Discover Your Future: Book your spot on one of our Open Days!

Search results

  1. Excellent student satisfaction
    BGU is the second highest ranked public university in England for student satisfaction. Figures released today from the National Student Survey show that 92% of BGU students are satisfied with their university experience - that’s 7% higher than last year’s score and six percentage points higher than the sector average. Significantly seven courses reported overall satisfaction above 92%. Education Studies, Theology & Ethics achieved 100% satisfaction while three other courses – Early Childhood Studies, Primary Education with Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status and Applied Studies – all recorded satisfaction levels of 97%. Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean Learning, Teaching and International, welcomed today’s findings: “This is an excellent result for BGU and demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with our students to improve their teaching and learning experience. We take what our students tell us very seriously and are always keen to hear what they have to say. We’ve introduced a number of initiatives to help give them a greater input including a new student engagement facilitator role which has been created to enhance and further develop a culture of staff and students working in partnership across the university. We’re also delighted with the overall response rate, which was 81% of eligible final year students, and would like to thank the Bishop Grosseteste Students’ Union (BGSU) for their support in encouraging people to take part.” BGSU President Kieran Parrish said he is thrilled with the outcome: “This shows that the students recognise the high quality of service they are actually getting from the university and that the relationship is one which is strong and transparent. From an SU point of view it is excellent to see how engaged and happy the students are, however, we know that there is always room for improvement. We are relishing the chance to build upon this and push ourselves to provide better for the students in the future.” The NSS statistics follow on from a succession of positive results for BGU. In April, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) published its review which found that BGU met its expectations in all areas – academic standards, learning opportunities, information and enhancement. In July, the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey revealed that BGU is one of the top three universities in the UK for student employability with 97.2% per cent of students who leave BGU with an undergraduate degree finding work or continuing to study six months following graduation. Also during the year, Ofsted gave a very positive rating for all of teacher education – early years, primary, secondary and further education – and praised BGU for having a “clear vision and an extremely strong commitment to their engagement with partners in the FE and skills sector”. The Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, said it’s been an extremely successful year. “We’ve achieved some outstanding results this year which show that we provide outstanding facilities and support,” he explained. “It is also worth highlighting that we’ve recorded increases in all of the eight NSS question categories and attained one of the biggest rises in the country for overall student satisfaction. We conduct our own in-house survey every year and receive very positive feedback but it is very encouraging to see our students saying this in public. However, there is no room for complacency and we will keep growing the range of subjects on offer and further invest in improving our up-hill campus so that we can continue giving the students an excellent experience.”
  2. BGU honorary award nominations now open
    For the attention of the BGU community: Each year the University has the opportunity to award Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships at its graduation ceremonies. Honorary Fellowship is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the University; whilst Honorary Doctorate is awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to academic, local, regional, national or international life. Current Bishop Grosseteste University staff and students, retired staff and alumni and current or former University Council members are invited to nominate candidates for honorary awards. Nominations must be made using the appropriate nomination form, and be received by the Registrar and Secretary by Thursday 15th September. Dr Anne Craven, Registrar and Secretary
  3. BGU students shadow national book awards
    BGU Education Studies students are taking part in the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) book awards shadowing scheme this year. This national scheme takes place annually and offers students the chance to vote for their favourite new children’s book in a range of age group categories, 'shadowing' the official UKLA awards panel which includes teachers and literacy experts across the UK. The author selected by students nationally will receive a special award at the UKLA international conference in July. A group of 17 second year BGU Education Studies students volunteered to meet with lecturer Dr Helen Hendry and children’s librarian Janice Morris for four lunch-time meetings throughout this year’s second semester. They chose the 3-6 age range as the books are quick to read and fun to talk about! The meetings are informal and include time to talk about likes, dislikes and reactions to the text and illustrations. The students have been trying out the books on willing children of friends and family, and during school placements. They also used the official UKLA criteria to consider the relationship between words and illustrations, the author’s use of language, and to try to choose the