As part of the Love Our Colleges campaign of the Association of Colleges (AoC) and Colleges Week 2022 (17-21 October), stonemasons from Moulton College were invited to attend a parliamentary reception to highlight the work of further education colleges in bridging skills gaps.

The event was held at the House of Lords and was attended by more than 30 MPs and Peers, including Skills Minister Andrea Jenkyns and Labour’s Shadow Skills Minister, Toby Perkins, as well as key representatives from the Department for Education.

Corrie Harris, Principal & CEO of Moulton College in Northamptonshire, attended the reception accompanied by two of the college’s stonemasonry students, Louise Regan and Lucy Newlyn, who exhibited examples of their work.

Corrie said: "We were honoured to be one of two colleges selected by the AoC to bring students to the reception and demonstrate this essential heritage skill that is so important to preserving our historical buildings. Louise and Lucy (the students) both spoke passionately about their course and the college and were rightly proud of the work that they were exhibiting."

Student Louise Regan said: "We wanted to showcase as much of our work as possible but it was a bit of a logistical challenge to safely transport over 100 kilos of stonemasonry. It was definitely worth the effort, though, as we spoke to many of the attendees, who were really interested in the pieces and the work experience that we had completed at Exeter Cathedral."

Students can study Level 2 and Level 3 Stonemasonry at Moulton College with bursaries and financial support available to help with course fees and costs for eligible students.