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.

The heart of our College is YOU and you MATTER

Throughout all of November and December, our themed month "You Matter" will focus on providing and promoting resources and methods to love yourself, support yourself and protect yourself. 

This themed month will cover topics such as:

• Sexual harassment
• Drugs and alcohol
• Relationships
• Equality and sex
• Wellbeing and Connectivity

On our dedicated SharePoint site for learners, you will find links to great resources and videos from Let's Chat, qualified therapists, support sites, links to our college Welfare and the 5 emotion areas where you will find resources and lessons which your tutors may go through with you in I.D. If you do not cover these sessions in I.D. and you want to find out more, you may wish to have a look at these lessons  as they will have some great ideas on how to support yourselves with these emotions.

You'll also have access to our training modules: "DARES". "DARES" is about getting informed about Drugs, Alcohol, Relationships, Equality and Sex/Sexual Health. You will find out about keeping safe around drugs and alcohol, and how to keep healthy relationships. 

What to look out for:

• Let's Chat sessions
• Posters all around the college campuses
• Content and resources on the You Matter SharePoint page
• Weekly social media posts (Make sure you're following our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
• Range of guest speakers on topics such: Sexual Harassment, Drugs, crime and prison, 'P*rn: What's the big deal?'

So set your self some time to focus on YOU - make yourselves a cup of tea or coffee, get out a pen and paper to write down some top tips and take a look around the our SharePoint page!

Click here to access the You Matter content and resources

On the morning of Friday 15th October, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP visited GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bristol to see first-hand how GKN Aerospace is shaping a more sustainable future of flight.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss MP, officially opened the £32M centre, which was jointly funded by GKN Aerospace and the Aerospace Technology Centre (ATI). The Cabinet Ministers saw the break-through technologies being developed, from advanced and lightweight composites today, to the use of precision robotics for the manufacture of next generation wings. The Weston College Group work in partnership with GKN Aerospace as a training provider and as part of this visit the Prime Minister spent time discussing the skills required by the workforce of the future with the Weston College Group’s Principal and Chief Executive Dr Paul Phillips CBE, and Degree Apprentices from GKN and Airbus.

Conversations revolved around Zero Carbon Emissions for aerospace for the future and the necessary development of new fuel and energy systems. With each campus committed to reaching Net Zero by 2030, Weston College partners with high standard organisations such as GKN that help to create brighter and greener futures. 

The Prime Minister also saw how apprentices had access to the latest technology being developed for the manufacture of tomorrows aircraft and the group discussed the use of composites, robotics and augmented reality with demonstrations from GKN engineers.

The apprentices were also able to share their degree apprenticeship journey and how they saw the experience benefiting them from being able to study for their degree whilst having the exciting experience of working on the next generation of aircraft as GKN Aerospace and Airbus apprentices. Dr Phillips commented: “I felt honoured to be able to outline to the Prime Minister the exciting partnership that has been established with the GKN Global Technology Centre and the inspiration apprentices are taking from studying in the Weston College, West of England’s Institute of Technology dedicated on-site training facilities. I was also very proud to see our degree apprentices voicing their knowledge and experience, it was a thoroughly insightful and enjoyable morning.”

Image: The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Liz Truss visit GKN Aerospace in Bristol. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Here is some useful information for those sitting GCSE exams this November:

English

• Paper 1 - Monday 1st November, 9am
• Paper 2 - Wednesday 3rd November, 9am

Maths

• Paper 1 (NC) - Tuesday 2nd November, 9am
• Paper 2 (C) -   Thursday 4th November, 9am
• Paper 3 (C) -   Monday 8th November, 9am

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited Weston-super-Mare today (22nd October) to formally open the refurbishment of the iconic Winter Gardens and the brand-new University Centre Weston (UCW) facilities which also houses the Law and Professional Services Academy.

Back in 2015, North Somerset Council approached the Weston College Group with the proposition of transferring the building to the College’s ownership in order to secure its future by restoring the historic 1920s portion of the building for community use and redeveloping the little-used 1980s conference facilities into an educational centre for UCW.

In 2017, the Winter Gardens Pavilion reopened to the public after the extensive renovation and refurbishment, which saw £15 million spent on improving the building’s public facilities and creating an educational centre for Higher Education.

During the visit today, The Princess Royal met key members of the College leadership team including Dr Paul Phillips CBE, the College’s Principal and Chief Executive, as well as local dignitaries including the High Sherriff, Thomas Sheppard, Chairman of North Somerset Council, Cllr Richard Westwood, Chief Inspector Avon and Somerset Police, Steve Kendall and the Mayor and Town Chairman, Cllr James Clayton.

Her Royal Highness took a tour of the UCW facilities, and met students and staff working with VR technology and Hi-fidelity interactive manikins for health and social care, climate monitoring and Smart Home connectivity solutions for the digital sector, and then in the Winter Garden’s iconic ballroom The Princess Royal witnessed Musical Theatre students rehearsing for their upcoming Broadway show with the composer and lyricist in New York, along with the director in London streaming into the lesson to critique. The visit culminated with The Princess Royal unveiling a commemorative plaque.

Commenting on the visit Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “I am very proud to see where the Weston College Group is today, and how we have contributed to the regeneration of Weston-super-Mare through the creation of inspiring facilities for both leaners and the community.

Since 2001 under Dr Phillips leadership the College Group has grown exponentially where aside from the College and University Centre students, it also leads on prisoner education in 19 prisons across the country involving 11,000 learners, with a positive impact on re-offending with those involved.

The College has also been recognised for its transformational approach to creating outstanding progression results for students with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and creating an ethos which celebrates inclusive practice which has driven the College’s mission, strategic plan and ambitions for all its students, regardless of their starting point in life.

Dr Phillips added; “I feel both honoured and privileged to welcome and share this impressive redevelopment with The Princess Royal; this is her third visit to the College, The Princess Royal opened Loxton Campus in 2008 and then South West Skills Campus in 2018.”

Cllr Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for placemaking and economy, said: “The redevelopment of the Winter Gardens and the extremely important partnership we have with Weston College Group has played a key role in the wider regeneration of Weston town centre. Education is an important part of the mix in a vibrant and successful town centre economy."

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.