DUDLEY College of Technology has been awarded a top honour from the Queen in recognition for its positive impact on the town.

The town centre college has won a coveted Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Education for its development of the Dudley Learning Quarter and for promoting technical education for young people.

The college was one of only four further education colleges out of 98 entries to receive the award and its victory was announced at St James' Palace.

Lowell Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Dudley College of Technology and Chair of the Board of Dudley Academies Trust, said: “I see this honour as recognition that further education can be the driver for economic regeneration, particularly of struggling towns in areas of the country that have been left behind by the under investment of successive governments, over many years.

"We never gave up on our vision. We took investment risks. And we always believed in the transformative power of further education. It goes to show so much can be achieved by so many people working together in one place for the good of that place.”

The college, which was rated as outstanding by Ofsted in 2017, was praised for impacting the town's landscape, raising aspirations for young people and improving regional skills.

Neil Thomas, principal of the college, said: “I believe the award is a mark of the progress the College has made over the last twelve years and reflects the growth in our learner numbers, the year-on-year improvement in our achievement rates and the positive destinations achieved by our learners, who contribute to the gross value of the regional economy in the thousands of businesses they participate in.”

The team at Dudley College of Technology will be presented with their award by a senior member of the royal family at Buckingham Palace in the New Year.