On Saturday 6 November the Fashion, Theatre, Media Hair and Make-up students joined dancers at the Winter Gardens for Strictly Fun Dancing.

The Level 3 Diploma in Fashion, Theatre and Media Hair and Make-Up is an occupational qualification that provides learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills to work as a make-up artist. The students volunteered their skills to do the hair and make-up for the dancers for this annual charity event.

Hair styles included chignons, wigs, bouncy curls and the make-up included skincare preparations, eyeshadow, primer makeup, both liquid and cream products for sheer coverage, plus glitters, contouring and lashes.

Sandra Bull, Dean of Faculty, said: “At Weston College we passionately believe in supporting every person that walks through the door to reach their ultimate goal, by focussing on future employability and developing the skills needed to have a successful career. Today did just that, by providing an element of work experience for our learners who are on their vocational programmes.”

A spokes person for Weston Hospicecare said: "We are delighted to be joined by a group of Weston College students and their tutors at our Strictly Fun Dancing event at the Winter Gardens. The students were incredible and helped the majority of our dancers prepare for their five minutes of fame on the dancefloor. From hair (including a black gents wig!), makeup and stylings all the students were super-professional. We look forward to welcoming them back in 2022!"

Devon one of the students said: "I'm always ready to learn new things and this experience today has been so exciting, it has been amazing to be part of strictly."

Find out more about hair and beauty courses

• Courses for 16 to 19-years-olds
• Courses for adults
• Next open event

As part of the Career Excellence Hub in hospitality and catering, a Chef Apprentice has access to an exciting masterclass programme, giving them the essential chef skills. Masterclasses are delivered monthly by industry professionals including producers and artisans including expert guest bakers, butchers and fishmongers.

Today's Chef apprentice masterclass is led by Mark Chapman, the Executive Chef from Gambas Tapas Bar, Bristol, who will guide the apprentices through a seafood and shellfish masterclass, where they:

• Shuck fresh oysters and serve them au natural with lemon and tabasco.
• Peeled, de-veined and cleaned prawns, served as a traditional Spanish dish called ‘Gambas pil pil’ (garlic chilli prawns).
• Shuck and cleaned fresh scallops. These were cooked on the plancha and served with a roe bechamel, freshly sliced jamon and parsley butter.

We also looked at portion size and weight, understanding fish monger skills and the terms and techniques used, plus discussed the the farm to fork journey.

Mark is a classically trained, fine dining chef, with over 16 years experience. He started his training as a chef in Sydney, Australia completing a 4 year apprenticeship whilst working full-time in restaurant’s. He developed his skills in a range of Michelin equivalent ‘hat’ restaurants in Sydney, including Sepia (a French Japanese fusion restaurant), The Light Brigade Hotel, Bistro Ortolan and Wolgan Valley (a 5 Star exclusive Emirates hotel in the Blue Mountains).

Mark moved to Bristol to be with his now wife in 2012. Where he has since worked in a range of restaurants in Bristol and Bath since then including at the Michelin Star hotel The Bath Priory.

Since joining Season + Taste as a Head Chef at Bravas in 2016, Mark became an Executive Chef of the whole group in 2018 and is enjoying putting his fine dining experience into some more creative ventures like Gambas, Cantina and Bakers and co.

He became the Executive Chef of Gambas Tapas bar in 2019 earning the restaurant a Michelin plate and volunteers for a number of Bristol charity unions such as Bristol Food Union, for whom he managed a community of 11 of Bristol best restaurants to provide meals for frontline workers and vulnerable people during the pandemic.

He said “there is a shortage of staff in the hospitality industry but the only way the industry can overcome this is by investing time, training and money into the new generation of chefs who are 21 years or younger, and allowing them the space to work alongside those in the industry who are older with more experienced.

"It’s harder to find staff for both kitchen and front of house, so empowering the younger generation with creativity, stability, flexibility, motivation and interest is the only way to ensure the new generation not just join the industry but stay and grow in it also. This is why I am here today!”

Mark’s final words to future chefs is “Cook with Passion.”

Find out more about being a Chef Apprentice:

• Courses and Apprenticeships for school leavers
• Next open event

The Creative Arts industry has always been dynamic and exciting to work in. After the pandemic and in post-Brexit Britain, employers are looking to recruit the best and with the industry growing rapidly at 4x more than the UK economy we want to provide our learners with the platform to maximise their true potential!

