CONNECT June 2020

Keep healthy during lockdown page 5.

Read more about the developments at Wellingborough page 7.

Virtual Open Days being held for potential students in June Page 11.

JUNE 2020

N E WS

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U P DAT E S

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D I A RY DAT E S

Wellingborough Campus update In line with government guidance, work has continued at the Wellingborough campus despite the current coronavirus pandemic to ensure that the building in the town centre opens for new and returning students in September.

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D I S CO U N TS

A new virtual tour of the building has been published to give prospective students the chance to get a feel for how the new campus will look and the social spaces that will be available for them.

Continued on page 7

The new building accommodates up to 1000 students and will be increasing the Group’s offer of full time, part time, apprenticeship and professional courses available.

BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

June 2020

Connect

Olivia Morton

Corporate Communications & Events Manager omorton@bedford.ac.uk

Editor’s Hello everyone!

Your June issue of CONNECT Magazine!

With a very different half term break for many, staff will return next week for the final weeks of the summer term to help students complete their academic year predominantly online. In this issue you will find a few opportunities to give feedback to professional development, offers from online retailers and how staff are continuing to help the community.

If you’d like to contribute to the next issue of CONNECT please send your articles and photos to me by Thursday 11th June.

Your Diary Bedford Virtual Open Day (10.00am – 3.00pm) 10th June

Shuttleworth Virtual Open Day (10.00am – 12.00pm) 16th June

Contents

Corby Virtual Open Day (1.00pm – 3.00pm) 16th June

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Key Dates

Kettering Virtual Open Day

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Principal’s Update

(1.00pm – 3.00pm) 17th June

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Research Network

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Wellbeing

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60 Seconds with...

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Wellingborough Update

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Group News

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People News

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Professional Development

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

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Perks

Course review completion (Quality) 19th June

Wellingborough Virtual Open Day (1.00pm – 3.00pm) 23rd June For more diary dates visit www.bit.ly/collegecalendars

For more information about the

Virtual Open Days see page 11

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June 2020

Connect

Ian Pryce CBE

Principal & CEO of The Bedford College Group

Principal’s

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ recording/3136223184737102608

https://soundcloud.com/ipryce/no-exams

The language of priorities

The perfect blend

Thankyou to the more than 900 staff who participated in our first whole-college staff meetings to take place over the web. The feedback has been very positive and it proved to be an effective way to communicate with everyone. We set out the areas that would take priority when developing our budget, and these link with our core values as follows:

We have invited a discussion on what is working for you while working from home. This is a real opportunity to address issues around productivity and wellbeing if we do this well. It is particularly important to identify the types of activity that can be more effectively done away from college, and those that can’t. In thinking about this, it may be worth you thinking at a personal level and also at a college level. For example, working at home could help on a personal level by avoiding stressful traffic queues or it could improve productivity by having meetings with employers/apprentices online so taking up far less time by cutting out travel time.

Student focus: Wellingborough, student progression, student outcomes/destinations; investment in equipment High Performance: investment in systems; apprenticeships and higher education; financial resilience Respect, Openness, Honesty: staff wellbeing; investment in systems

Progressive society The coming years are going to be particularly tough for young people, whose prospects are hardest hit. This makes our strategy of raising our curriculum centre of gravity through progression even more important. The expectation is that all young students progress and we intend to give an offer to every student regardless of whether they have applied. Students who leave after only level 1 have a 40% chance of unemployment, after level 2 that falls to 15%, after level 3 to 7% and after higher education to 2%. The figures may change but the pattern will not so this is the best way we can help our students.

Strong finish Finally, thank you again for the way you have responded to this crisis and the way you have performed over the whole year. We must not let up but our student numbers remain strong, our finances are strong, our students continue to be supported to achieve and Wellingborough continues to be built! It has been a very strange year but another successful one and you should be proud of your contribution to that success.

Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter?

@ipryce

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Connect

Research

Sam Jones MSc (Oxon)

Advanced Practitioner - Research and Scholarship Lead TES FE Awards - Teacher of the year 2019 sjones@bedford.ac.uk

Research Continues The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena during Covid19. When we started the ChIRPS research projects at the beginning of the academic year we could not have predicted the way in which the world would have changed. At first sight it may seem that this move to a lockdown world would kill the projects, and certainly some are really struggling, but others – notably the technology projects are thriving in this ’new normal’ providing important insight into this CPD priority.

