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.
Christmas can be difficult for anyone, at any point in their life. You might be struggling this year for the first time. This may be because things are different to previous years, or you may have found Christmas difficult in the past, and you're dreading it again this year. Through the ups and downs of the next few weeks, you won't be alone.
Below you will find information on certain elements of our Christmas support package, including our ‘Let’s Chat’ project along with some other really useful and supportive information and networks to keep you and your family safe and well this Christmas. This and much more, can be found on Wellbeing @ Weston SharePoint site that is the home to lots of wellbeing related information and resources together with other useful links and contacts.
If your life is at risk, act immediately please:
- call 999 for an ambulance
- go straight to A&E, if you can
- call your local crisis team, if you have their number.
If you can't do this by yourself, ask someone to help you. Mental health emergencies are serious. You're not wasting anyone's time. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Take care, from all the Weston College staff and governors
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A hub of resources to help with resilience, esteem, relaxation, moving, eating, anxiety, uncertainty, stress, social media and much more. |
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A safe community to support your mental health 24/7. |
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Your online mental wellbeing community. Free, safe and anonymous support. |
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Call 116 123. Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you 24/7. |
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For 24/7 support in a crisis, text YM to 85258. |
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Call 01934 411464. |
Please note: Our campus buildings will close on Friday 24 December 2021 and will reopen on Tuesday 4 January 2022 for the College’s Christmas break.
Who let the dogs in?! Photography did...
Loxton Campus was recently visited by an incredible crew of canine companions as our Photography department hosted free dog photoshoots for the public.
The student-led sessions, that sold out in less than 1 hour, allowed learners from Level 2 and Level 3 Photography courses to take on a number of different job roles including: Photographer, Photographer's assistant, Studio Manager and Meeter and Greeter. As well as practicing practical and technical skills using challenging subjects, the learners gained invaluable experience working with the public.
Jo Halladey, Lecturer in Photography added: "We had a fantastic response to our Dog Photoshoot sessions resulting in our Level 3 Photography students having 3 full days of studio work.
"The experience they gained from working with members of the public and in particular working with all kinds of different dogs from Labradoodles to Pomchis, old and very young has added to their skillset and made them even more ready for the industry. We are hoping to do a cat version next year... Watch this space!"
Experiences such as this are one of the many career-boosting benefits that come to students by being part of the Creative Arts Career Excellence Hub.
These employer endorsed Hubs unlock many exciting opportunities for learners. From guest speakers to industry placements, connecting with the industry helps to make our courses as fresh and relevant as possible so that you leave college with more than just a qualification.
Following the free photoshoots, the department are asking for donations to Many Tears Rescue: A dog rescue charity whose buildings were severely damaged by recent storms.
Click here to:
Last week hospitality learners had the opportunity to chat with TV Personality and Luxury Hotelier, Alex Polizzi. Alex was joined by Head of Food and Beverage at the Polizzi Collection, Sergio Paolo, as both answered questions about the industry, to inspire the next generation of hospitality workers.
Alex, a renowned English hotelier, and star of The Hotel Inspector is a hugely successful businesswoman in the world of hospitality. Recently, Alex opened the doors to a camera crew as she documented the journey of renovating then opening a Grade II listed inn through Lockdown.
Her latest venture, The Star; a 30-bedroom boutique hotel in Sussex opened successfully in Easter 2020 despite numerous challenges including renovation delays, staffing, and working around lockdown.
Sandra Bull, Dean of Faculty for Hospitality and Catering at Weston College, said: “It was fantastic to welcome Alex and Sergio to the college, as they shared about the highs and lows of working in a constantly evolving hospitality sector.
“Our learners enjoyed hearing from two people that have such a wealth of experience, and they were all inspired by the talk.
“The partnership won’t stop there either, we will be working collaboratively with Alex to ensure that we are delivering training needed by employers and preparing our learners for life in the industry.”
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, added: “The hospitality industry has had a really difficult time over the last 18 months, and both locally and nationally, there has been a shortage of staff.
“Through our Career Excellence Hub at Weston College, we feel it is important to connect learners with the industry, working closely with employers to co-design our programmes, and also deliver sessions to our learners. We believe that this will prepare our learners with the skills needed, not just to enter the workplace, but to have long and successful careers.