Our Creative Arts Career Excellence Hub offers career boosting benefits to our learners by providing them with both hard and soft skills based on their course, enhanced work experience, networking opportunities and unrivalled exposure to our endorsers which include The Brickworks Studio, North Somerset Arts, Weston Museum and Culture Weston to name a few.

With the South West being a hub for Creative Arts, there are endless opportunities for our learners to enter the industry, with the support of the Creative Arts Career Excellence Hub learners will be equipped with ‘real world learning’ and up to date employability skills.

Our Creative Arts learners will get to learn in Weston College’s state-of-the-art facilities with specialist rooms for music practice and performance, recording and editing, art workshops and studio. Our creative students will have access to an extensive range of audio and visual equipment to support their learning.

Matthew Holden, Acting Museum Operations Manager from one of our endorsers Weston Museum has said “Our Weston College students bring a huge amount of imagination and creativity to our business. They bring new ideas and emerging practises that can help us to develop into areas in which we have previously not been able to.”

For more information on how to apply to Weston College and join our amazing Career Excellence Hub for Creative Arts, click here.

A character design done by our very own Game and Animation learner Jack Griffiths, has been selected to be turned into an official character skin in Fortnite! 
 
Fortnite is a free-to-play video game the sees up to 100 players competing individually or in teams to be the last one/ones standing as the boundaries of their battle ground shrinks over-time. 
 
The multi-billion pound Battle Royale currently has over 350 million active monthly users across the world, making it biggest games on the planet. 
 
In June, Fortnite developer Epic Games published that they are "looking for two exceptional community-created concepts" to be turned into in-game outfits for their to-be-announced Winter 2021 event. 
 
The brief was simple: festive, frosty, and fun designs to bundle up in this holiday season. 
 
As a player and aspiring 3D animator Weston College student, Jack, saw this as a perfect opportunity to showcase his talents in character design that he had been developing in and out of class.... And so the character concept was created: Frigid Forgoer. 
 

 
Jack, with the online artist alias "Alta Calls", added: "I decided to apply for the competition because I had been working on concept skins for around a year at that point, it's one of my biggest passions and seeing Epic go out of their way to support the concept community by hosting a competition was amazing I figured this was my best chance of getting a skin in game so I jumped right into it and started designing! 

“Frigid Forgoer is a twist of the frozen theme, with something a bit more unique and visually interesting; A frozen sheriff with a vengeance.
 
"This win means practically everything to me, I worked so hard over the last year getting better at Blender and getting better at general character design and to finally see one get in game is incredible. I have received great support from the college, using the knowledge from my course to actually pull through and create the skin trailer which I was so close on giving up on. Without the teaching in class, it would not of been possible."
 
Jack studies The Level 3 diploma in Game and Animation. On this course our learners learn and develop their skills in storyboarding, character design, 2D design and 3D animation; becoming equipped to step into the ever-growing gaming industry.

The King Alfred School alumni continued: “I chose the game and animation course because it's my biggest passion in life. I've played games my whole life and when I grew older I started to love how games are able to tell such emotional and compelling stories and be such amazing pieces of art that I just had to make it my career.”
 
Game and Animation tutor, Sam Stokes, commented: "It’s amazing to see Jack’s hard work pay of, the constant drive and motivation to keep pushing his skills to the next level is remarkable.  
 
"It fills me with pride that our Game and Animation Production course has given him the platform to challenge his skills and achieve recognition on a globally renowned game like Fortnite."
 
 
The two winners of the "Concept Royale" competition were announced via Fortnite's social media pages, their tweet can be found below: 

Congratulations to @lbdart_ and @AltaCalls, our Concept Royale winners ?

We can’t wait to see their concepts turned into in-game Outfits this Winter.

And a big thank you to everyone who shared their chilly creations with us. We are always in awe of your creativity ? pic.twitter.com/QVTCh2WvRw

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 19, 2021

 
As well as both outfits making their official debut to the game this December, the two winners each won a £1,000 cash prize.  

Jack is aiming to be a 3D marketing artist or character designer and this is in incredible accolade that will no doubt open many doors in the future. A HUGE congratulations goes to Jack. A very brighter future awaits! 

Click here to see more on Frigid Forgoer and more of Jack's amazing work

Click here to learn more about our courses in Game and Animation

Click here to sign up for our next open evening

In September we launched the Education and Early Years Career Excellence Hub, which focuses on future employability and developing the skills needed to have a successful career.

