The Mayor spoke with staff, including our principal, Emma Soper, to discuss all things education in Greater Manchester, and heard about his exciting plans for the region and young people.

Emma Soper, Principal of Connell, said: “It was great for Andy to visit us and speak to our students, who really enjoyed asking him questions and showing him round. I was able to get some good insights into the region’s plans for more work experience and apprenticeship opportunities.” 

We then had a two-way Q&A session with the Mayor. Four of our students – two from our new Level 2 course and two from Year 13 – were the ones posing and answering the questions.

We covered a lot of topics – how we found college life, our students’ next steps and career plans, work experience, apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, Our Pass and public transport, and much more. We heard about the Mayor’s work experience from when he was at school. And he told us about the best and worst aspects of his role, stating how much he loved Greater Manchester, both the people and the place. He concluded with some career advice: ‘pick things that you love doing and are passionate about’.

We then gave the Mayor a tour of our college, showing him our fantastic buildings and facilities. We promised him a tour when he was last on site hosting the Curriculum for Life website launch event, so it was great to finally do it.

Adriana, a Year 13 student, said: “We really enjoyed telling the Mayor about our college and our next steps plans. He seemed to appreciate us giving him a tour and asking us lots of questions about things such as work experience opportunities and our opinions on local public transport options.”