College is finalist in national STEM College of the Year awards

Cambridge Regional College will be one of the stars at the national ENTHUSE awards for STEM teaching at the House of Commons this month.

The college is one of just three finalists for STEM FE College of the Year, with the winner announced at a glittering awards ceremony at the Commons on 20 July.

The college won its place in the finals – and the regional FE College of the Year award – for its outstanding engagement with schools, employers and STEM partners, including the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Its award-winning staff and students helped seal the win, with engineering student Leigh Sessions holding a BTEC student of the year award, Chemistry lecturer Ursula Lowe the national FE STEM teacher of the year and computer games lecturer Michael Warburton the Bafta YGD mentor of the year.

The college, which has an innovative Science, Engineering, IT and Maths provision, takes a leading role in promoting STEM careers among primary and secondary school pupils, including special Girls into STEM days.

Its computer gaming department has an international reputation and is supported by some of the industry’s major companies. It also has an innovative student-run enterprise, Rizing Games, through which which students market their games and exhibit at top expo E3 in Los Angeles – the only UK FE college to do so.

The college also founded and hosts the national FXP gaming festival, and this year students are being sponsored by ARM to exhibit and to provide games workshops at the Big Weekend festival in Cambridge in the summer.

CRC Head of Faculty Paul Breheny, who will be attending the awards ceremony on behalf of the college, said it was very exciting to be shortlisted for FE STEM College of the Year.

“We are absolutely delighted that our outstanding STEM provision and amazing staff have been recognised in such a fantastic way,” he said. “We are very proud of our STEM teaching and it is a great honour to be a finalist in these wonderful awards.”

To find out more about the awards, click here.

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For more information, please contact Lynn O’Shea, Cambridge Regional College Press Officer, on 01223 418773 or email