LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
There is always so much going on across our various campuses and courses.
Stay up to date on our latest news here or check us out across social media.
In partnership with Avon Fire and Rescue (AF&RS), Weston College has launched the Operational Fire Fighter apprenticeship.
The new programme launched in January, with 24 people training to become fire fighters, at Severn Park in Avonmouth.
As part of the apprenticeship, the new recruits will work on everything from fitness, fire safety and practical skills such as breathing apparatus procedures, ladder training, hose management and road traffic collision operations.
Simon Shilton, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Avon Fire and Rescue said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome 24 new recruits to AF&RS to begin what I hope will be a prosperous fire service career.
“These new recruits have already undergone a rigorous selection process, and their next stage of training will see them put through their paces and prepared for life as a fire fighter.
“Modern firefighting is about so much more than fires, encompassing elements such as complex rescues, prevention work and community engagement. AF&RS truly works to prevent and protect before all else, working to keep the community safe in all that we do.
“As they move through this process, I give the new recruits my best wishes and can assure them that is truly one of the most fulfilling and rewarding careers.”
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, added: “We are delighted to be working with Avon Fire and Rescue on this brilliant initiative, and providing opportunities to people that want to become fire fighters.
“If you think this will be a good career for you, join us at our Apprenticeship Open Evening on 10th February, at South West Skills Campus, 4pm-7pm where we can tell you about the next intake of Fire Fighting apprentices and how you can apply – register here.”
You can contact Weston College’s apprenticeship team on 01934 411 594, or email apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk
We love a good progression story!
Studying degree programmes has never been more convenient with higher education provider University Centre Weston (UCW) on our doorstep. This means learners can study all the way up to degree level whilst staying at home, saving money and still getting an outstanding qualification.
Early Years student Lacey progressed from her Level 3 course at Weston College to the Early Years and Education FdA at UCW in September 2021. She told us all about her journey so far:
"I studied Level 3 in Children’s Play, Learning and Development at Weston College. I was inspired to study at HE due to my love of learning and wanting to push myself further to succeed.
"I decided to stay at UCW to gain this further knowledge as many people recommended it to me including friends, it also meant I could stay at home to complete my studies which has been great.
Since Lacey studied at Weston College, the Level 3 programme she studied has since been replaced by a T Level qualification. As well as brand new facilities, the has department has also benefitted from the introduction of the Education Careers Excellence Hub, endorsed by employers to ensure the courses are relevant to the industry and to maximise opportunities!
Lacey continues:
"So far, I am loving the course at UCW, the methods of teaching vary, and I think that is really good. There is a nice balance of discussion, lectures, and guest lecturers throughout the course.
"I am hoping to go on to do the full BA honours degree and search for work within the family support sector as a long-term career, I am hoping to have a placement based in this area to help me gain experience."
Thanks for sharing Lacey, we can't wait to hear more about your future successes!
The adventure never stops for Uniformed Public Services!
10 Level 3 students demonstrated resilience and impressive physical capabilities by successfully navigating an arduous 18 mile route through the Brecon Beacon Mountains followed by an overnight camp! ?⛺️
Trips such as this help to immerse our learners in the environment and grow their understanding of the local landscape and the impact they can have. Whilst camping and walking, leaners ensured that no litter or evidence of people was left behind. As well as reducing our carbon footprint, Weston College is committed to creating brighter and greener future for our community.
Trekking through challenging conditions, the team finished at 9pm in the dark with students tired but elated with their achievement!
Our Public Services Career Excellence Hub supports learners in developing key skills, that employers are looking for, such as discipline, communication and team work.
? Faculty Dean Helen George commended the group on their achievement recognising it as "monumental" - A HUGE well done everyone!
Click here to discover our full time courses and apprenticeships in Uniformed Public Services
Our Fashion students' next project: Accessorize!
The Level 3 Fashion and Textiles learners have been building on their skills, making dresses, and working with porcelain in our professional ceramics studio to create some beautiful jewellery including brooches, earrings, and necklaces!