Kathryne Perry

Performing Arts & Production Arts Lecturer kperry@bedford.ac.uk

maymarathonformind Kathryne Perry, Performing Arts & Production Arts Lecturer at Kettering created a challenge to raise money for Kettering Mind. This is the local mental health charity to our Tresham College campus in Kettering: ‘#maymarathonformind This is a challenge to walk/run/bike/row etc. a total of 26.2 miles throughout May. This could be a few miles every day or some here and there but it should equal 26.2 miles at the end of May.

This highlights one of the advantages that practitioner research has over research conducted by university researchers or similar, when times are difficult it can adapt more easily to the changes in an organisation.

For lecturers, whilst having to deal with a third parties priorities during a time of heavy workloads and daily stress may seem like ‘one more thing’ that you may wish to drop, a personal commitment that you can bend to changing circumstances appears to be a more palatable proposition.

Kathryne is raising money for Kettering Mind which is a local mental health charity. You can see the amazing things that Kettering Mind do here: http://www. ketteringmind.org.uk

Moreover, there are ethical drivers that may encourage lecturers to continue to explore their practice at difficult times. Lecturers practices are, by definition, students experiences. Surely one of the things we should be doing at a time of such upheaval, with concerns widely expressed about students being ‘left behind’ or having unequal access to education, is to attempt to capture our students experiences so that we can learn and plan for a future that may well be more unpredictable than our recent past?

https://www.facebook.com/events/232887404692998/

A just giving page has been set up and Kathryne aims to raise at least £262 for the 26.2 miles! Please donate, share the hashtag and just giving page and nominate your friends to get involved in the challenge! www.justgiving.com/maymarathonformind By the 5th May, Kathryne had raised £211 so far which was great and she has inspired others from the creative arts department to get involved and taking on the challenge such as Emma Boulton Roe (Cycling and Walking), Chris Stanley (rowing), Grace Hawkins (Dog walking) and a few more who are starting!

We will report on the totals raised by the end of May in the next issue.

Who better to discuss teaching and learning under lock down than those leading the teaching and learning at this time? And we are hoping that our ChIRPs projects will capture, by accident or design, some of this change and allow those working within the sector to influence and change it.

Find out more about The Bedford College Group Research Network on their intranet pages.

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June 2020

Connect

Caroline Biddle

Executive Director of Human Resources cbiddle@bedford.ac.uk

Keeping Healthy During Lockdown How many of us have had conversations recently that start with “I’m going to have put so much weight on by the end of lockdown” or “I feel so unhealthy”?

Sound familiar? Well here are a few tips recommended by experts, on managing these areas during this challenging time – my waistline is telling me it’s time I started following them myself!

Plan meals in advance - planning meals helps avoid those moments at the end of the say when you’re tired, lack inspiration and so reach for the take away delivery menu/app.

Planning meals also ensures you use up the ingredients you’ve bought – given shopping is not as easy as it was, throwing unused food away can add to the frustration.

Ensure you’re getting a wide range of vitamins/nutrients - variety and balance are key to sticking to a healthy diet.

Vitamins A, C and zinc are all great for the immune system, which is something we should all be protecting at present, so look for protein, fruit and vegetables that are high in these.

Keep healthy snacks around – in these times it is challenging to “just nip out to the shops”, so try to just buy healthy snacks when you do shop. If the unhealthy snacks are not in the house then you’re more likely to stick to the healthy ones.

Take advantage of your freezer - big onepot dishes such as chilli, curries and stews will freeze particularly well, and they are a quick and easy way to consume plenty of vegetables in one sitting.

Fruits such as berries and bananas can also be easily frozen and used in smoothies for the mornings.

Be sure to hydrate - Drinking an adequate amount of fluid is essential in order for you to feel and function at your best and it doesn’t have to be just water, you can get your hydration via squash, tea, coffee and milk. Don’t overdo the caffeinated drinks though and try not to drink them from midafternoon so they don’t affect your sleep.

Make set meal times and stick to them when we’re spending our days at home, it can be easy to let structures and schedules fall by the wayside, but this can lead to grazing/snacking which often increases calorie intake and reduces nutrients.

Allow yourself to indulge every so often this will both boost your mood and keep your spirits high, and it will also help prevent you from binging on sweet treats you might’ve forbidden yourself from eating.

As the saying goes, a little bit of what you fancy does you good!

