LINCOLNSHIRE VOICES – CLAIRE FOSTER

The industry-driven new Engineering, Manufacturing and Technology Centre (EMAT) was part-funded by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP Growth Fund, and is a symbol of pride for Claire, who shares with us here her thoughts on adaptation, resilience and leadership: 

There are those joyful days in a teacher's life when the stars align, and your planned lesson seems perfect. Your resources are ready, the classroom is all set up for a class you love teaching, and you are 'fired up and ready to go’. And then it happens. Your laptop develops a critical error, the lesson plan in your file is for NEXT week, your students are grumpy, and a triumphant colleague announces she has already booked the space. I have learnt, over time, that when ‘stuff happens’, it’s what you DO about it that counts.   

Back in 2019, we would all be forgiven for thinking that daily challenges would remain just that and with careful planning and a bit of foresight, we could reasonably predict what the next 5-10 years might look like, right?  Wrong – of course - as it turns out. With what feels like a never-ending wave of crises to navigate, the ability to adapt to what happens to us, particularly as leaders, has never been so critical.   

I joined as a new principal in the early days of the pandemic and it was clear that Boston College’s star was already on the ascent. We are a mid-sized educational facility that reaches over 4000 students from Spalding to Boston (and soon to welcome Horncastle too!) offering courses for school leavers and adults across many technical and professional sectors, apprenticeships, commercial training, distance learning, and higher education degrees. When I drove through the gates on that first day, I immediately felt a sense of pride as I passed the brand-new, statement EMAT building, and another beautiful structure starting to emerge from its foundations. These two buildings represented a significant investment from the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, supporting education facilities, working with businesses to tailor the right skills for key sectors.   

There were no students then of course, all tucked away being taught online by teachers who only recently had adapted to deal with month's worth of challenging teaching. Teachers learned fast how to deliver exciting content from their kitchen tables, surrounded by their own kids, pets, partners, hopes and fears, channeling strength and supporting learners to stay focused on their studies. They were simply amazing. We have all returned to campus since then, and the college has also secured further investment including new equipment for robotics and training simulators, a state-of-the-art Care Centre of Regional Excellence, and the Mayflower - a brand-new space for adults and HE funded by Boston’s Towns Deal. All providing our students with the opportunity to study in contemporary spaces with industry-standard kit.   

If the pandemic has had one positive effect, for me it has been to teach us to be even more resilient, to appreciate and make the best of what we have, to seize opportunities, and to think differently about the future. I firmly believe that Greater Lincolnshire’s future is bright because of the fantastic collaborations and our innate creativity, innovation and resilience. Globally, we are all now experts in shifting and adapting to inclement circumstances, and better equipped to working together to maximise the potential of our resources, but it’s what we have always done in our rural county.   

I remain deeply passionate about helping to create a future that respects our precious environments and communities and when I talk with our young students it is clear they too will not accept anything less. We have a duty to continue to invest in brilliant facilities, buildings and businesses, infrastructure and communities, training and education, to ensure that Lincolnshire is poised for the future, whatever that future might look like (and I will continue to have some extra ‘lesson plans’ up my sleeve .... just in case!) 

Claire Foster  

Principal & CEO Boston College