All our Creative Arts courses are taught at our Loxton Campus, the home, heart, and hub of creative arts in Weston. Learners are taught by industry professionals, and are encouraged to find their voice, express their personality in a multitude of art forms and blossom beyond their expectations.
As a student on our Level 3 UAL Extended Diploma in Fashion and Textiles course learners are given the chance to explore fashion and develop their understanding of fashion by experiencing varied disciplines across fashion design, production, digital media, communication, and fashion business.
This course is part of the Creative Arts Career Excellence Hub. These innovative subject specific hubs allow for students at Weston College to have access to exclusive opportunities. Endorsed by employers from within the industry, this enables for better integration with the sector to make sure class content is relative and opens doors for learners, so they leave college with more than just a qualification.
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As a business and from a personal perspective, I believe it’s vitally important to support education, training and the development of all students at Weston College.
This opinion is twofold for me, first of all I was indeed a student at Weston College myself, before embarking on my career. Secondly my eighteen-year-old son has just graduated from Loxton Campus with three A-Levels. These qualifications earned him a well-deserved place in a Business School at a Cambridge University campus, to say I am proud of him is an understatement.
There is so much talent within Further Education, and I strongly believe that as employers we should be investing in young people who will become the leaders of our businesses in the future.
Interaction between industry and education is very important. Students need to be able to navigate their way through from classrooms and coursework to a career and the workplace – with practical experience and industry knowledge playing a critical part in development.
Through Weston College’s Hair and Beauty Career Excellence Hub, we are able to get involved and support students, whether that be through delivering masterclass sessions, playing a part in the development of curriculum or offering work experience.
As a business, we also want to grow our team, and see Weston College students as the perfect candidates to be valued members of our team.
The Beauty Spot Weston is a proud supporter of Weston College and have been for a number of years now. This support will continue for many years to come.
Hannah Hoskin-Love, The Beauty Spot
A PE teacher will work in schools and colleges teaching a range of sports and fitness to young people of all ages from primary school to college.
Could you be a PE Teacher?
To be a PE teacher some of the skills and knowledge you will need to have the ability to motivate and inspire pupils of all abilities, can use your knowledge to design courses and lessons, you must be able to work well with others and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations. You will need to pass enhanced background checks to become a teacher. Some of the daily tasks you may do as a PE teacher could be teaching and coaching a range of sports and activities to pupils of different abilities and ages, organising events like sports days and matches against other schools/colleges, prepare pupils for their exams and set assignments, meet with parents/carers to discuss their children's progress.
The working environment could be within a college, or a school and you will be required to work in environments which could be indoors or outside in all weathers.
Check the entry criteria:
Depending on the school and level you apply for the entry criteria will be different. you will need to decide who you want to teach, this could be primary, secondary, or further education. All teaching jobs will require you to have at least 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and if you wish to teach primary you will need at least a 4 (C) in science, or the equivalent qualifications. You will need a university degree or an equivalent qualification to gain your QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). To get into university you will need to have at least 2 or 3 A levels or a level 3 qualification. To become a teacher, you will need either a degree with QTS or if you were to do a degree without QTS a completed PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), which can be either at university or on a school-based training programme. To specialise as a PE teacher, you will need to have a degree in sports science or the equivalent.
To get into PE teaching you could apply for the Sports Coaching & Physical Education, BTEC Extended Diploma at Weston College which would give you the relevant information to go onto a sports science course at university.
Get the relevant training/ How to become:
To get into the PE Teacher role you can go the university route, go through an apprenticeship or work towards the role. Through university you will gain a degree with a QTS which would allow you to go straight into teaching. If you get a degree that is not a QTS you can then take the apprenticeship route and complete a PGCE with a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship. If you were to become a graduate in a sport related course without at QTS then you may be able to get into teaching by working as a sports coach in schools and then moving into a teacher training programme.
