Tina Cooper joined Blackpool Sixth as Assistant Principal-Vocational five years ago. She has worked in education and specifically vocational education for the past 22 years. Her passion is about providing young people with choices and the best opportunities to succeed in life and she has worked as a teacher, pastoral manager, quality manager and now senior leader over the years. She nominated the College for the Pearson Education award, which recognises the best BTEC College in the UK.

The College was 'presented' with the Gold award during an online awards ceremony and celebration, streamed to a global audience last month.

Tina said: "I am humbled, daily, by the hard work and commitment of the team at Blackpool Sixth who go over and above to help our students succeed. I am privileged to lead such an amazing team; they are fun, creative, positive and utterly professional. This type of award cannot be achieved alone, it is most definitely a team effort and I am very proud to lead them.

"The passion our teachers have for providing an outstanding learning environment is truly inspirational and generates oceans of positive feedback from our students past and present and from parents, employers and the local community."

Blackpool Sixth were praised by Pearson for excellent employer engagement, and strong links with local and national businesses.

Tina added: "Employers are vital to our student’s development and future prospects, and all of our BTEC courses have developed partnerships that bring learning to life and support students to develop the skills required for their future success. We believe in educating and developing the whole person to ensure they become an outstanding employee or employer of the future and BTEC qualifications are instrumental to this. Blackpool Sixth is an inclusive, happy and respectful place to study, and we welcome students from all walks of life."

Prior to joining Blackpool Sixth, Tina was Head of Vocational Studies at Runshaw College, another outstanding college in the North West, for 17 years. She was a student at Leeds Trinity (or Trinity and All Saints College (TASC) as it was then) in the late 1980s, studying Economics and Public Media and graduating in 1990. She has fond memories of TASC:

"My time at Trinity and All Saints showed me the value of community within an educational institution. Education is about qualifications but importantly is also about much more than that. I believe as educators we all have a duty to educate the whole person and ensure people feel safe and happy as that supports them to succeed and fulfil their full potential in life. I remember Trinity and All Saints as a very warm and caring place to study and have many happy memories of my time there."

Brett Arnall, Alumni Officer at Leeds Trinity University, said: "I was absolutely delighted when Tina got in touch to tell me the amazing news. Our teaching graduates make their mark in classrooms all over the world and we are always so proud to share their success stories. They also act as incredible role models for our teacher trainees and those who have just gone out into the classroom. Awards don’t come much bigger than this and to lead a team so well and recognise everyone’s input highlights what a great leader Tina is."

 Cindy Rampersaud, Senior Vice President BTEC and Apprenticeship, said: "This year I’ve been overwhelmed by the quality of BTEC Award nominations we received, and I am delighted to celebrate this year’s winners and the achievements of all learners who will be awarded a BTEC this year."

To celebrate their award in person, Blackpool Sixth have been invited to a Parliamentary Reception at the House of Commons in November.