“It was great to meet Alex and Sergio, who offered such wonderful advice to people getting ready to enter the industry – proving that you can create a career from your passion. I’m looking forward to continuing this partnership and seeing the exciting progress of our hospitality learners.”
Discover more about our hospitality courses, below:
The Education sector is one of the UK’s biggest industries. The demand for trained childcare workers is increasing and the need for teachers is growing. With over 32,000 schools in the UK and over 634,000 teaching roles, there are lots of exciting opportunities available for our learners. In a post pandemic world, employers want to recruit the best and with the industry demand increasing, we want to provide our learners with the platform to maximise their true potential!
With the launch of our new Education and Early Years Career Excellence Hubs, our learners will now be equipped with 21st Century employability skills and develop the skills they need to prepare them for the world of work. The Education and Early years Career Excellence Hub gives our learners the chance to build their hard skills like safeguarding and health and safety skills and soft skills like problem solving and communication.
Education and Early Years is an exciting and varied industry, with lots of different career paths to take. Some of which include, early years teacher, primary school teacher, secondary school teacher and education consultant. Our newly opened state of the art Education and Early Years hub at our Knightstone Campus have been developed in conjunction with the Career Excellence Hub endorsers: Busy Buddies, Little Bears, DaisyChain, Mendip Green, YMCA and Storal Learning, who ensure that not only that the course content includes insights from industry leaders, but also that the new facilities will be industry standard to give them real-life work experience. Having the Career Excellence Hub equips our learners with ‘real world learning’ to prepare them for their chosen career destination.
For more information on how to apply to Weston College and join our amazing Education Career Excellence Hub, click here.
Hair and Beauty is an exciting, fun and fulfilling industry to work in, it is responsible for over 250,000 jobs in the UK and is rapidly increasing! With the UK aiming for high career growth as it emerges from the pandemic, employers are wanting to recruit the best talent to succeed in a post Brexit economy. We aim to provide our learners with the perfect learning environment for them to reach their full potential in their chosen career path!
Career Excellence Hubs have been launched to allow learners to develop skills for life, it allows students to take part in their chosen study programme filled with lots of career boosting benefits, preparing them to be career ready when their programme has been completed.
Through the Hair and Beauty Career Excellence Hub our learners have the opportunity to work within state-of-the-art industry-standard facilities which include a total of five purpose-built commercial salons, a nail salon and a specialist media make-up facility. With these facilities our learners can develop their soft and hard skills catered to their chosen career path and equip them with employability skills that they can use to succeed in their future careers. Career Excellence Hub is endorsed by local businesses such as The Hair Bar, Beauty Spot, Weston Beauty Clinic and M Beauty. These endorsers have helped develop the courses to provide our learners with enhanced work experience and ‘real world learning’.
Hannah Hoskin-Love from The Beauty Spot has said “Interaction between business 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. Clear communication from and targeted support from employers and colleges through this transition is much needed. 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.”
For more information on our amazing Career Excellence Hub for Hair and Beauty, click here.
Weston College has been announced as the only Ofsted Outstanding education providers offering the HGV Skills Bootcamps.
The Government announced the Skills Bootcamp in October, and it is part of the Skills for Life initiative, with the aim of training 5,000 (new and returning) people to become HGV drivers.
The HGV Skills Bootcamps offer participants free, flexible courses that last up to 16 weeks, with those that successfully complete the course being guaranteed a job interview.
Weston College will be offering a range of courses, training participants to be road ready and gain licences for Cat C, Cat CE and upskills with qualifications such as ADR (Hazfreight).
Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, Dr Paul Phillips, said: “It has been well reported that there is a driver shortage and the impact that is having on our nation, these bootcamps are designed to help this situation they will not only support employers in the region that need additional drivers, but they will also offer people in our community the opportunity to learn new skills, and gain the relevant qualifications needed to get a job in an industry which is full of opportunities.”
“We are delighted to be one of the providers offering these life-changing courses at our state-of-the-art Construction Training Centre just off junction 21 of the M5. We are looking forward to seeing new drivers out on the road, following completion of the Skills Bootcamp and helping logistics employers find their new recruits to help get Britain back on track!”
