18 Mehefin 2012

MBE i Arbenigwr Addysg

ColegauCymru warmly congratulates education expert Gavin Thomas on being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List announced on Saturday 16 June 2012.

Gavin Thomas is currently Curriculum and Quality Consultant at ColegauCymru and a member of the Board of Directors of Merthyr Tydfil College. 

He has a long and distinguished career in education that spans both England and Wales. He joined ColegauCymru in 1999, bringing with him his extensive experience of schools, the FE and HE sectors and lead inspector for post-16 education and training in Wales within the Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector. 

His expertise in teaching quality and his strategic thinking skills have seen him lead a long list of research projects and consultancies on behalf of ColegauCymru. His recent contributions include: leading on research into progression from further to higher education in Wales; and research which is exploring, on behalf of the Welsh Government, the potential to establish a new curriculum-led method of planning and funding post-16 education and training.

Gavin Thomas was also instrumental in developing the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification which has now been rolled out to every college and school in Wales. He helped set up the innovative Masters and Certificate programmes in leadership and management (FE), delivered by ColegauCymru and accredited by the University of Wales Newport and the University of Glamorgan, which together have enrolled almost 250 managers working in further education in Wales. 

Chief Executive of ColegauCymru, John Graystone, said: “I congratulate Gavin Thomas most warmly on being awarded an MBE. It reflects the very high esteem in which he is held in the education and training world by fellow professionals across Wales.  His enthusiasm and passion for further education along with his work ethic have been an inspiration to his colleagues at ColegauCymru and further afield across the further education sector.

John Graystone finished: “The MBE is very well deserved.”



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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 8384 or 07968 771913.



Notes to editors:

1. ColegauCymru / CollegesWales is a national educational charity that represents all 20 further education (FE) colleges and institutions in Wales. Its mission is to raise the profile of further education with key decision-makers to improve opportunities for learners in Wales. For further information about ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, and the colleges it represents, visit www.colegaucymru.ac.uk or www.collegeswales.ac.uk