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Connect

Olivia Morton

Corporate Communications & Events Manager omorton@bedford.ac.uk

60 seconds with...

Will Student Experience and Progression Manager

Favourite Music?

Three traits that define you...

Fleetwood Mac, normally on repeat. I was lucky enough to see them at Wembley last year and considering they are double my age they have more energy than me most days.

Creative - I have these big ideas and then have a great team who can help deliver them and turn them into some great student experience moments.

Supportive - I will go out of my way to make sure those who need support and help get it.

Sarcastic - I know it’s the lowest form of wit, but the other wits said that because it’s also the funniest.

Favourite Movie?

Bit of a geek when it comes to films, nothing too real, so it’s Marvel all the way.

Favourite thing about working at TBCG? I have a team spread across the whole Group and seeing the impact of the work we deliver is great, it’s a bit cheesy but no two days are the same, even during the COVID lock down we are engaging and interacting with students and making sure they are getting the most out of their experience.

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Favourite place to visit?

Vermont, I went last Halloween and fell in love with the fact the whole of the state was one big Shuttleworth. From farms and forest, fisheries and horse riding, it felt like a home from home.

And everyone was in wellies and checked shirts!

Favourite Hobbies?

Who has time for hobbies !!

I have far too much trash TV and sleeping to catch up on!

June 2020

Connect

Wellingborough

The new look Tresham College campus in Wellingborough is still a hub of activity during the current pandemic. Following strict health and safety guidance on site, the construction teams have been working on the interiors of the refurbished tower block to work towards the September opening date for new students.

All internal walls have been reconfigured to create many more open spaces for students and staff to enjoy including the open plan refectory/ coffee shop area and a large LRC for students to spend time in between classes where they can.

The new look building is now much more modern space to learn which is reflected from the road side with the fire-resistant, safety-first contemporary cladding over the central tower block and fresh signage which can be seen from far away.

The Group has been able to recycle 150 tonnes of materials by reusing old building rubble as the foundations for the new car park and on other sites being developed by including the Zoological Education Centre at Shuttleworth College.

Visit https://www.tresham.ac.uk/about-us/ourcampuses/wellingborough/building-development/ to see the VR Tour.

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Connect

The Group is raising its game in the provision of HE learning, by joining a national organisation dedicated to increasing HE within FE. The Mixed Economies Group (MEG) serves as a network for senior practitioners of HE in FE, enabling them to discuss policy and practice informally between regular termly meetings. MEG carries out research on a regular basis and is regarded as a source of informed opinion by a range of Government, academic and employer organisations.

“It’s a powerful platform for us to be a part of and sits perfectly with our local, regional and national aspirations to evolve ever widening participation in degree level learning,” says HE Director Alex Mortby.

“Our emphasis is on making sure the student is in tune with the very latest changes and requirements in the sectors in which they want to work.

“Whilst employers increasing want skilled and educated candidates, they value evidence of proven understanding of the industry they represent. Such engagement is embedded in all courses for all ages.” added Alex.

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June 2020

Connect

Martin Edgson

Technician medgson@bedford.ac.uk

to the Rescue

Amanda Riches

General Manager ariches@bedfordcollegeservices.co.uk

Donations in Lockdown

Bedford College Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technician, Martin Edgson has been busy printing face mask frames from home on two 3D Printers to supply care providers in the community during the current Coronavirus pandemic.

Whilst the campus catering facilities have been closed down over the last few weeks the team at BCS have been donating some of their supplies to local charities and groups whilst they offer care to some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Martin produces frames for the Perspex face shield and elastic strap to be added once he sends them off to a central warehouse and then distributed from there.

Most recently, the team donated food to YMCA in Bedford from the Cauldwell Street campus but they have also donated to local food banks in Biggleswade.

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Connect

Trudie Tebbutt

Schools Engagement Co-ordinator ttebbutt@bedford.ac.uk

in June Since we were no longer able to welcome prospective students and their parents on to our campuses to host hold our June Open Days we are following on from the success at The Bedford Sixth Form where instead we held a Virtual Open Evening. They will all take place on the same days as originally planned but the timings will be different and we will be using virtual classrooms on the Gotomeeting platform. I will be training everyone prior to the events and providing notes so that we have a consistent format across the subject areas.