book which young readers would want to read over and over again. Helen Henry said “involving the Education Studies students in shadowing the UKLA book awards is a fantastic way of widening their knowledge of current high quality children’s literature. This will be important for many of their future careers in education. “Through our informal discussions and consideration of the award criteria they really get a chance to think about what children gain from sharing stories and how picture books can be a powerful tool in the classroom. “This project also highlights the wonderful selection of children’s books and teaching resources in our library and encourages our students to use these when planning creatively on placement in partnership schools. It is a real pleasure to share the books with our students and debate and discuss our favourites!” Two students who respond to the shadowing event in an innovative way, perhaps by involving pupils and schools, can be nominated to attend the UKLA conference and meet the authors. At the end of May the student shadowers can vote individually online for their chosen winner. BGU students clearly know their books for children as last year both of the groups' favourites won their UKLA categories. Richard Byrne's 'This book just ate my dog' won the UKLA Students Award and Alex T. Smith ‘s ‘Little Red and the very hungry lion’ won the overall UKLA Book Award 2016 for its age range. We will find out in July if our students can pick a winner again! Do you want to get involved with the shadow book awards next year? Find out more about studying Education at BGU.
  4. BGU Lecturers Go Dutch
    BGU lecturers Pat Beckley, Yvonne Hill and Tony Luby recently embarked upon an exchange visit to the Netherlands visiting schools in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In their first visit to the country, they found excellent further education practice at ROC van Amsterdam zuid-oost in Amsterdam where students received personalised learning based on their workplace. Outstanding classroom practices and relationships based around Hattie's Visible Learning were displayed in Rotterdam's Emmaus primary school. Tony and Yvonne met with the 16 MA students who will be coming to Lincoln to study at BGU this October. Yvonne said the MA Education course at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has given her "food for thought" - and with 14 of the students being primary teachers BGU should be able to give them a good experience for their third year stay in the UK. Tony Luby said that "the future looks orange" as he discussed during the visit various opportunities for building international relationships with schools in the Netherlands. The CEO and Principal of the Forge Trust expressed interest in taking forward this scheme which could benefit schools local to BGU. Find out more about teaching courses at BGU.
  5. BGU at Heart of Teaching Reform in Thailand
    Education experts from Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln have just returned from Thailand where they are helping the government to improve the quality of teacher training.Professor Chris Atkin, Chair in Higher Education, and Dr Smaragda Kampouri from the university’s School of Teacher Development, had a meeting with Thailand’s Education Minister, His Excellency Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin.In the first such overseas consultancy project that BGU has undertaken, staff from Lincoln are working as consultants to the Thai government to improve initial teacher training in Thailand as part of a broader initiative to raise children and young people’s educational outcomes across the country.“Thailand spends more on education than most other ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries, but pupils’ outcomes are consistently among the lowest,” said Professor Atkin.“The Thai government is convinced that the key to future success for Thai pupils is by improving teacher education. Good teachers are at the heart of good education.“Historically the emphasis in Thailand has been on the spirit of the teacher and teaching as a vocation – teachers in Thailand train for five years before they decide what their specialism will be.“One of our key recommendations was to increase the number of graduate entries into teaching, so the system recruits teachers who already have a first degree in their chosen discipline. In our view Thai teachers need to spend more time studying their subject, particularly those who go onto work in secondary phase schools.”Bishop Grosseteste University first worked with the Thai government last year on an initial review of initial teacher training in Rajabhat universities (newer universities which were formerly teacher training colleges), funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.They met the Education Minister (then the Deputy Education Minister) last August and visited five Rajabhat universities across the country as part of their research.Last week Professor Atkin, Dr Kampouri and BGU’s International Manager Wayne Dyble returned from a further visit to Bangkok to discuss what progress has been made in implementing reforms.“This is the first overseas consultancy project of this type we have undertaken and it’s something we aim to do more of in the future. Dr Emma Pearson and Shaun Thompson, members of the team that visited Thailand last summer, are planning a further visit in the summer to support the reform agenda,” said Professor Atkin.“The meeting went very well and is likely to keep BGU at the heart of the policy reform agenda in Thailand and the wider ASEAN region for years to come.“BGU has over 150 years’ experience in teacher education and we are now looking to expand our international footprint and share our expertise with the rest of the world and learn from the experiences of others working in teacher education.”
  6. BGU's first Principal Fellow of the HEA
