Creating brighter futures

At Weston College, we want to improve the wellbeing of both our learners and our staff by promoting the importance of your mental health and providing ways that you can improve your welfare at home and at college. 

In order to achieve this, we hosted a ‘Wellbeing Week’ from the 7th – 11th October to encourage people to take some time for themselves but also check in on others around them. During this week, we held many activities, sessions and support groups to allow students to take a breather from their day. 

Over the course of 3 days, different charities visited Knightstone, South West Skills, and Loxton campus where they set up stalls to promote what they do and how they can help you. These charities included Off The Record, SWEDA, Samaritans, Welfare/Counselling, and Mind, and they offered support and leaflets for students to get in touch. 

Not only this, many sport sessions were held over the 3 main campuses to encourage students to exercise as this is proven to improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, increase your self-esteem, and even provide you with a better night sleep. Whether that is just playing against a friend, doing some yoga, or even going to the gym, your mind will be clearer and you’ll feel energised. 

Our main theme for the week was ‘Kindness’, and to reinforce this, we came up with the idea to ask staff and students who they were thankful for throughout the college. We received so many lovely clips which we compiled into a video and posted on our social medias to encourage everyone to promote kindness amongst each other. 

@westoncollege

In honour of Wellbeing Week at Weston College, we asked our learners what they were thankful for…

♬ original sound - WestonCollege

@westoncollege

To keep our Wellbeing Week going, we also asked our staff who they were thankful for when they came to work… 🤩

♬ original sound - WestonCollege

Another activity that we arranged to encourage student engagement, and a positive mindset, was the ‘Vote A Quote’ competition. This was where both staff and students put forward their favourite motivational and inspirational quotes, and a winner was chosen to receive a wellbeing prize. 

The most popular event of the week, however, was Paws 4 Thought day where a select few members of staff brought their dogs onto each campus to improve the moods of both the students and the staff. Not only did everyone adore the dogs and give them lots of hugs and head scratches, but the dogs also loved meeting lots of new faces and eating handfuls of treats throughout the day. 

We value your mental health every day of the year and on World Mental Health Day (Thursday 10th October), we made sure this was publicised so you understand the importance of it too. On this day, we posted a wellbeing video where we provided the ‘Top Tips To Improve Your Wellbeing’, including getting some fresh air, doing some exercise, getting creative or writing out what you’re grateful for, and taking some time for yourself to wind down. These are simple tasks you can do throughout the day which will give you the chance to destress and clear your mind.  

@westoncollege

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY!🌎 We value your mental health massively here at Weston College so here’s some tips on how you can destress and improve your mental health and wellbeing 🧘🍃 You can also visit our Welfare Team to talk to someone on campus

♬ original sound - WestonCollege

If you’re ever struggling, feeling alone, or just want to talk to someone, you can visit our Welfare Team on Knightstone, Loxton or South West Skills campus and they’ll be there to help. Alternatively, you can call the confidential helpline provided on our website any time of day. 

You can also access our Welfare SharePoint on the website where you can use our Virtual Calming Rooms, Welfare Blog, and check out the additional support available to you. 

For more support and information, visit the Welfare & Wellbeing page on our website.

Over the last couple weeks, not only have the Esports course upgraded their systems and facilities, but the students have also had the pleasure of receiving a talk by the former head coach and current assistant coach of Fnatic, Jake “mini” Harris.  

Fnatic is one of the top Esports organisations in the world and “mini” shared his journey with the students of how he became the coach of one of the world’s top Valorant teams. He discussed the importance of fostering a team culture of openness, professionalism, and communication as this was the key to Fnatic's continued success.  

The main message that “mini” provided the students was that to be successful in anything, not just the Esports community, hard work is required, and a lot of additional time invested beyond the time you get within a classroom environment. It is also very important to network within your desired industry and get involved in events so you can get your name out there.

In order to provide more opportunities for the students and help them progress, Weston College have upgraded their Alienware computers to a new setup based around ggRock, a system that is used by the top Esports colleges in the UK.  

Not only this, a brand new streaming room has been installed which will be used on a weekly basis in tandem with the British Esports games once they get up and running. The students will also be using it for their Live Streaming, Shoutcasting, and Events modules. 

On top of this, British Esports even requested to stream our Esports students’ first Valorant game on the main British Esports stream this week which has over 10.3K followers. To watch their stream, click the video below.

Students who choose an Esports course can progress to university or an apprenticeship and have many career options available to them including Computing, Digital Marketing, Media, Sports, Business, and Esports. 

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Esports, that’s okay! As long as you have some kind of interest in gaming, the course allows you to develop your skills and explore potential pathways with excellent equipment, staff and facilities at your disposal. One lecturer, Will, says the most important attribute for a student considering Esports is for them to have a ‘positive attitude and a willingness to learn’. 

A big thank you to Jake “mini” Harris for telling his fantastic story, providing advice, and encouraging our learners to pursue their desired pathways. 

If you would like to study an Esports course at Weston College, click here.