Statement regarding strike action at Prior Pursglove College

Angela Stevenson, head of centre at Prior Pursglove College, said the welfare of both staff and students, as well as the educational attainment of students were its uppermost priorities.

“We would like to assure our community that we have measures in place to ensure this strike action creates minimum disruption to our students, with senior college leaders and members of the Trust’s senior leadership team making themselves available for cover,” she said.

She added the college had been required to make significant changes in response to changing learner demand and the evolving skills needs of the local population.

The college has published accounts in the public domain and strong governance in place, but in recent years, Prior Pursglove has been unable to recruit some students looking for certain vocational courses it had not provided – and this has had to be addressed to ensure the college’s long-term sustainability.

However, even against that backdrop, in August, Prior Pursglove College achieved its best A Level, vocational and other course results in three years.

The strong set of A Level results include a 97.33% A Level pass rate. Of these, 71.52% of grades were at A*–C – the College’s highest A* to C grades performance in four years. A total of 43.78% of grades were A*–B – up almost 4% on last year.

Results at the higher grades were particularly strong in sciences, maths and law.

Chemistry, Biology, Law and Further Maths all recorded a 100% pass rate, with the proportion of grades at A*–B ahead of the national average in each.

Applied General Qualifications also performed strongly, achieving a 100% pass rate across 12 subjects.

Prior’s sister college Stockton Sixth Form College has seen a record number of applications from students this year. Students consistently perform well at the college and this was also reflected in the results achieved in August, there was a 100% pass rate for BTEC qualifications and a 98% pass rate across A-Levels in 2026.

Angela said: “In order to ensure we can provide future generations with the high standard of education we are known for, while remaining relevant and fit for the future, we have made some changes necessary to align our provision with local skills priorities, now and in the future.

“The changes we have made also reflect the opportunities and expectations emerging through devolution.

“Prior Pursglove College has responded in a variety of ways, including the provision of employability skills and courses, supporting our students to become entrepreneurs and providing technical, vocational training.

“This has been achieved in addition to enabling our A Level students to reach their unique goals and aspirations.”

Angela added the changes some staff had found difficult had been required, “amongst an ever-changing DfE landscape”.

“As further education provision moves towards a system where powers and funding are being shifted closer to local and regional authorities, with the aim to better align education and skills with regional job markets, the changes we have made allow us to remain sustainable,” she said.

“We are committed to continuing to provide a high-quality education offering that meets the needs of the local population – now and in the future – and our new organisational structures and operating model reflect this.

“We recognise some of these changes have been difficult and have generated concern amongst staff, whom we acknowledge bring commitment, professionalism and care to our young people and communities every day.

“However, changes have been necessary to sustain the long-term future of the College and protect opportunities for both current and future students and for us to maintain our areas of strength.”

She added staff had been kept informed of the challenges facing the College and the rationale for change “at all times”.

“Opportunities for discussion and engagement have been provided throughout the process, even where agreement has not been reached,” she said.

“We remain committed to continuous engagement around the rationale for change for the benefit of current and future students.

“We also remain committed to supporting colleagues throughout the process and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly, consistently and with respect.”

This dispute affects a proportion of teaching staff within the 16-18 provision at Prior Pursglove College. The college’s adult education provision remains unaffected.

Senior leaders at both the college and the Trust maintain it is open and transparent about aspects of finance and Governance and has an open-door policy for anybody who would like to share any concerns or seek any reassurances.

The changes it is making recognise the reduction in student numbers at Prior Pursglove College and the changing needs of the local population.

The College sits on the same site where it has been delivering high-quality education for 465 years and naturally, buildings of such an age require regular repairs and maintenance.

A continuous schedule of works is fully planned out and ongoing, with a clear order of priority areas, to ensure there is minimum disruption to staff and students at the site.

The number of senior leaders in 2024 was eight and in 2025 this was down to six. The increase in staff earning over £60k from 10 in 2024 to 19 in 2025 is due to an increased number of teachers (heads of departments) earning over £60k and is not a reflection of larger numbers of executive salaries.