6 January 2026
On 6 January, East Surrey College had the pleasure of welcoming the Mayor of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, Rich Michalowski, to tour the college facilities and meet with some of our students.
After his sons had previously attended East Surrey College, the Mayor was eager to learn more about the range of programmes and services we provide. He embarked on a tour that spanned a wide range of courses, from Motor Vehicle to Creative Arts.
The tour began in our brand-new Health T Level suite. There were demonstrations of the medical equipment and facilities available to students, including our state-of-the-art manikins and healthcare flat environment.
The Mayor also spoke with some of our Health T students preparing for their upcoming placement at East Surrey Hospital. They expressed their excitement for starting a new chapter in their education and explained how the T Level qualification divides their time between college and placement.
Ian Willitt, Director of Learning for Construction, led the next portion of the tour as the Mayor observed our Carpentry workshop, seeing first-hand examples of window frames and staircases that our students and apprentices have built. The next location was the Motor Vehicle workshop, where students were busy maintaining and working on the cars.
The Mayor also paid a visit to our Creative Arts department and was able to explore the Level 4 Foundation students’ workspace. The group took time explaining their current projects, artistic visions, and future aspirations, with no two students having the same style of art.
Emily, whose work has a predominant focus on puppeteering, was happy to demonstrate her latest dragon shoulder puppet, explaining the process of how she built most of it from scratch with a 3D printer.
Mark Scrimshaw, Business Development Manager, reflected on the visit: “It was wonderful to welcome the Mayor to East Surrey College. It is vital that we maintain strong links between the Council and local education, and I am delighted we could turn a brief introduction at the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) event into a meaningful dialogue about the future of skills in our borough.”
