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.
On Wednesday we welcomed Ben, from the Royal Navy to talk to students in their first and second year from the Public Services Career Excellence Hub.
It was a fascinating insight into what a career in the Royal Navy is like, with Ben delivering a session on his experiences, covering aspects such as training and traveling. He also shared the wide variety of career paths with the Royal Navy.
Learners were fully engaged, and were then given the opportunity to ask questions to Ben, who gave an honest assessment on life within the Royal Navy, which inspired learners. Key themes brought up included how special it is to be part of the Royal Navy, how teamwork is a critical part of the career and also how it is an honour to protect the nation.
Learners from our Public Services courses go into a range of careers, from the emergency services to the military, and we feel it is important to provide learners with the opportunity to engage with industry and get a deeper understanding into what each career is like.
A big thank you to Ben for visiting us.
Find out more about our Public Services courses, by clicking here.
Scaffolding apprentices training at the Construction Training Centre, are going from strength to strength.
Before the Construction Training Centre opened, learners from the South West had long distances to travel in order to gain scaffolding accreditation, but now that is not the case.
Delivered in partnership with SIMIAN, the Scaffolding Apprenticeship is accredited to the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS). On the apprenticeship, learners develop their knowledge and work-based skills focusing on health and safety; handling, stacking, servicing and inspecting scaffolding materials.
Last year we started working Apex Scaffolding, and four of their apprentices are thriving as a result.
Curtis is currently at Stage 1a of his apprenticeship. He is particularly enjoying the hands-on aspect of the course and being part of a team that allows him to gain the valuable skills necessary for supporting colleagues as and when needed.
Kieran and Sam are currently at Stage 1b of their course, and both enjoy the wide variety of sites and project that a scaffolding career allows them to work on.
Charlie is in the very initial stages of his apprenticeship but is eager to learn more throughout the course at the Weston centre.
Matthew Cousins, Commercial Director at Apex Scaffolding, has said: “For anyone who is considering the apprenticeship route to becoming a scaffolder, the team have shown they’re able to provide excellent tuition, especially when candidates require the extra functional skills course of English and Maths.”
Are you looking for your next step in becoming a healthcare professional? We have some great news for you!
At Weston College, we believe that a T Level in Health is the perfect course to help you gain vital skills, develop professional AND academic knowledge and kickstart your career!
Delivered at our Health and Active Living Skills Centre (HALSC), Health T Level learners benefit from our top-of-the-range, industry-standard facilities. These include the Immersive Simulation Room – built to act as preparation for a real hospital environment.
Studying a T Level in Health means you'll get the best of both worlds: a top-notch technical qualification, plus real-world experience that will give you a competitive edge when it comes to career development.
T Levels are now considered the new gold standard in technical qualifications, a key part of training the next wave of healthcare workers. Our courses are designed in collaboration with leading industry professionals to provide you with the skills you need to succeed in a career in health.
Students studying Health T Level are given the opportunity to work within the health industry, with many learners completing placements at hospitals and clinics like BRI, Weston and Sirona across areas such as cardiology, orthopaedics and trauma.
Within these highly sought-after placements, students are encouraged to learn about physical diagnosis and treatment with the support of experienced nurses, doctors and other health professionals. This way of studying pushes our learners to develop their technical knowledge by learning about medical equipment and clinical tasks, as well as about the patients themselves. Learners gain experience working with people from different backgrounds and become more familiar and confident in understanding a range of patient needs and how to approach them.
With this in mind, we’re shining a spotlight on our amazing second year Health T Level learners by celebrating the shining success they’ve had throughout their recent industry placements at BRI, Weston and Sirona.
Industry professional mentors have given our learners, Rubie, Bella, Maddie, Ellie, Chris and Maya, glowing reviews – stating they are “amazing and confident! They are able to speak to patients, support with observations, answer call bells and monitor food and fluid intakes. They have integrated into the team and have shown such enthusiasm to learn and ask questions.”
