Sir David John Collins (13 November 1949 – 14 February 2019)Stephen Exley
"Tributes paid to former FE commissioner Sir David Collins"
'' TES'', 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019. was a British educationalist.

Education

After attending

Humphry Davy Grammar School Humphry Davy School is a comprehensive school in Penzance, Cornwall, England. The school teaches 11 to 16-year-olds. History The oldest part of the main school building was completed in 1909. It was originally called the Penzance County School a ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Collins went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating with a Scottish

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1972 and then completing a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

(PhD),"Collins, Sir David (John)"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 5 January 2018. awarded in 1977 for a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

entitled "Adult education and the community in the Scottish new towns".

Career and later life

After working as an education coordinator with

HM Prison Edinburgh His Majesty's Prison Edinburgh is located in the west of Edinburgh on the main A71 road, A71, in an area now known as Stenhouse, Edinburgh, Stenhouse, and, although never named as such, has commonly been known as Saughton Prison from the Saugh ...

, in 1975 Collins began working for Redditch College as a Head of Department. In 1985 he became the college's Development Officer, but in 1988 moved to

Sandwell College Sandwell College is the only College of Further Education in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It predominantly serves Sandwell, West Birmingham and adjacent areas of Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Following seven years of growth in student ...

as Vice-Principal. From 1993 to 2009, he was Principal and Chief Executive of

South Cheshire College South Cheshire College is a former further education college, located in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The College was a single campus situated in a residential area about one mile from Crewe town centre. It also served students from Nantwich, Als ...

and then Chief Executive of the

Learning and Skills Improvement Service The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) was a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered charity formed in 2008 to support and improve achievement in the Further Education and Skills sector in England. The LSIS had a go ...

, before becoming, in 2011, Principal of

Guildford College Guildford College of Further and Higher Education (GCFHE) in Guildford, Surrey was a Surrey County Council-funded educational establishment for students of age 16+ undertaking full-time and part-time studies, established in 1939. It became p ...

. For the 2008–09 year, he was president of the Association of Colleges. In 2013, he left Guildford College and became the government's

Further Education Commissioner Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus *Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band *Furthur (band), a band formed in 2009 by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh * ''Further'' (The Chemical Brothers alb ...

, serving until 2016, when Richard Atkins and took over from him. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

for his service in 2016, having been appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 2005. It was revealed before he left the office that he had been working twice the number of days per week than had originally been advertised in 2013, and that he earned £494,400 plus expenses over the three years he was commissioner. Collins died on 14 February 2019.Billy Camden
"Tributes paid to former FE Commissioner Sir David Collins"
''FE Week'', 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, David 1949 births 2019 deaths English educators Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People educated at Humphry Davy Grammar School for Boys People from Penzance