Liz Barrett OBE
Principal, ATT FE Further Education College
I started my teaching journey when a very dear friend asked me to teach her sewing classes as she herself had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I couldn’t teach, but I could sew! It was a baptism of fire into the world of lifelong learning and I was sewn in from day one!
I became seriously ill when I was 14 and left school without achieving any qualifications. It is fair to say that I remained seriously ill for a decade and a half so the value and impact of lifelong learning is very evident in my life.
As an adult I have continued to pursue my passion for learning and study, which has transformed my skill set and enriched my life on every level. I passionately believe that lifelong learning is a gift that should be accessible to all. As an educationalist, it is part of my role to seek out innovative and creative ways to reduce barriers towards learning and find solutions to enable lifelong learning to be accessible for all.
Here at ATT we are a highly inclusive learning organisation at the heart of the communities that we serve. We work in a truly holistic way to support our learners and together we celebrate all that is achieved.
I have been Principal of ATTFE College since 2016. I work with the very best of teams, who truly care about what they do and how they do it. It is important that as a team we ensure that all learning engaged in has high impact and that learners secure positive and sustained destinations as an outcome. We have a magnificent stakeholder and partnership team who diligently work together to support our communities and together we act as active community champions and volunteers.
In January 2022 I was blessed to receive an OBE in the New Years honours for services to education. Naturally this is a great honour however it is very much a team award. #inthistogether