The June Virtual Open Days on: •

10th June for Bedford College courses from 10.00am-3.00pm (one session for subject area, support services throughout)

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16th June for Shuttleworth College courses from 10.00am-12.00pm

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16th June for Tresham College, Corby campus courses from 1.00pm-3.00pm

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17th June for Tresham College, Kettering campus courses from 1.00pm-3.00pm

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23rd June for Tresham College, Wellingborough campus courses from 1.00pm-3.00pm

Creative Arts will do Kettering but not Corby. Those subjects that have an equal presence at both of these campuses, such as Hair & Beauty will need to do both days. All subjects available at Wellingborough will be required on their day so that we can promote the newlook campus.

We are also currently developing a Virtual Open Day website that will be live before the events and this will have links and information about all the subjects and campuses available on a permanent basis. I am currently pulling together information for this site so if you have any images of student work or particular trips you wish to highlight in the information please let me know asap.

The team were extremely pleased with the first online event held for The Bedford Sixth Form over three days at the end of April which saw an additional 59 attendees compared to April 2019 with a total of 113 unique visitors to the event.

Members of staff from each subject area will host a virtual classroom and talk about the subject as they would at a normal open day, as well as answer any questions. They will be on screen in the ‘room’ and any visitor that comes in will have their camera and microphone turned off so staff members cannot see them but will see names pop up so they know visitors have arrived, staff members can then tell them about the course and ask for any questions. Visitors can write questions in the chat that can be read to the group and then answered. Visitors can come and go as they please, just as they would at a normal open day and move between subject areas. Some areas may have more than one member of staff in the room since some subjects are grouped together, e.g Creative Arts or Construction, in the same way as a regular open day. There will also be a member of the Marketing team there to support and to post relevant links to web pages, applications or support services virtual classrooms as well.

Corby and Kettering will not need to duplicate all of the subjects on both days since this is virtual, i.e Construction will do Corby day but not Kettering and

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June 2020

Connect

Rachel Nicol

Director of Governers and Clerk to the Corporation rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

Corporation scenes work together to ensure that the College runs to the highest standards, whilst maintaining quality for not only the students, but staff also.

Greetings from the Corporation. Progress into the world of online meetings has required patience but the governors have risen to the challenge and there is as much scrutiny, challenge and support for the College as ever.

Helen Day

Advanced Practitioner hday@bedford.ac.uk

Meetings are held regularly outside of my timetabled sessions, and have been based at Tresham, Bedford and Shuttleworth. This has given me an insight into each of the different campuses and how the college is managed on a wider scale. Travel expenses are always reimbursed and every meeting I’ve been to has been supported with a very tasty buffet! Successful meetings are still taking place via Teams so nobody is taking their eye off the ball during these challenging times.”

Please watch out for further updates on the nominations and the planned timetable for any elections on Connect in the next few weeks.

For more information on Corporation matters or to discuss the staff governor role in more detail please contact the Director of Governance & Clerk to the Corporation, Rachel Nicol on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

Staff governors Helen Day (above) and Shaun Wilson come to the end of their 2 year terms of office at the end of July. It is therefore time for you to think about new nominations to ensure the staff voice continues to be heard. Whilst Shaun has confirmed he will stand for reelection Helen will stand down at the end of July. Where more than 2 nominations are received an election is held with electronic voting for staff.

Both Helen and Shaun are active governors and provide strong, wise and insightful contributions to meetings.

Here, Helen reflects on the role: “I have worked for The Bedford College Group for 10 years now and for the past two of them I have had a role on the College’s Board of Governors as a staff governor. I attend general board meetings as well as having a role on the Resources Committee. I have really enjoyed this time and have gained a stronger understanding of the College as a whole along with important performance indicators. Until taking this role I had no idea how many people behind the

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Job Lecturer in Science (Biology/Chemistry) (Access to HE) Location: Kettering Salary: Up to £35,000 per annum, pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 28/05/2020 Lecturer in English Location: Bedford and Tresham campuses Salary: £25,500-£31,000 per annum, pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 28/05/2020

Course Manager in Social Sciences & Teacher Education Location: Northamptonshire campuses Salary: Circa £31,000 per annum, dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 28/05/2020

Lecturer in Maths Location: Bedford and Tresham campuses Salary: £25,500-£31,000 per annum, pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 28/05/2020

Associate Invigilators Location: Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire campuses Salary: Hourly Rate: £8.72 per hour Application closing date: 31/05/2020

Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford Salary: £18,188 per annum, pro rata Application closing date: 30/06/2020

