Motive8 College, based in Wyke near Bradford, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special event held at the college recently (20th July) attended by students, their families, tutors, school teachers, funders and supporters.

Motive8 is a community-based college and is accessible from Bradford, Calderdale, Halifax and other surrounding areas.

Over the last 10 years, Motive8 College has provided educational and vocational qualifications and courses to over 1,200 pupils (aged 14 to 19), with the vast majority of these young people going on to paid employment, apprenticeships, further education or higher education.

Founders of the college, Melissa Simpson and Moy Grange, have worked together since 1998 when they were both appointed as Community Safety Workers on the Inner-City Youth Team funded by Bradford Police to act as mentors and role models for young people. Ten years ago, they identified a need for young people in the area who wanted to attend a smaller college, which offered a more personalised experience. 

Moy Grange explains: “The whole team at Motive8 are committed to providing opportunities for learners who may be at risk, or young people who may not thrive in mainstream or larger educational establishments, for whatever reason.  We have excited, awoken and sparked young people’s passions to move on and succeed. People choose to come to Motive8 College as a credible alternative to other schools and colleges.”

Melissa Simpson, Director of Motive8 College, explains: “The last 10 years of Motive8 has just flown!  We have come so far from being a small organisation with just a few learners to working with hundreds of learners every year.  We are so proud of our learners and would like to thank all our staff, Aspire-Igen, local schools and others who have supported Motive8 College over the past decade.”

One of Motive8’s proudest achievements is that the College has an increasing number of students who take up places at university – a dream they never thought was possible.  This includes a high number of BAME students, who have gone on to attend universities in different towns and cities.

The special 10th anniversary event was special guests including Dr Beth Suttill – Teaching Fellow in Management at Lancaster University; Alex Miles, Managing Director of Yorkshire Learning Partnership and Caroline Harrison – CEO of Aspire-Igen Opportunity Centre. 

Motive8 has worked closely with Aspire-Igen, the Yorkshire-based social enterprise. Caroline Harrison, their CEO said, “We have been delighted to work with Motive8 for a number of years. Their engaging approach to teaching and learning has made a difference to the lives of so many young people in this neighbourhood. Congratulations to the team on reaching this milestone.”

For more information visit www.motivevc.co.uk