Student Union President and Level 3 Sports Studies student, Sophie Day from Cambridge Regional College invited Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, to attend the college for a forum with students and staff about the importance of fair funding for further education (FE).
Mr Zeichner, who recently referenced the region’s colleges during a parliamentary debate speech on FE funding, addressed a full room, fielding questions from both students and staff about the role of FE in local economies and college funding.
On visiting Cambridge Regional College, he said, “I am a strong supporter of FE colleges and have recently called on the Government to reverse the “near invisibility of Further Education” in policy and Parliament. FE colleges are engines of growth and skill generators for the country’s regions. It was great to see such interest and drive from the CRC students campaigning for the sector during my recent visit. The Student Union representatives are clearly passionate about the cause and Sophie in particular was keen to tell me about her plans to get students and staff involved.”
Following her attendance at the NUS FEstival conference in Sheffield late last year, where the impact of funding cuts to the sector was a prominent theme, Sophie felt passionately about raising awareness of issues affecting colleges across the country. One of the first steps she took with the 
Students’ Union was to encourage fellow students to sign the petition on fairer funding for FE colleges which Daniel took to and led a parliamentary debate on.
Sophie was delighted to host Mr Zeichner’s visit, saying “FE Colleges do amazing things, providing the opportunities to transform people’s lives, so imagine what could be done if more funding was available. I was delighted and a little surprised when my invitation to Daniel was accepted, it just goes to show that students do have the power to make a difference. I would like to thank Daniel again for visiting as this was a great way to raise awareness and get more people involved in finding solutions.”