To improve your application, you could attend teacher training events before you apply to get advice about the profession, the different training routes you could take, and the funding. You can attend these events in person and online and attending these could be incredibly useful for teachers in training. A useful skill to have on your application would be being able to drive as you may be expected to drive a minibus to take teams of pupils to sporting events.
Further development…
As a qualified PE teacher, you could further progress into becoming a specialist leader of education where you would be supporting teachers in other schools. Other roles you could pursue would be a curriculum leader, head of department or even head teacher or deputy head.
From September, we will welcome our first cohort of engineering T Level learners, into our Engineering Career Excellence Hub.
T Levels offer learners an alternative to A Levels and apprenticeships, with a real focus on work experience, as learners must complete a 45-day industry placement with a local employer.
The engineering T Level, offers both a practical and academic focus, providing learners with skills, knowledge and understanding of subjects such as design, project, maths, materials and manufacturing principles.
Employers across the country are recognising how important T Levels are going to be, especially in their plans for developing their future work force.
Leading engineering company, Belcan, has pledged their support to Weston College and T Levels, by committing to offering an industry placement to T Level learners.
Steve Beasley, Head of Repair Engineering at Belcan, said: “Our philosophy is to build an inclusive work environment to attract and retain talented people, encourage innovation, and inspire top performance from employees to achieve superior business results by putting people first.
“We’re excited to be supporting Weston College through their new engineering T Level, and provide opportunities to young people wanting to enter the exciting engineering industry.”
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Belcan, they are a forward-thinking company that are very keen on providing opportunities that are vital in developing the engineers of tomorrow.
“The new engineering T Level is going to be highly desirable for school leavers as the programme is built to be beneficial for both our learners and employer network, meaning we are all working together to get learners job-ready.”
You can find out more about the Engineering T Level, here.
With dining out being an important part of our culture, how can the catering sector join the debate and put sustainability on the menu?
Endorsed by employers, the Hospitality and Catering Careers Excellence Hub encourages collaboration between the college and companies. This ensures that classroom content is relevant and students will be "job ready" when they go into the industry. A growing part of the industry at the moment is sustainability and where we get our food from. We caught up with Sandra Bull, Dean of Faculty for Hair Beauty and Barbering, Hospitality and Catering, Early Years Education and Counselling, to talk all about sustainability in the catering sector...
Food is wasted at each step of the supply chain. It remains unpicked if it is ‘ugly’, it perishes over long distances, it is ‘trimmed’ for aesthetics and it is left on the plate of not-so-hungry customers.
Chefs have the ability to intercept at each of these junctures. They can champion crooked carrots, source local food in season, use peelings for stocks and offer different portion sizes. Additionally, when waste remains, they can donate surplus to food waste charities. So here at Weston College and in the Grove training kitchen and restaurant we are embracing this concept...
Let me introduce our sustainable menu for takeaway next Thursday. All produce is locally produced (meaning less mileage), ingredients are in season now and we waste less. The Hospitality learners are learning about plastic waste and the food journey from Farm to fork.
Takeaway Thursday 27th January . Please call 411422 to book yours ! ?
We hope you enjoy
Fish and chips
Beef and ale pie
Venison burger
Winter veggie pie
Apple and pear crumble
£2.50 main £3.50 main & a dessert £4.00 meal deal drink main & dessert
Please inform us of any food allergies or special dietary requirements upon ordering and we will be happy to advise you.
Do you ever wonder why some supermarket food is just so cheap? You may not pay for it at the cash register, but the cost to your health, the soil, and the environment are there.
Sustainable eating is not easy.
We are finding out more about where our suppliers get the food they deliver. What is its journey, is it in season and can we convince the supplier to cut down on single use plastic?
This time of year, root vegetables and hearty greens are great for adding to curries and stews. Salads, Tomatoes, and fruit in the summer make colourful additions to your plate. Of course, milk and dairy produced are here all year around.
Freezing, dehydrating, and preserving in pickles can help to add favour and use in season stock. But we are going to have a go at Growing our own window boxes this term so we can provide all the herbs for our café and restaurant. Watch this space!