Teaching Assistant Location: Bedford Salary: £18,188 per annum, pro rata Application closing date: 30/06/2020

VIEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP

Welcome to Erika Baltrusaityte Apprentice Centre Administrator Bedford, Cauldwell Street Adam Bedford Work Placement Coordinator, Animal Sciences Shuttleworth College Lauren Clowes Practical Instructor, Animal Sciences Shuttleworth College Emilio Esposito Senior Trainer (Electrical) Tresham College, Corby Mohamed Habbib Lecturer, Computing Bedford, Cauldwell Street Nicholas Hayward Course Manager, Business Tresham College, Kettering Simon Jobbins Construction, Technician Tresham College, Corby Leighton Jones Head of Department for Science & Computing Tresham College, Kettering Claire Keelan Customer Contact Advisor Tresham College, Corby Jason Martin Account Manager, Business Development Bedford, Cauldwell Street Luke Mcillorum Apprenticeship Liaison Officer Bedford, Cauldwell Street Jessica Sauvirin Technician Assistant, Animal Sciences Shuttleworth College Louise Shepherd Student Experience Advisor Tresham College, Kettering Miranda Swaine Teaching Assistant Bedford, Cauldwell Street

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June 2020

Connect

Professional Training

Professional development is changing and we need your help!

We are keen to hear about your experience of professional development in the past, to help us shape it in the future.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Z2T83BJ

HE CONFERENCE Wednesday 24 June 2020

The event will now be held online and can be booked using this link: https://bit.ly/2ykM9Q2

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Connect

Anastassia Parsons

Diversity and Inclusion Advisor aparsons@bedford.ac.uk

Diversity Calendar

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History month The celebration of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture, history and positive contributions to society aims to tackle the negative stereotyping and prejudices.

What does discrimination towards Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people look like?

Watch ‘The Truth about Life as a Young Scottish Traveller’ www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06lh6zm Read the research ‘The last acceptable form of racism?’

It highlights the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people’s experience of bullying in school, and of prejudice and discrimination in employment, health care and access to services. Some areas where respondents described discrimination were the conduct of teachers and bullying by their peers in school.

Staff groups

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15-21 June Refugee Week: ‘Different Pasts, Shared Futures’ In the UK, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourages a better understanding between communities.

People escaping war and persecution have been welcomed by communities in the UK for hundreds of years, and their stories and contributions are all around us. From the Jewish refugees of the 1930s to people fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s, Kosovans in the 1990s to those arriving today; they are part of who we all are.

The LGBT+ staff forum and The Women’s staff forum continue to meet on MS Teams for support chats and discussion forums.

These are open and inclusive groups and every member of staff can join in at any time. If you’d like to become a member or just pop in to one of the support chats, please contact Anastassia Parsons on anparsons@bedford.ac.uk.

11th - CORPUS CHRISTI Christian 16th - MARTYRDOM OF GURU ARJAN Sikh 20th - MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE Pagan / SUMMER SOLSTICE Druid 21st - WORLD HUMANIST DAY 25th - DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL Chinese The Inter Faith Network has a more detailed list of festivals and short descriptions

June 2020

Connect

Lynsey Travers

Perks HR Manager (Bedfordshire) ltravers@bedford.ac.uk

Groceries and Essential Household Items

It is not surprising that savings on groceries and essential household items are particularly important to our employees at present.

From this month, Asda are now accepting their Reloadable Cards and Instant Vouchers for online shopping. The Reloadable Card will soon become an instant top-up, 24/7 to enable you to purchase vouchers and spend instantly.

You can still purchase vouchers from other supermarkets such as Sainsburys and Tesco however the vouchers can only be spent in store.

Top Discount

Online Clothing and Shoes Discounts

Currys PC World continues to offer 8% discount if you purchase a Reloadable Card.

ASOS - 8% discount on Instant Vouchers Nike – 10% discount on Instant Vouchers BooHoo – 6% cashback on offer

Exercise

Other Discounts

Evans Cycles are offering a 6% discount on Instant Vouchers

IKEA – save 5% online with Instant Vouchers

Argos – save 6% online or in store B&Q – save 5% online with Instant Vouchers

There are lots of other discounts available through The Bedford College Groups Perks scheme that can be spent online or in store. More details can be found on bedford.rewardgateway. co.uk/Authentication/Login?r=login&page=login&it=%2FSmartSpending

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