    Dr Ruth Sayers has become Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) first Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The HEA is a national body that works to encourage teaching excellence to “help improve the student journey into, through and beyond higher education”. As part of their work the HEA award four different categories of Fellowship, with Principal Fellowship being the most prestigious. Achieving Principal Fellowship of the HEA means that Ruth has demonstrated sustained commitment to learning and teaching at BGU and has influence at a national and international level. Ruth, Executive Dean of Learning, Teaching and International at BGU, has joined a very select group of just under 730 Principal Fellows in both the UK and internationally who have attained Principal Fellowship. There are now over 87,000 Fellows which illustrates the level of interest in professional teaching qualifications for HE staff. Ruth said “I’m very proud to have been awarded Principal Fellowship. It is a recognition that many of the strategic changes that I have led in my role as Executive Dean of Learning and Teaching have been effective.” The process for applying for Principal Fellowship took over two years to complete, because it involved a great deal of reflection and drafting. The application comprised a lengthy written submission which was mapped against the Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) descriptors. Three advocate statements from current and former colleagues were also included in the application. Ruth explains “the process of applying to be a Principal Fellow of the HEA was a rewarding and enriching one. It encouraged me to reflect in a structured and critical way on my leadership of learning and teaching across the institution.” There has been more HEA success at BGU recently with 24 more members of staff receiving recognition over the past 10 months. 14 BGU staff members became Fellows while 10 more became Senior Fellows. Along with gaining her Principal Fellowship, Ruth Sayers has been instrumental in helping her colleagues to receive recognition. She said “I will continue to encourage colleagues to undertake Fellowship of the HEA. We have an excellent record of staff engagement with the process, evidenced through the number of new Fellows and Senior Fellows over the past year. “We create space for staff to reflect on their teaching pedagogies through an active staff development series and annual conference. There is a culture at BGU of putting learning and teaching at the heart of everything we do, to enhance the student experience. We see our students as partners in the development of pedagogies for learning.” Ruth’s Principal Fellowship will help to consolidate an already well-established relationship between BGU and the HEA. “We have an excellent relationship with the Higher Education Academy and have made use of their staff as trainers, consultants and advisers in supporting the development of excellent learning and teaching at BGU.”
  7. Sport at BGU shortlisted for prestigious award
    Sport at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln has been shortlisted for an award at this year’s Active Lincolnshire Sports Awards. The department is one of three finalists in the Sports Department of the Year category. Sport at BGU was praised in the shortlisting process for “a great partnership between students, BGU staff and professionals from Lincoln City FC”. The BGU logo sits proudly on the Lincoln City home shirt and BGU’s sponsorship of the club has brought about many benefits to students, the club and the city over the last year. Sports students received coaching from City manager Danny Cowley in December, worked with players as they trained at BGU and learnt about the importance of data and research in preparing high-performing teams. The FA Cup trophy made a memorable appearance on campus in March prior to the Imps’ historic quarter-final clash against Arsenal. The Imps’ FA Cup run attracted national and international TV coverage of the partnership which has helped to raise the profile of the Club, BGU and the city of Lincoln as a whole. The Sports department also received praise for working with its partners and the wider community to provide more opportunities for people to become involved in sport and physical activity. The Sports Department, working with its FE College partners, has developed a new BSc (Hons) Sport, Coaching and Physical Education degree that will enable more people across the county to study the benefits of sport and physical activity. BGU’s Student Ambassadors are putting their coaching and teaching skills to good use supporting local primary schools to deliver sport and physical activity for young people. The Cathedral Cup, an initiative developed jointly by students from both of the city’s Universities, was also highlighted as a particular success. Sports teams from BGU competed against teams from the University of Lincoln in October 2016, culminating in a showpiece football match, at Lincoln City’s Sincil Bank stadium, attended by thousands of sports fans from across Lincolnshire. The Cathedral Cup has become an annual charitable and community-focussed showcase for the city. Dr Graham Basten, Head of School of Social Sciences at BGU, said, “I am absolutely delighted that the Sports Department at BGU has been shortlisted for the Lincolnshire Sports Award. “That an independent panel has noted our sustained progress in developing community links, student engagement, our partnership with Lincoln City Football Club, and our new BSc Sport and Coaching is testimony to the great work of the academic and wider staff at BGU, our students and our partners. “It was great to see our logo on the Imps football shirt worn by young and old, a real sense of pride in the city. I therefore hope that more students will be inspired to ‘Study Sport at BGU’”. The Lincolnshire Sports Awards will take place at the Lincolnshire Showground on 2 November 2017. Find out more about Sport at BGU.
