WHEN he was just 25, Martyn Cox felt so inspired by his mother's voluntary work in the community, that he put himself forward as a governor of Bolton Sixth Form College.

This year, now aged 50, he is celebrating his 25th anniversary on the governing body — the past 10 of which he has served as chairman.

Now he is encouraging other people to get involved in civic life and make a real make difference to the community they live in.

Along with other governors, many of whom like him are long-serving, he has helped steer the college into the leading establishment it is now by supporting and challenging the leadership team.

Mr Cox, a company director, said: "I would really encourage people to take part in civic life who are not necessarily from a political background.

It is a very important cornerstone of any successful town.

"I do it because I enjoy it. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction and I encourage people to play some part in civic life because successful towns have engaged citizens."

Mr Cox, who is also councillor for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, became a governor after his mother, Pat Cox suggested the idea.

He said: "My mother, after having children, decided to become a volunteer for the WRVS which she did for many years."

"I have always had an interest in education. I taught for two years in Spain after completing a Teaching English as a Foreign Language course.

"I have always been particularly interested in sixth form education, getting people who may not have performed as well as they should have done at GCSEs to get to university and get those students who are working at a C or D level to A or B.

"At the same time the college pushes and challenges the brightest students."

Mr Cox said the college's autonomy had enabled the governors and the leadership team to enable the college to become a success — and the first choice for many young people wanting to continue academic studies.

During his 25 years, Mr Cox has seen the merger of Bolton South and Bolton North colleges into a multi-million town centre campus, which is oversubscribed and plans are underway to extend it.

"It says a lot about a college when we are planning a £3 million extension to take more students in.

"We have staff who are long-serving, governors who are long serving and people who are committed to the college."