
The Bedford College Group is the seventh largest group in the country by funding. It recently merged with Central Bedfordshire College and has a structure which is led by the CEO, supported by two deputies and three Principals for Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Mr Koursis has held senior Further Education roles in colleges across the UK and spent close to a decade working with voluntary and charitable services. He was awarded an OBE in 2022 and a fellowship by the Royal Society of Arts in 2020 for his outstanding achievements in social progress and development, championing the power of Further Education to transform lives.
He worked with the Gatsby Foundation to help enhance UK education and was invited to consult on the government’s White Paper for FE reform.