This Skills Bootcamp is aimed at two categories of candidate:
Individuals who have no, or limited, prior experience of driving HGVs.
Already qualified HGV drivers who require additional qualifications, such as an ADR licence or wish to upgrade from HGV Cat C to CE.
The College has courses running across January, February and March. All courses have limited spaces left - so don't delay! Start your journey by registering your interest here or calling 01934 411 147
If you’re an employer and looking at either upskilling your existing staff or wanting to recruit learners that complete these courses visit our employer page or call 01275 465555
Our employer endorsed Creative Arts Career Excellence Hub unlocks so many exciting opportunities for learners.
From guest speakers to industry placements, connecting with the industry helps to make our courses as fresh and relevant as possible so that you leave college with more than just a qualification.
Here's Tash from Level 3 Performing Arts to tell us about her journey so far! ?
Click here to learn more about our courses in Performing Arts
Marvin Muoneke (Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice) headed back to his former college recently to thank students for creating his latest music video – “Santa, I Can Explain!”.
The singer songwriter challenged four media students to create and film the video ahead of the singles’ release on Friday 3rd December.
Marvin graduated from studying Music Performance at University Centre Weston 4 years ago and was keen to work with the talented students in the Media Department.
The 26-year-old said: “I am so excited to release my second Christmas single! It was recorded in lockdown last year with a good friend of mine, the singer, Andy in the Hat.
We wanted a video made that encapsulated the fun and quirky lyrics and the video was perfect!”
Producer James Sunley, 17, from East Brent, said: “We had only just made our own music video for a college project and when Marvin asked us to be involved in his Christmas video for the single, we jumped at the chance to work with two professional musicians & singers.”
Editor Max Corrigan, 19, added: “I can’t wait to become an editor in the media industry and this was also a perfect chance to build up a portfolio. Working with Marvin and Andy was great fun and we were able to plan the project, film and edit to produce a video that is festive and entertaining.”
Well done to all of the learners involved and congratulations to Marvin on the single release - Thank-you for involving the talented team!
Cinematographer: Blake Hemmings, 17
Director: Lowe Sur, 18
Editor: Max Corrigan, 19
Producer: James Sunley, 17
Photographer: Holly Found, 17
The Weston College Group and Seetec Pluss have formed a strategic partnership to create a new Employment Centre in Weston-super-Mare. The Centre will help individuals looking for employment support and training with the shared goal of assisting adults into jobs with local employers.
The Weston Employment Centre, based opposite the College’s Knightstone Campus in central Weston, will enable a collaborative approach to support individuals accessing help from Seetec Pluss through its employment support services, and where appropriate then accessing Weston College education and skills programmes to aid a positive employment progression.
Principal Dr Paul Phillips CBE commented: “Seetec Pluss is a leading provider of work and wellbeing services that inspires thousands of people to find and progress in work each year, this is a perfect partner for us in our mission to create brighter futures for our community. If you’ve found yourself out of work, Seetec Pluss, with Weston College, can help boost your confidence, skills and get you back into work.”
Stewart Holdsworth, Strategic Partnerships Director, from Seetec Pluss said: “With many people being affected by the pandemic, Seetec Pluss is excited to be working in partnership with Weston College to offer employment support to those seeking a new job or career. Weston College are a key partner for Seetec, a responsive training provider with excellent training facilities. Together we look forward to ensuring many people across the region receive employability training and support, transitioning into careers with local employers.”
There will be a series of 1–2-week short courses which are FREE and have been designed to help unemployed people retrain or upskill to start a career within a new industry. The Centre will also offer individual coaching and mentoring plus 1:1 employment support advice session. Also employers can utilise this partnership to help fill job vacancies and address skills gaps.
The Weston Employment Centre can be found opposite Weston College’s Knightstone Campus on Lower Church Road. The Centre will be open during office hours, Monday to Friday throughout the calendar year. The Centre is encouraging people to drop in to ask questions, or to view the support and training offer visit: www.weston.ac.uk/seetec or call 0800 334 5525
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.
