York College students' 'great ideas' to be heard by Government following MP Luke Charters' visit

Mr Charters spent an hour discussing a variety of topics with a nine-strong focus group of students from different curriculum areas in our Cookery training restaurant.

He then enjoyed tours of the Stonemasonry and Media Make-up workshops and admitted that his visit had cemented his view that York College is close to becoming “the best in Britain”. 

Mr Charters, 29, was keen to canvas student opinions on how the Government can fulfil one of their five Election manifesto missions – “breaking down barriers to opportunity by reforming childcare and education systems to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of our young people”.

Among the issues and subjects debated, during honest and highly instructive conversations, were whether the voting age should be lowered to 16, social media online safety and how AI could be better incorporated into the National Curriculum. 

Mr Charters was also interested in hearing about the quality of careers advice the students had received whilst in education and the availability of work experience opportunities.

Some “heart-felt stories” about mental health struggles, meanwhile, were shared around the table with the students unanimously supporting the Labour Government’s pledge to ensure that every school in the country has access to a Mental Health Practitioner.

Following the session, which saw participants enjoy breakfast pastries made and served by our Hospitality students, Mr Charters said: “The focus group was a great opportunity for me to meet some of the fantastic young people here at York College and for them to share their ideas regarding the future skills they need for employment and what they would like to see on the National Curriculum, as well as the careers advice they would like to access.  

“I will be taking the views back to Government and Westminster, because there were some great ideas that resonate with campaigns that I am working on, such as the introduction of financial education in the National Curriculum. We had really candid conversations and many shared heart-felt stories about their mental health experiences.

“There were some emotional moments and one thing we want to do as a Government is to bring in trained Mental Health Practitioners in schools and it really struck a chord with me that that would have helped some of the students I met. It would have helped me too and the well-being offer at York College is really good to see. It’s a sector I believe the College is leading in.”

As part of our 2025-30 Strategic Plan, York College & University Centre Principal and Chief Executive Ken Merry made a Brilliant Futures Pledge with the ultimate aim of securing a reputation as the best Further Education college in the country over the next five years.

Mr Merry also attended the focus group discussions and Mr Charters believes College are on course to fulfil that ambition.

“I just love coming to York College because, every single time I’m here, the passion that the staff and students have got just shines through everywhere and I find the breadth of the subjects on offer phenomenal,” Mr Charters enthused. “I find it incredible that there are students who do Stonemasonry, Esports and Electrical Installation, for example, all in the same building and I really believe that York College is a contender for, or is close to becoming, the best college in Britain. 

“I absolutely have no doubt that, under Ken’s leadership, that’s a possibility here and my visit has cemented that opinion. I’ve just seen some of the prosthetics that are being used for TV production and there’s some really exciting stuff happening within that department in terms of the awards former students have gone on to win (in 2024 Nadia Stacey won an Oscar, Freda Ellis an Emmy and Lisa Parkinson a BAFTA).

“It was also great to meet the Stonemasonry apprentices and learn about how they are working with York Minster. That’s very personal to me because my dad was an apprentice joiner at the Minster, so I really enjoyed seeing the talent here.

“How York College is fusing heritage skills with the ones that will be required in the future makes them stand out as the best in the sector in my mind.”

To learn more about York College’s student support services, including well-being and careers advice, please click here

Further details on our Stonemasonry apprenticeships can be found here

For guidance on our Hair, Beauty & Media Make-up options, visit here

Information about all our courses will be available at our next Open Event on Thursday 19th June (5.30pm-7.30pm). It will also be an opportunity to meet our expert team of tutors. Register a place here