  8. American nursing students visit BGU
    American students from the University of Evansville in Indiana visited Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln this week. Around 20 fourth year nursing students, who are spending the semester at the UK campus of the University of Evansville, visited to join in discussions with third year BGU Health & Social Care students on Tuesday. The visit was part of a drive to internationalise the curriculum at BGU and the session enabled students to compare and contrast health care and social care in the UK and USA. The visit came about thanks to Nicki Walsh, Programme Leader for Health & Social Care, who joined BGU earlier in 2017. Nicki said, “I have worked with the University of Evansville for the last 10 years or so before coming to BGU, supporting their teaching and learning around UK healthcare practice. “When coming to BGU I felt this relationship should continue especially as both their provision and ethos reflects that of BGU.” There were discussions on reviewing provision and ethos followed by a seminar session looking at identifying positives and weaknesses in both the UK and USA health and social care systems. There was also the opportunity for general discussion around student life in both the UK and USA. Damian Taylor, third year Health & Social Care student at BGU, said, “The session was great. It gave us the chance to discuss what we were all looking to achieve from our degree. We had interesting discussions about both UK and USA health care, policy and touched on some ideas that would improve the health care systems. “I feel that the session allowed us the opportunity to build contacts for future networking opportunities. We have been offered the opportunity to visit the University of Evansville's UK campus in Grantham, which is exciting, and I believe that will allow us to build good relationships with each other and the possibility of learning exchange. “We were shocked to learn that our UK perspective about health care in the USA is not entirely correct and that even if you are not covered with insurance you still have access to health care. Another interesting thing we discussed was the tax system and the difference/similarities between them.” Find out more about Health & Social Care at BGU.
  9. BGU Team Entrepreneurs flying to Finland
    Business (Team Entrepreneurship) students from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln are travelling to Finland in January. Team entrepreneurs from all over the world will be gathering to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ‘team academy’ programme and to take part in Team 4 Learning, an international networking event with multiple workshops and inspiring business people. The Business (Team Entrepreneurship) degree at BGU is based on a model called ‘team academy’ which was developed in Finland 25 years ago. Every team academy sets up and runs their own business. Team Entrepreneurs at BGU run a registered company, Kinetic BGU Ltd, as part of their degree programme. Students from all three years of the course at BGU are taking part in the event in Finland. Bethany Tidswell, Director of Kinetic BGU, said, “Team entrepreneurship is based all over the world. Finland has been the home of team academy for 25 years and they are hosting an event for every team entrepreneur. “Therefore, we are taking the opportunity to connect, network, learn and experience the businesses that have been created through team academy and the inspirational people that will be joining us.” While the BGU team are in Finland they will also be visiting a team in Tampere. They will be taking part in a ‘birth giving’, which is a business challenge to be completed as a team. Find out more about studying Business (Team Entrepreneurship) at BGU.
  10. BGU Vice Chancellor's Thailand visit continues
    The Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln met with members of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand and the Association of Rajabhat Universities today. As part of his week-long visit to Thailand, BGU’s Vice Chancellor, the Revd. Canon Professor Peter Neil, met the Deputy Secretary-General and representatives from the Teachers' Council of Thailand and the newly elected President and representatives of the Association of Rajabhat Universities. During the meeting, Professor Neil emphasised the importance of international dialogue in developing initial and continuing teacher development. Similar to BGU, Thailand's 38 Rajabhat universities have their origins in teacher education. Representatives from the British Embassy's Trade and Industry delegation accompanied the Vice Chancellor during the meeting. Through the UK government's Prosperity Fund there will also be a workshop on teacher education reforms in the New Year at which BGU staff will play a key role. Earlier in the week Professor Neil signed a memorandum of understanding with Phranakhon Rajabhat University in Bangkok. Speaking about the signing Professor Neil said, “We are extremely pleased to be able to formally strengthen our relationship with Phranakhon Rajabhat University. “Bishop Grosseteste University is committed to developing its staff and students as global citizens. This partnership will benefit our staff and students and we look forward to building on the partnership in the future."

Explore BGU

BGU graduates standing in the sun with their graduation caps on

Courses

Browse our wide range of degree courses and find the perfect one for you.

Find a course
BGU Open Day 2023 26 1

Open Days

Open days are the best way to find out what BGU has to offer.

Book an open day
DSC 3983

Prospectus

Download your copy of our prospectus to find out more about life at BGU.

Order a Prospectus