Principal of troubled college resigns after only five months

Chris Malish, who was appointed to the role in April, has stepped down for “personal reasons”.

Malish was the fifth person to hold the post since the resignation of Michelle Swithenbank in December 2019.

Hull College says it has been depending on “interim leadership” as its recruitment search had been hampered by the pandemic and lockdowns.

Hull’s chair of governors Lesley Davies told further education news service FE Week that Malish had been faced with “no small task” embarking on the college’s “ambitious plans for the future”.

The BBC reports that the college says interviews will be held this week for another interim principal and it is “confident of securing a principal as soon as possible”.

The college has faced criticism of its financial management in recent years, after piling up a £10m budget deficit.

It has received a Government bailout and was subject to an internal investigation into a £240,000 rugby club sponsorship deal.

It has also suffered from staff redundancies, the closure of its Goole campus and the transfer of its Harrogate campus to another college.