In Education and Early Years there has been an increasing emphasis of Forest Schools within the curriculum. It offers a unique educational experience using the outdoor environment as a classroom, which can increase a child's confidence and self-esteem through exploration, problem solving, and being encouraged to learn how to assess and take appropriate risks depending on their environment ... This motivation can have a positive impact on their attitude to future learning.

As we aim to develop the skills our learners need to be successful in the industry, we are creating a Forest School area at the South West Skills Campus.

Projects such as help to immerse our learners in the local community and grow their understanding of the local landscape and the impact of social action. We love seeing our learners developing their understanding on how to teach younger generations about the great outdoors and how to protect it. With each campus committed to becoming Net Zero by 2030, Weston College is creating brighter and greener future for our community.

This week our T Level students have been helping, whilst developing their knowledge around risk assessments; outdoor learning; activities with children and how the outdoor learning environment can promote positive attitudes and learning dispositions. It has been a great way of putting theory into practice and building teamwork.

Millicent said: "Working outdoors has really helped everyone work as a team", Bethany added: "It's interesting to see how some people are the planners whilst others are more hands on. It's nice how we all have our strengths, get along and work together."

As part of the #LoveOurColleges Week, we are pleased to share some photos for you to see what is going on.

Find out more:

• Courses for school leavers
• What is a T Level?
• Next open event

Our sport learners have had the amazing opportunity to be a part of Weston College’s new Sport Career Excellence Hub. This is a new Weston College initiative to enable learners real-life industry experience. With the nationwide skills shortage, getting industry experience for the next generation of workers is vital!

From the Sport Career Excellence Hubs learners can gain all of the skills needed to thrive in the industry. These can include soft skills such as being reliable, enthusiastic, and working as part of a team. These skills are transferable to any industry.

Learners will also gain specific skills for the Sport and Fitness industries. This will include coaching skills, technical expertise with gym equipment and what steps need to be taken to become an athlete. These skills will be needed for future employment and can also be transferred to a university course or an apprenticeship.

Our partners for the Sport Career Excellence Hub are some of the best sport and fitness providers in the area including Anytime Fitness, AOC Sport, Bristol Bears, Weston AFC and Future Stars Coaching.

On top of being a part of our amazing Sport Career Excellence Hub, learners will get to study at our incredible new Health and Active Living Centre at our Loxton Campus. Opened in 2019, this building features a full-sized 3G sports pitch, airy classrooms and a massive indoor sports hall with hoops for basketball, nets for badminton and a netball court. The Health and Active Living Centre was specifically designed with sport courses in mind to help learners reach their full potential.

For more information on how to apply to Weston College and join our incredible Sport Career Excellence Hub, click here.

To celebrate Hospitality Apprenticeships Week, we caught up with Dan Flannagan from the Liberation Group (one of our brand new Hospitality Career Excellence Hub endorsers), to get his thoughts on the sector, and how Weston College is supporting them.

Who are the Liberation Group (Butcombe)?

Butcombe are an award-winning range of pubs, bars and hotels with our own brewery that creates a fantastic range of stunning ales, lagers and IPA’s.  Our pubs are food led, having won the prestigious Best Food Offering Award at the National Publican Awards 2 years running.  We have an emphasis on local produce and everything we make is made from scratch, with no corners cut!

What challenges have you been facing over the last 18 months?

Like any Hospitality business, we have had a tough time with the closures of our pubs.  Everything we do is geared towards providing a great customer experience and we have really missed seeing our customers happy.  We have had some challenges around recruitment but are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel and believe that relationships with organisations such as Weston College will provide us with access to the next wave of talent in the industry.

Have you faced a skills shortage?

Our Back of House teams (kitchens) have faced the largest challenge in terms of recruitment.

How have you managed to combat these challenges?

We have created and rolled out a range of innovative solutions to help us address the recruitment challenge and believe that our best solution will always be to work with local colleges, charities and organisations that can help us identify, recruit and train the future stars of the business.

Why did you choose to work with Weston College?

We are proud of our Somerset roots and having grown our business in this area, a relationship with Weston College seemed a natural step.  Weston has a superb set up and we firmly believe that our future partnership will provide a huge benefit to both parties.

If you were starting in the sector now, what advice would they give to that young person?

I started myself in the hospitality when I was 16 years old in a hotel in Bristol and would say to anyone looking for a career in the industry, enjoy it!  Try and absorb everything you learn from your college, work placements and if you work in the industry, listen and learn from Head Chefs, General Managers etc.  It is easy in this industry to learn as people genuinely want to share their knowledge and help you develop.

