Principal of ‘Outstanding’ Sixth Form Set to Retire in the Summer of 2019

The principal of One Sixth Form College (OSFC) in Ipswich has announced he will be retiring from his post in the summer of 2019.

Alan Whittaker – who has tirelessly dedicated the majority of his working life to the education sector – started to create a vision for OSFC back in 2003 with fellow head teachers in the county.

The result (of this vision) saw the largest sixth form in Ipswich open its doors in the summer of 2010.

Now almost ten years since opening, the educational establishment – that was rated 'outstanding' during their last Ofsted visit – teaches over 2000 students at a state of the art facility based on Scrivener Drive.

The college has also received the '2018 college of the year' accolade, at the annual BTEC awards during a ceremony that took place in London.

Mr Whittaker – who was formally Headteacher at Stoke High School – will be continuing with his duties until next year and during an announcement, he assured the wider public that the college will continue to go from strength to strength.

He said, "It has been (and will continue to be) a pleasure to work at One Sixth Form College and it's an honour to be principal. We have a fantastic team with a strong set of shared values who will continue to build on the vision that we had when we first opened our doors."

"I remember that time and the day we opened was like a decade of Christmas, New Year and birthday celebrations all rolled into one. The wow factor was amazing."

"We wanted young people to feel like someone who goes and works for one of those big fancy corporations like Apple or Google. We knew that if we gave our students a good environment they would produce good things. Good people produce good things – if you put them in a good environment – they produce even better things and by investing in young people we were showing them that we want them to do well."

"Even today – thanks to One and my amazing staff and our fantastic students - I can look anyone in the eye and say - if you send you son or daughter here and if they are prepared to work hard – they will do well. Those strong foundations that have been created will never change and I am confident that we will continue to thrive and I look forward to celebrating One Sixth Form College's ongoing success in the future."