Sir Richard James Atkins,

CBE 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 o ...

(born 10 May 1953) is a former Further Education College teacher and Principal, before becoming the Further Education Commissioner for England between 2016 and 2021.

Early life and work in retail

Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

on 10 May 1953, Atkins was raised by his adoptive parents, Jim and Betty Atkins.Freddie Whittaker
"Profile: Richard Atkins"
'' FE Week'', 17 April 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2021. After attending Belmont School, Hereford, he was employed as a

temporary work Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...

er by the department store

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

; he stayed there for three years, eventually joining their

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

training programme and becoming a distribution manager at their

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

Further education teaching and administration

Between 1976 and 1979, Atkins trained as a teacher at

Bulmershe College Bulmershe College was an education institution in the Reading, Berkshire, Reading suburb of Woodley, Berkshire, Woodley, in the English county of Berkshire. Historically, Bulmershe has been the name of a Manorialism, manor and of two quite dis ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

degree"Atkins, Richard James"
''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2020). Retrieved 20 January 2021. in history and education."Honorary Graduates: Richard Atkins"
''

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

''. Retrieved 20 January 2021. He then taught at Bishop Reindorp School in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

while completing a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in education management at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

. He moved into working in further education after graduating, taking up posts successively at

Chichester College Chichester College is a college of further education in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It has a second campus at Brinsbury, near Pulborough. It is a member of the Collab Group which represents the largest colleges in England. Chichester Coll ...

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 ...

and in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(the latter in a senior management role). He was then appointed assistant principal at

Yeovil College Yeovil College is a tertiary college for further education and higher education based in Yeovil, Somerset. It maintains a main campus in the town and, at a second site, a Construction Skills Centre. In conjunction with the universities of Bourn ...

and was promoted to principal ten months later, in 1994. In 2002, he moved to Exeter College, where he was the principal until 2016. During his tenure, the college won several national awards. and was judged as outstanding by Ofsted.(URN; 130645/ Ofsted Inspection Number 42916
"Richard Atkins CBE"
''

HM Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...

''. Retrieved 20 January 2021. In the meantime, Atkins was president of the

Association for College Management The Association for College Management (ACM) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1965 as the Association of Vice-Principals of Colleges, representing middle managers in colleges of further and higher education. In 1 ...

(2002–04) and president of the

Association of Colleges The Association of Colleges (AoC) is a not-for-profit membership organisation in England set up by colleges to act as their collective voice, representing further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and ...

(2014–15), having been on the latter's board and its deputy chair between 2007 and 2013."President"
''

''. Retrieved 20 January 2021. He was the founding Chair of AoC Sport between 2012 and 2016. Atkins was appointed

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) Furthur was a rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and ...

at the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

in October 2016. He has also served as Pro-Chancellor of the

since 2017."Sir Richard Atkins"
''

''. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

Honours and awards

Atkins was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

degree by the

in 2016. He also received the

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

of the City of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in 2016. The same year (in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

), he was 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). He was

knighted 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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Richard 1953 births Living people Educational administrators Alumni of the University of Surrey Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Civil servants from Bristol People from Hereford