The Cornwall College Group

We are the largest education and training provider in the region, with over 13,000 learners each year, 2,000 of whom are studying a university programme with us.

Our achievements are plentiful and our proven track record of almost 20,000 apprentices in fifteen years makes us the most successful provider of work based learning in Devon and Cornwall.

College Governance

Legal Status

Cornwall College is a further education corporation. Further education corporations were incorporated by Parliament under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (FHEA), as such their powers are limited to those set out in this act as amended by the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the Further Education and Training Act 2007, the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and the Education Act 2011.

The FHEA also states that further education corporations are exempt charities. This means that corporations are required to demonstrate compliance with charity law but the majority of the regulatory provisions of the Charities Act 2011 do not apply.

Further Education Corporations are regulated by an array of bodies but their main regulator is the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) which is the principal funder for most colleges.

The key governing documents for further education corporations are:

• The Instrument and Articles of Government which prescribes the membership of the governing body and sets out rules for external and internal conduct. 

• The Financial Memorandum with the ESFA which sets out the conditions of funding.

• The Post-16 Audit Code of Practice which sets out the mandatory audit requirements for further education colleges

Board of Governors

The Cornwall College Board of Governors comprises twenty governors including the Principal and Chief Executive, student and staff members. Governors are collectively responsible for determining the strategic direction of the College and oversight of its activities as well as ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources, the solvency of the institution and safeguarding its assets.

The Governors of Cornwall College come from a variety of backgrounds and have a wide range of skills, knowledge and experiences. Governors are unpaid and act in a voluntary capacity. They are required to act in the best interests of the College and to comply with a code of conduct.

Governors are required to declare any interests, financial or personal, which could be perceived as influencing their judgement. Governors’ completed declarations of interest are available to inspect along with the code of conduct at the College on request to the Clerk to the Governors.