Every year the Faculty publishes an annual review which recalls some of our successes over the previous year, you can view the Annual Review 2016-17 here.

The review provides a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our students and staff. Inevitably this is a brief snapshot of our work, with a wealth of other good work that there is no space to fit in.

At this point just before a new academic year, things can seem a bit daunting with a full academic year and all its ensuing pressures just around the corner. So please do take  a quick look to remind yourself of some positives. Please also feel free to share the review with your contacts externally.

The NSS results are very positive for the Faculty and place the University into the Top 50 of UK Universities. This is a very significant achievement to which we have all contributed. We are in a good place to work in partnership with our students and to continue to enhance the quality of our provision. We now await PTES results for our postgraduate taught provision.

Thank-you for everything that you are contributing to the continuous enhancement work of the Faculty. We can offer a positive welcome to students and new staff with confidence, knowing that our courses are sought after and the quality is good.

Also thanks to everyone involved in confirmation and clearing. I attended the clearing hub last Thursday and the open day on Saturday. I was very impressed by the quiet confidence of those present, the good natured approach of those staff who were experiencing long gaps between enquiries and the assured support of those organising and overseeing the business. We have recruited significant numbers of students, many of whom are first time applicants without compromising our entry quality threshold. Interviews and open day activities are continuing this week, and my thanks go to all involved.

Following a competitive tendering process we have been awarded the status of ‘Preferred Bidder’ for a national contract to deliver Pharmacist Independent Prescribing for two of the four Health Education England regions.  The value is yet to be confirmed but we anticipate up to £1M over the next two years.  Thank you to all involved in the tendering process, this is a great result in the current health funding environment.

Another piece of good news is that Professor Liam Bourke has gained a collaborative £2.5 million NIHR programme research grant – one of the biggest the University has ever gained. The STAMINA programme culminates in a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 1800 men with prostate cancer, 50 NHS hospitals and 30 health facilities run by the commercial partner, Nuffield Health. There will be appropriate external communication about this soon. I am sure that you will all join me in congratulating Liam on this very significant grant for an important area of our research.