We also caught up with learner, Christiana, who told us:
“My work placement was at Weston General Hospital
I absolutely loved it, having hands on experience in the hospital was so beneficial to my education and supported me in learning how to apply what I learnt in college to real life. The staff were all so welcoming and eager to show me the ropes.
My favourite part of my placement was learning the tricks of the trade and using the different equipment in a clinical setting. I also enjoyed exploring different parts of the hospital such as radiology and the surgical department and talking to different members of the multidisciplinary team.”
Amazing stuff!
To find out more about why you should study a T Level in Health, click here.
To discover more opportunities in T Levels, click here.
Last Wednesday, we welcomed Hydrock to our South West Skills Campus, to inspire our T Level learners from Engineering and Civil Engineering.
Employer engagement and focussing on careers is a key part of our course delivery, with learners gaining insight from industry to enhance their learning experience.
Hydrock who are passionate about addressing global challenges through smart engineering solutions, delivered three engaging sessions to our learners, which focussed on sustainability, and also developing key soft skills required by employers.
The sessions included:
- Future Communities – learners designed their own community
- Soft Skills Development – several activities which aimed to develop communication, empathy and assertiveness
- Career and CV Workshop
Dave LeFeuvre, Subject Area Manager for Building Services, said: “I would like to say a big thank you to Hydrock, who delivered some really creative activities for our learners, which got them thinking outside the box to tackle challenges. The learners have commented on how beneficial they found the experience.
“On the back of this session, several of our learners are now looking to complete their industry placement with Hydrock, which is fantastic news.
“At Weston College we feel it is important to connect our students with employers, to bring industry to life in the classroom.”
Find out more about our T Level courses by click the course of interest, below.
Weston College has made it through as a finalist for two categories in the prestigious AoC Beacon Awards.
Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards celebrate the best and most innovative practice among UK colleges each year and this announcement marks the second stage in the Awards process.
The categories Weston College are finalist in include:
- The Nous Group Award for Education for Sustainable Development
- The AoC Award for Excellence in Governance
Mark White OBE DL, Chair of AoC’s Charitable Trust said:
“The AoC Beacon Awards showcase exactly why colleges are so important to every community and why people value them.
“The AoC Award for Excellence in Governance recognises the critical role undertaken by boards, governors and governance professionals developing capacity for sustained improvement in the quality of provision for students.”
“The Nous Group Award for Education for Sustainable Development recognises colleges who are acting on climate change, being innovative and moving to Net Zero. The work of the finalists highlights how seriously colleges are taking Education for Sustainable Development and we’re delighted that so many colleges have already adopted the FE Climate Action Roadmap.”
The AoC Beacon Award Winners will be announced in Spring 2023.
Engineering Degree Apprentice, Jack Kitsell, named as runner up in the Apprentice of the Year category, at the national Association of Colleges’ (AoC), Student of the Year Awards.
Each year, the AoC Student of the Year awards celebrate truly unique students from colleges across England who deserve recognition and will go on to inspire others.
These awards are an opportunity to highlight outstanding and exceptional individuals and showcase their achievements, talents and successes. These students have gone above and beyond to give back and positively impact their college and community.
Sir Paul Phillips, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “I am so proud of Jack, who has gone above and beyond in his studies and also his apprenticeship role. He produced consistently fantastic results and been very supportive to the apprentices in his cohort – well done Jack!”
Corrienne Peasgood, AoC President, added: “Each year the level of applications is extremely high, and it goes to show the fantastic work that students are doing in colleges as well as the lengths colleges go to support their students. Well done Jack on being running up should be extremely proud.”
Weston College Law learners celebrated their achievements at the Bristol Law Society Awards, which took place at the Bristol Marriott City Centre Hotel on the 3rd November.
The awards were a huge success, with over 200 attendees from across the legal sector in attendance.
From a Weston College point of view, several of our CILEx learners made the final shortlist, which was a fantastic achievement in such a competitive award show.
We also celebrated the amazing achievement of Charlotte, who recently completed her Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice, and won Support Team Member of the Year.
Charlotte, said: "It’s great to have so many alternative routes into law nowadays - the profession is accessible to such a wide demographic of people. CILEx helps diversify the fabric of our law system and I’m proud to say that I’ve qualified through this route."
