SUFFOLK New College has welcomed two new vice principals to the team.

Orville Gardener joins Suffolk New College as vice principal – business development. He has had an exciting and colourful career in a number of varied management roles, ranging from head of practice management for Barclaycard and worked for Sport England Lottery and set up a World Class Performance programme to support elite athletes.

From 2004 to 2008 he was assistant principal at Newham Sixth Form College; He has represented both Bath and Saracens at Rugby.

He also maintains a keen interest in Wine – both as a collector and as a consumer.

He will work with local employers and build links with them to help grow the college’s apprenticeship schemes. He will also work on increasing the profile of the college’s facilities to include Shelley’s Restaurant, The Zone Spa, the brand new Sports Hall and the Motor Vehicle Workshop. Mr Gardener said “I am looking forward immensely to this opportunity to apply my skills and enthusiasm to a new management challenge and I am confident that I shall be successful.”

Also appointed to a vice principal post is Christine Walters who now takes on the role of vice principal – college improvement.

She has been with Suffolk New College (previously Suffolk College) for 22 years. Her career with the college started in 1988 when she was a business studies lecturer. In 1994, she became a senior lecturer and in 1997, she was promoted to the curriculum centre manager for office technology and computing. In 2005, she became the dean of further education.

Ms Walters is working closely with the curriculum centres to ensure the quality of teaching is kept to a high standard and looking for ways to ensure the learner experience also remains high.

Both Mr Gardener and Ms Walters will be working with senior colleagues at the college to improve on an already excellent Ofsted report helping us move from “good” to “outstanding” in the next Ofsted report.

Ms Walters said: “I am extremely pleased to be working as vice principal – college improvement. I have seen the college grow from strength to strength and in recent years moving to its fantastic new building. I look forward to working alongside Orville and other senior managers to get this college to outstanding”.