THERE were buckets on the floor to catch rain dripping through the leaky roof of New College when Graham Taylor arrived to take charge nearly 22 years ago.

The former school building was in a poor state of repair, there were only around 1,200 students all aged 16 to 18 and the annual turnover was in the region of £3m.

When he exits the front door for the last time when students break for the summer holidays, he will leave behind one of the largest educational institutions in the country offering more than 150 courses and with a good Ofsted rating.

“I will miss the people. I will miss the students,” he told the Advertiser at a special lunch arranged by staff, friends and governors to celebrate his contribution to the college and to say goodbye.

There were poems, speeches and even quizzes. “It was just great,” he said. “I was in tears at the end. I wasn’t expecting such a warm send off.”

Long-time friend and governor Les Durrant said: “He is going to be much missed. When you look at the academic results when Graham arrived and the physical state of the building, this guy has been in charge during an amazing transformation.”

A few years after Graham’s arrival plans were made to completely replace the old building off Queens Drive with a modern complex.

In 2003 it was completely rebuilt with state-of-the art facilities including a bigger library, science labs, a sports centre, a digital darkroom and recording studio.

Now the college is eight times bigger and catering for up to 10,000 learners a year and not just in the sixth form age range. There are people of all ages on apprenticeships and students working on foundation degrees.

Courses range from airline cabin crew and ballet, to accounting, fine art, languages and business management.

Students can tackle GCSEs and A Levels, business and professional qualifications, diplomas and even part-time or hobby courses. There are also plans to introduce top-up degrees and a new foundation degree in cyber security using technical expertise from within the industry.

“It is just tremendous to be able to help so many,” said Graham. “We love getting more learners through their qualifications so they can maximise their potential. It gives them a great platform for their lives and careers.”

Turnover is in the region of £23m and there are 3,200 students in the core 16-18 age range.

“Education is a people business but it is nice to have an encouraging and vibrant environment to help the learners on their way.”

He said it had been a privilege to be at New College. “Education like most things in life is a team game. You just hope that as a leader you can help all the staff and learners.”

Although he will be leaving the college he plans to stay in the education world. “I’m going to hit the consultancy trail,” he explained.

“I love working and I love education so I hope I can give something back to the sector over the next two or three years. I’m not ready to stop yet.”

The new principal of the college will be Carole Kitching who is moving from Lewisham Southwark College where she has been chief executive for the past three years.