New CEO, New Chapter, New Opportunities

As the Principal and Deputy CEO for the last 4 ½ years Neil has made a significant contribution to the College and is now looking forward to leading the organisation through the next phase of its journey.

Born and raised in the West Midlands and following in the footsteps of his late Dad who taught at Sandwell College, Neil has over 30 years’ experience in Further Education, starting as a teacher of Performing and Creative Arts and working his way through various middle and senior leadership roles before joining Barnet and Southgate College in 2019.

Speaking about his appointment Neil said, ‘I am extremely honoured and proud to have the opportunity to continue to work with the amazing and talented staff across Barnet and Southgate College as we build on the success of the last few years. We have delivered improvements in the quality of our offer and the successes of our students, secured a strong foundation of financial resilience, and worked hard on making the college a fantastic place to work and to learn’.

He added, ‘we have become recognised as a key institution in our local community and amongst our other stakeholders and with industry partners. We will continue to build on our strengths, deepen our partnership working and extend our impact as the provider of choice for learning and skills to an increasing number of adults and young people in the coming years’.

The College's emerging new Strategic Plan, 2030 Vision, will commit to meeting local and regional skills needs by providing businesses and industry with a talent pool of well qualified and employable students. The College offers a broad and deep curriculum that gives genuine opportunities for the c. 13,000 students it serves each year, to progress into employment or into Further and Higher Education.

The ambitious Strategic Plan will also see the College commit to continuing to drive improvements in the student experience, placing an enhanced focus on staff and their experiences as employees, and to continuing to invest in its facilities and resources over the next 6 years.

Adam Goldstein, Chair of Governors said, ‘I am really looking forward to working with Neil as our new CEO and Principal. Neil has made a huge contribution to the college already as our Deputy CEO and is clearly ready to step up and lead the organisation in the coming years. Neil and the board share an ambitious vision for the future of the college and its students, and we are collectively focused on delivering our exciting new strategy from now to 2030. Neil is a truly authentic leader, firmly rooted in further education, and committed to delivering for his staff and students. Neil is absolutely the right person to lead Barnet & Southgate College through the exciting times ahead and I and the board are really pleased to have secured his services as our new Chief Executive’.

Adam also added, ‘The Board and the College would also like to acknowledge the excellent work done by Darren Mepham, our previous CEO who led the college for the last 5 years and laid the strong foundations for us to now build on’.

The College is now recruiting new leaders to its Executive Leadership team to join Neil in delivering the next and exciting phase in this ambitious and growing College’s future.

Anyone interested in learning more about these opportunities, and the current vacancies to join the teaching and business support teams across the College can visit the College's Job Vacancies webpage for more information.