Iain Hatt, the current Deputy Principal Curriculum and Quality has been appointed and will take up the role in August. Iain has been at the college for six years and has a background of senior management roles in outstanding colleges.
Iain said: “I am thrilled to be the next Principal. I am genuinely excited about our future and looking forward to working with students, staff, governors and stakeholders to lead the college into the next stage of its growth and development.
“Skills development and retraining are going to be key in sustaining and promoting our region as we bounce back from the pandemic, whilst continuing to support our students to fulfil their potential and meet future skills needs.”
Current Principal and CEO, Amanda Burnside, announced her forthcoming retirement to staff in January, having been in the role for seven years. The College has made significant improvements in this time, including becoming an Ofsted rated Good college from 2015. A new campus was opened on the Chippenham site in 2015 and it is currently benefiting from £24 million capital investment in building developments on its Salisbury and Lackham campuses.
Amanda said: “It has been a privilege to lead the College for the last seven years and to work with our brilliant staff and students. I will miss them all but it is the right time personally for me to step down and I’m so very pleased that Iain has been appointed as the new Principal. He will be excellent in the role.”
Wiltshire College & University Centre is a leading Further Education provider in the South West region with 13,000 students across its four campuses in Trowbridge, Salisbury, Chippenham and at Lackham, its land-based campus. The College also has a motorsport centre at Castle Combe race track.
Martin Clark, the Chair of Governors at the College, said: “I am delighted that governors have been able to appoint Iain as the next Principal.
After a tough external recruitment process, Iain came through as the best choice for us to continue with our journey as a college to deliver the very best we can for the people and employers of Wiltshire.
“On behalf of governors I should like to offer Iain our warmest congratulations; we are very much looking forward to working with him and his senior team in the months ahead.
“I should also like to say thank you to Amanda Burnside, our current Principal and Chief Executive. Over the seven years that Amanda has been in the role she has transformed the College and led us to consistently deliver a very high standard of teaching and learning across the curriculum.
“Amanda has also created a very strong reputation for the college across the county as well as building excellent relationships with all our stakeholders. There is no doubt that Amanda will be missed by all at the college, but we are delighted that her work will be continued by Iain.”
