BURY College has scored another first.

The Market Street institution is one of the ten colleges that makes up the North West Consortium of Colleges.

The Consortium has just gained a Beacon Award for running an accredited management development programme, the first of its kind for employees in further education.

The postgraduate diploma in further education was created for first line managers, middle managers and those aspiring to those positions.

Split into four modules including policy and planning, people, resources and managing information, the programme, which has been running for almost three years, has proved to be a huge success.

Spokesman Clive Cairns said: "All ten colleges have worked really hard on this project so naturally we are all delighted with the award.

"The programme is designed to advance career paths, increase personal effectiveness and improve the standard of management in colleges in both curriculum and support areas."