Graham Pennington

Graham holds a BSc Hons and MSc in Economics, is a qualified accountant, and has over 25 years experience in the FE sector working in a variety of roles, previously as Senior Vice Principal and then as Deputy Chief Executive of Salford City College, one of the largest colleges in Greater Manchester. Graham was part of the leadership team that successfully undertook a three-college merger in Salford to form the new Salford City College. Graham was instrumental in the creation of the Salford City College Academy Trust and chaired the Trust from its inception until leaving the College to take up the post of Principal at Sandwell College in 2014. As Principal & Chief Executive Graham has worked with the Governors and the Senior Leadership team to improve quality, recognized by Ofsted in 2017 when the college was graded as ‘Good’. He has successfully led the development of the College’s ambitious growth plans, increasing the number of young people who learn and train at the college exponentially. He has led the successful merger with Cadbury Sixth Form College, secured a wide range of valuable strategic partnership opportunities for the college, and established an ongoing sound financial base on which its further development can thrive.