Governors

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Introducing our new chair of Governors

John Cope the new Chair of HRUC's Board of Governors in a grey suit and green with white dots tie. He is sitting at a table in mid-conversation. There is a glass, pen, notebook and mobile on the table in front of him.After over a decade of service to the group, Nick Davies has stepped down as Chair, with John Cope appointed in the role. John's career has centred on education, apprenticeships, and social justice, including time as Executive Director at UCAS, co-founder of the Education Policy Institute, and four years on the board of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

A strong commitment to education

Keith Smith, CEO of HRUC, said: "John brings a wealth of leadership experience and a strong commitment to education and public service. I would also like to thank Nick Davies for his exceptional leadership, counsel, and dedication over recent years. We look forward to working with John as we continue to strengthen HRUC's impact for learners, employers and our local communities."

John added: "Colleges like HRUC are where lives genuinely change. Walk around any of our campuses and you will meet apprentices training for cutting edge professions, young people about to take their first steps into work, along with teachers and support staff who go the extra mile every single day. It is a privilege to chair the Board at such an exciting moment, and I want to make sure everyone who comes through our doors feels safe, is supported, and leaves with real opportunity ahead of them. I am also hugely grateful to Nick and the Board for ensuring the organisation is in strong health."

  • Our Vision

    To be an outstanding college group that inspires, transforms lives and creates futures.

  • Our Mission

    To deliver an exceptional learning experience that creates opportunities and success for all.

    We stand for diversity, inclusion and excellence throughout everything we do, and provide outcomes that drive personal growth, wellbeing and economic opportunity.

  • Our Core Values

    Our cornerstones to success:

    • High Expectations – High expectations and respect in all that we do
    • Community of Leaders – An effective community of leaders that promotes trust, integrity and empowerment
    • Innovation and Sustainability – Championing innovation and sustainability through our resources: people, planet and finances
    • Diversity – Celebrating our diversity, inclusion, belonging and success.

Membership of the Corporation

Members of the Corporation (also known as Governors) adhere to the seven principles of the Nolan Committee Standards in Public Life and are a critical strategic friend in support of the Senior Leadership team.

Governors represent the interests of the local and wider community that HRUC serves.

The Corporation is responsible for ensuring the effective management of the quality of service and welfare as received by its participating students and trainees. The Corporation aims to ensure that HRUC continues to be successful in all areas, including to uphold the financial health of the HRUC College group, the proper use of public funds, to determine the mission of the College and to ensure that there are effective means of monitoring the College Management are fulfilling the mission.

The Corporation is comprised of highly skilled and experienced governors from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds. Our Governors show exceptional commitment to HRUC’s vision to transform lives through learning and devote significant time and experience to providing strategic oversight and governance to the Group’s Senior Leadership team.

Corporation Minutes

Committees

The following committees below meet to focus on specialist areas and make recommendations to the main Corporation Board.

Finance and Resources Committee

Commercial Operations (until September 2024)

Strategic Transformation

Quality, Curriculum and Students/Curriculum Quality Assurance - until December 2024

Curriculum Strategy and Quality Enhancement

Search, Governance and Remuneration

Audit and Risk

Public Access to Meetings

The HRUC Corporation, or the Chair on its behalf, may at its discretion invite persons who are not members of the Corporation to attend Corporation meetings, Committee meetings or parts of meetings.  Any such invitations will be issued through the Clerk who shall stipulate the portion of the meeting which the person may attend.  Such persons may only speak if invited to do so by the Chair of the Corporation or the Committee.  The presence of such persons, and the point in the meeting at which they left, shall be recorded in the minutes.

Register of Interests

For further information please email the Governance team on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to view the current details.

pdf Please click here to view the Code of Conduct of the Corporation(304 KB)