Initiatives like this are Weston College is committed to creating brighter and greener futures
When you don’t know your farmer because you’re buying from a supermarket then look for the words “Fair-Trade” or the RED tractor on your packaging.
This may be the hardest part of changing the way you eat. On the other hand, it forces you to simplify your food in a way that promotes health and flavour. The simple truth is sustainable food does not outsource its preparation.
Without basic cooking knowledge, none of this is possible so look out for our short basic cooking courses to give you confidence in the kitchen. Learning to cook your favourite foods using local ingredients can really make all the difference.
Eating mindfully may take a bit more effort but the rewards, for your family and their future, are too big to pass up.
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Starting this year our A Level learners have had the chance to be a part of our Sixth Form Career Excellence Hub. The hub aims to get learners closer to the world of work by providing useful and high-quality work experience. This work experience will give our students vital skills for the world of work such as punctuality, reliability, and working as part of a team.
Our learners will gain significant industry experience from the Sixth Form Career Excellence Hubs. From studying A Levels there is a huge range of industries for learners to go into, including science labs, fashion and art – among many others! This means that Weston College works with a wide range of employers who are able to provide a diverse range of opportunities that students can be a part of. Learners will be able to transfer the skills they have learned to not only a workplace, but also to their university courses as many of these skills can be applied to both.
The Sixth Form has its own dedicated building at our state-of-the-art Loxton Campus with classrooms, communal areas and access to a great library. Our staff often have experience within industry allowing them to pass on this knowledge to students.
The employers who we work with on our Sixth Form Career Excellence Hubs love them! Emma Cox from Thatchers Cider, said: “Partnering with Weston College ensures that together we can bridge the gap between education and employment to provide the best outcomes and opportunities for students.
For us this is about bringing future talent into the business, working with the college allows us to work with students so that they have both the knowledge and the skills to make informed decisions about their future and choices.”
Neil Criddle from Neil’s Data Consultancy Ltd, said: “It's really important to understand the different paths a student can now take from education into employment.”
For more information on how to apply to Weston College and join our amazing Sixth Form Career Excellence Hub, click here.
Marketing and Communications
The marketing department is responsible for promoting Weston College to the public, by promoting the Colleges courses, achievements and events.
Our aims are to attract learners to study within the Weston College Group, build and grow the College’s brand and highlight its reputation, and promote the College Group’s success, student progression and outstanding support for our learners.
The marketing department manages the College’s websites and official social media accounts, runs advertising campaigns, creates press releases, and manages many of the College Group’s events, such as Graduation, the Celebration of Success and the Business Awards.
We produce a wide range of publications including our full-time, Higher Education and part-time prospectuses, course leaflets and posters, and other documents such as the College’s annual report, magazines and newsletters, course brochures and the student handbook.
Weston College is committed to providing accurate and timely information for local, regional and national media, and the general public.
The marketing team is available between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Fridays. You can get in touch with us by emailing marketing@weston.ac.uk.
All of our press releases are uploaded to the news section of our websites. News from the academies we sponsor, including the North Somerset Enterprise and Technology College, can be found on the news section of the Inspirational Futures Trust’s website. News pertaining to our Higher Education Provision can be found on www.ucw.ac.uk.
The marketing department produces most imagery and film in house, and keeps an extensive archive of the photographs it takes. If you would like a copy of an image featuring you or a member of your family, please contact us at photography@weston.ac.uk.
Our photos of graduation and many other events can be found on the College’s Facebook page. High quality images can be found on the College’s Flickr account.
Weston College is able to accommodate many requests to provide locations for film and photography. The College has a range of attractive, modern and adaptable facilities which can be viewed on our youtube channel.
We also are able to provide heritage facilities such as the Victorian Hans Price designed Conference Centre and, from September 2017, the 1927 Winter Gardens Pavilion.
For booking details, contact marketing@weston.ac.uk.
For enquiries about sponsoring key events such as Celebration of Success, Business Breakfast, Business Awards and Graduation, please contact the marketing team by email at marketing@weston.ac.uk.
