THE man at the top of a North Yorkshire college is heading off.

Principal and Chief Executive Phil Sayles has been at the helm of Selby College since 2018 and will be moving on at the end of this year to take up an equivalent role at Bournemouth and Poole College on the south coast.

During his period leading the college, it has become a partner in the Yorkshire and Humberside Institute of Technology, bringing over £600,000 of investment, and developed key training partnerships with industrial giants Siemens Mobility and Drax Power.

In 2020, Selby College achieved a 100 per cent pass rate for both its A-level and vocational programmes.

He said: “Selby and the surrounding areas have a fantastic college, filled by skilled, dedicated and fantastic staff who work very hard for the success of students. The last 18 months during the pandemic has seen them shine through even more. I’m also very proud of what our students achieve, moving into work, further study or onto some great universities. Our work doing more to support businesses across the region with the skills they need has been important, and is something which will grow and continue.

“Furthering the prospects of our students, employers and communities has always been my biggest priority during my time at the College and will continue until the moment I walk out of the door for the final time in December. I will miss many people and aspects of work in Selby, and I am lucky to have worked in a lovely part of the country and to be moving to another.”

Richard Stiff, Chair of the Corporation at Selby College said: “Phil has played an instrumental role in the College’s success recently. He has applied his passion, dedication, knowledge and valued experience to make a significant impact on the College’s business support functions, systems and services. More importantly, he has led the College very effectively through the most challenging of times we have seen in both the education sector and personally, providing constant and effective leadership for both staff and students. We are grateful for his strong leadership, commitment and service to the College. He will be missed by his colleagues, students and stakeholders at the College and we wish him the best of luck in his new role.”