Dean of Faculty for Professional Studies, Access to HE and Animal Science, Helen George, said: “We are so proud of our Law students, and it was brilliant to see so many people who trained at Weston College, at the Bristol Law Society Awards.
“We were particularly proud of two learners: Gemma who was a finalist for the Law Student of the Year, and Charlotte, who won Support Team Member of the Year. They have both shown a determination to succeed and have blown us away with their attitude to learning. Well done to them both.”
You can find out more about our Law offer, by clicking here.
The Education Department in HMP Eastwood Park have been nominated and awarded the Governor’s 'Value Champion' Award for teamwork. The team deliver and support education for 360 women from Entry Level 1 up to full degrees.
The internal award is part of the prison’s core values – Compassion, Respect, Ambition, Fairness and Teamwork. The new Governor has been recognising individuals and teams that embody each of these values. September 2022 was the ‘Teamwork Value’ month, and the Education Department were nominated by their prison colleagues.
The Education Department at HMP Eastwood Park won the award for working extremely hard throughout periods of uncertainty and difficulty, such as COVID restrictions, and have achieved fantastic results for their learners. Furthermore, they work closely with their prison colleagues to ensure even the most challenging women get the opportunity to achieve.
The Education Department have delivered some outstanding results especially in the Functional Skills department. In 2021 - 2022 they achieved the highest Functional Skills results in the female estate, and they were 5th out of all the prisons in the country. Furthermore, the Education Department has an excellent relationship with their wider colleagues and work in partnership with lots of other departments.
Victoria Jenkins, the Assistant Curriculum Manager of the Education Department, said: “We couldn’t have won the award without the whole team. Every member is so crucial. We are an integral part of the prison not just for the prisoners but for the staff as well, and we are a successful department because of our strong relationship with our colleagues and strong management from our Curriculum Manager, Darren Lewis.”
Are you interested in pursuing a qualification that not only gives you in-depth knowledge and understanding in the classroom, but also utilises the workplace to help you learn and develop?
A T Level could be the best pathway for you!
Weston College offers a vast range of exciting and industry-relevant T Level courses. From Accounting to Education and Childcare, you can progress towards a career in any field you choose while gaining real-world experience!
Created with industry in mind, T Levels have been designed with leading businesses and employers to give you the knowledge and skills you need. To find out more about the wide range of T Levels on offer at Weston College, click here.
Recently we sat down with second year Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning learner, Josh, to find out about his experience studying a T Level at Weston College.
Designed and developed in collaboration with key employers from the construction sector, such as Wessex Water, Galliford Try and Balfour Beatty, the T Level Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning programme is a mixture of college and work-based learning. This gives our learners the technical skills and workplace experience they need to kick-start their construction career.
Josh, who is currently thriving in a work placement with Real Group Ltd. in Bristol, tells us how he was drawn to T Level study due to the experience you can gain.
Real Group Ltd. Is a contractor, developer and investor company that works in partnership with local authorities, registered providers and private clients to create high-quality, vibrant communities.
Josh explains:
“At Real Group Ltd. I am responsible for a vast swathe of things, mainly take-offs for fire stopping, paint, skirting/architrave, and payment notices for sub-contractors. I very much enjoy it and I really feel like a valued member of the team.”
We also asked Josh; how has your course helped equip you for the workplace?
“I've learnt the early stages of Quantity Surveying work, which is getting utilised to its fullest here!
My plans, after T Levels, are a degree apprenticeship with a construction firm doing Quantity Surveying. with the relationships I've made within my placement, I'm sure there will be some firms who would run at the chance to take me on.”
Is there any advice you would like to give someone thinking about embarking on a T Level in Design Surveying and Planning?
“My main advice would be: know what you want and be ready for a lot of tough work. You need to be passionate because that passion will flourish, letting you really excel in your field!”
Amazing work Josh!
If you would like to find out more about T Level Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning, click here.
To find our more about all of the T Level opportunities available at Weston College, 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.
