Southampton: New principal and CEO for City College Southampton

Sarah Stannard, currently vice principal of Chichester College, has been appointed as the new principal and CEO of City College Southampton. 

She will take up her post in August, as principal and CEO Lindsey Noble leaves to take part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 13/14.

Hailing from a business background, which included high-level roles with IBM Business Consulting Services, PwC and the UK Chip and PIN Programme, Stannard has been at Chichester College for the past six years.

With key responsibilities for marketing and business development at the £44 million-turnover college, she successfully led the growth of its apprenticeship delivery, which has doubled in the past few years to its highest level, and now supports more than 2,000 apprentices annually. She also led the development of Chichester College’s transnational education in South Korea.

Stannard said she was looking forward to building on the “fantastic transformation” that Noble had made to City College Southampton over the past 12 years. "During that time the college has risen to the top 5% in the UK for success rates, undergone a £48m campus redevelopment and had the best Ofsted results in its history."

A resident of Southampton, Stannard said: “I could see City College was doing an amazing job in achieving very high success rates and a great environment has been created for students with the excellent facilities. Similarly, the curriculum has evolved in an exciting way in recent years, most notably incorporating A levels, and I wanted to be a part of the team to build on this. When the job was advertised it was an immediate decision to apply.”

She said: “Since moving into education from the private sector I have become even more convinced of the very positive contribution further education colleges make to their communities by preparing young people for life and work, by training apprentices and by helping businesses develop the workforce skills they need to be successful. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to lead City College and to be able to work with the dedicated staff team to deliver excellent further education in the city.”

Tony Pitcher, chairman of the board of City College, said: “We are delighted that Sarah is joining us in August to lead the team. The transformations and successes Lindsey Noble has achieved during her time as principal make her a tough act to follow but we know Sarah will rise to the challenge and continue the growth and development of City College as a leader in education."