Celebrating LMC in 2025/26

Unbelievably, we are already 3 weeks into our final term of the academic year, and a (hopefully) long and sunny summer is on the horizon. In the world of FE, we are always looking ahead to the next year – we’ve already started planning our prospectus for 2027/28 – so this feels like a good time to pause and look back over the some of the highlights and successes of the last 9 months. 

 In August our first cohort of T Level learners (studying Education & Early Years, Health, and Business & Project Management) achieved an impressive 100% pass rate and then progressed onto higher education and into employment. This was an outstanding result for the learners and reflected the passion and expertise of the teaching teams and the employer partners who supported with industrial placements. We are hoping for similar results this year – no pressure T Level students! 

September arrived with a bang, and we started the new academic year with our highest recruitment numbers for over a decade.  We have seen continuous growth in 16-18 learners over the last 3 years and in 2025/26 we saw an 11% increase on the previous year, with a 22% growth in students studying at Level 3 (A level equivalent). This is testament to the ambitious and aspirational vocational provision we offer, where young people can study higher level qualifications whilst gaining crucial skills and work-based experience by taking part in extended industrial placements within the chosen sector, both locally and internationally. 

With over 1,400 young people on campus each week, we need to ensure that we can accommodate everyone and we have recently opened a range of new vocational teaching spaces to support our students’ and apprentices’ learning. These include our new engineering centre, which features a clean room, specialist electronic bays, independent study pods and hi-spec Beta equipment and tools; our dedicated nocturnal, aquatic and exotic animal workshops; our forensic and science laboratories, and our T level learning zones.  

At a launch event in the autumn term local and regional employers were given a tour of the new facilities and were impressed with what they saw. Phil Wilkinson, CEO of Ascentis, an award-winning provider of qualifications said

“I was blown away by the impressive new facilities. These industry-standard spaces are a fantastic investment in skills and opportunities for learners and the local community. The passion and commitment behind these projects really stood out, and it’s inspiring to see the college’s mission to deliver outstanding vocational education in action.” 

In October a group of Creative and Visual Studies learners hosted a Hallowe’en Takeover of the Morecambe Winter Gardens, where they showcased their talents by providing a range of free activities for the local community, including the creation of a raft of spooky films, a phantom photobooth, and some truly bone-chilling artworks! They were supported by teams from our Forensic Science and Animal Management departments, who provided murderous crime scenes and an array of scaly critters to add to the atmosphere, and our Specialist Media Makeup students offered some ghoulish face painting for all.  

January saw a group of 12 Animal Management students head out to South Africa for the first of this year’s fully-funded international work placements. They spent 2 weeks on safari and highlights included joining an anti-poaching unit out on patrol and taking part a bush-track walk, where they were taught a range of identification techniques. They also saw an incredible array of Africa’s most impressive animals including a new-born giraffe who they watched take its first steps.   

We have groups of students from Sport, Uniformed Public Services, Hair & Beauty, Hospitality & Catering and Travel going out on placements to Italy, Spain and Slovakia throughout the spring and summer months, and are now planning the international work opportunities for students in 2026/27 and 2027/28. We are committed to offering our students access to opportunities that will enhance their employability skills and to ensure that these trips are fully-funded, removing all financial barriers.  

As the end of term approaches, our students are now focussing on their exams and assessments and our expert tutors and advice teams are working hard to support them with their next steps, whether that is progression onto further study or into the workplace. In 2024 we were recognised as Careers Champions and awarded the Careers Excellence Award – Building Future Skills by the national Careers & Enterprise Company for our work promoting skills and positive career outcomes for all young people. We are fortunate to have a passionate, experienced and creative team of advisors supporting our specialised teaching staff, allowing us to fully embed careers learning across the whole College. Gaining national recognition for something that is part of the College’s DNA is really very special. 

As we look ahead to the next academic year, we are confident that the College will continue to thrive and grow, offering more opportunities to young people and adults across our whole community. Given our current application figures, we think that 2026/27 will be an even busier and exciting year for the full-time students and apprentices planning to join us in September, and we can’t wait to welcome them to our college community.  

 If you would like to visit campus, meet our friendly staff teams and tour our fantastic facilities, you are welcome to attend our next open evening on Wednesday, 23rd June 4.30pm – 7pm.