If you'd like to enter the hospitality industry, you can study a course with us. Click on the link relevant link, below.

• 16-19 courses
• Apprenticeships
• Adult courses
• Find out about Career Excellence Hubs

As a Chef Apprentice you have access to an exciting masterclass programme, giving you the essential chef skills. Masterclasses are delivered monthly by industry professionals including producers and artisans including expert guest bakers, butchers and fishmongers.

Today's Chef apprentice masterclass is led by Christopher Hayes from the Stable, who are one of our Career Excellence Hub endorsers, and will guide the apprentices through cooking pan-fried steak in garlic and tyme with a béarnaise sauce, triple cooked chips and tenderstem broccoli in a chilli and roasted garlic butter.

Chris has been a chef and worked in hospitality for twenty years. He told us:

"I didn’t grow up wanting to be a chef, I knew how to cook a little as I grew up in a big family and we sat down together for dinner every night and all chipped in. I grew up wanting to be an artist and to do something creative. After leaving school I was offered a few apprenticeships but decided to take a year out and live in and work at a country hotel. They wanted to put me through my GNVQ, which I accepted, because I’d become attracted to lifestyle.

“After qualifying, I got a paid position as a Commis Chef in a renowned hotel, this is where my passion was lit, this is where I looked at chefs with respect and realised the talent and determination you need to be successful.

“It truly blew my mind, when on my first day a chef asked me to “knock some pasta up” which I thought was a first day prank - you buy pasta it’s dry, why do you need a machine to shape it? From that day I’ve never looked back. Every day there was something new to learn, thirty chefs all cool and calm doing things with food that I couldn’t even comprehend as possible!

“My creative itch was being scratched, I was earning some money and my eyes had been opened by some amazing people at what is possible and achievable in this industry.

“From those years of hard work, dedication and commitment, doors began to open and I have been fortunate enough to cook at so many places for so many different people.

“I got to find my own style and develop my own ideas on what hospitality and food should be. I’ve changed my own mind on who chefs really are and what is possible.

“I’ve developed interpersonal skills, ethics, manners and friendships all working in a kitchen. I’ve shared my knowledge and skills with others, worked as a team, put others before myself, accepted other personalities, received the best training. I’m still learning today and still excited by what is possible.”

Find out more about being a Chef Apprentice:

• Courses and Apprenticeships for school leavers
• Next open event
• Hospitality apprenticeships week #MoreThanAJob

Weston College and University Centre Weston alumni Jack Kimmins is proving his amazing talents in computing as he is selected for the finals of the WorldSkills national competition. 

WorldSkills UK is an independent charity that works with employers, education and governments, supporting young people across the world via competitions-based training, testing their ability to achieve world-class standards in the biennial ‘skills olympics’. 

Over 3,000 people registered to take part in the UK-wide competitions in March  2021 and Jack is one of 400 who made it into the finals, which is split into 64 disciplines.

Jack is competing in the Web Design category which is to take place in Weston-super-Mare, hosted by Weston College.

Talking about the selection process, Jack commented: "To get into the finals, I first had to make it into the semi-finals, which involved creating a suitable website design that met a predefined client's brief. Then, to qualify for the national finals, I had to build a website using HTML and CSS that met specific requirements and that was based upon a website wireframe design."

The College will host the prestigious WorldSkills UK National Web Design Competition from Wednesday 17^th November – Friday 19^th November, with the winners being crowned at a ceremony hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern from her Packed Lunch studio on Friday 26 November. 

This exciting announcement is just one of the fantastic career enhancing opportunities available at the college, through the newly launched Career Excellence Hubs. 

At the College each subject area forms its own specific Career Excellence Hub, endorsed by relevant sector employers which help to create a study programme with lots of career boosting benefits, WorldSkills competing opportunities is one of these.

Jack continued: "The support that I have been provided throughout my journey with WorldSkills has been excellent. I have attended every meeting and practice session available to me, which has enabled me to focus on the distinct details of the competition.

"I'm very proud that I have made it this far in the competition and to represent my university in the national finals.

"This opportunity has enabled me to expand my knowledge and practical abilities with web development. It is also given me more self-trust in my abilities, as it being a competition, the nature of it requires you to have a degree of confidence in your skills to be successful in it."

We wish Jack the very best of luck with the finals and continuing to succeed with his Masters degree. A very bright future ahead!

Click here to read more about our Computing and IT department, including the Career Excellence Hubs

Click here to read more about our other WorldSkills Finalists