Weston College will be holding a unique open event that will bring together prospective students and employers wishing to recruit apprentices in a variety of sectors.

Businesses from across the region with live apprenticeship vacancies will be at the College’s Knightstone Campus from 5pm to 8pm on Tuesday 15th March in order to provide information about their companies, describe the job roles available and answer any questions.

Some of the employers will also offer interactive workshops at the event, which is being held to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week.

Among employers attending the open evening will be: Purplex Marketing, Honey Tree Nursery, Concierge and Notaro Homes.

Training managers from the College will be available throughout the evening to discuss apprenticeships and share apprentice portfolios to give people an understanding of what is expected of an apprentice.

The Weston College Apprenticeships Team will also be in attendance to offer advice and guidance on apprenticeships and traineeships, and will be on hand to support attendees with applications and CVs.

All three of the College’s campuses will be open and representatives from all courses and subject areas will be available to provide advice and guidance.

Dr Paul Phillips OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “This year we wanted to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week in style and this open evening is a great way to do that. It presents a fantastic opportunity for anyone of any age that wants to become an apprentice to meet with employers who are currently recruiting.

“Apprenticeships are a key focus for Weston College as we recognise the importance of them to help drive the economy and develop the skills that businesses need.

Register below to reserve a place at the event:

Weston College is widely known as an outstanding provider of education, but it also has been successfully changing the face of Weston-super-Mare for decades by transforming underused and unloved buildings into award-winning facilities.

Take a look at the below images to see how the College has changed over the years, and find out about the many successful building projects it has completed…

Knightstone Campus

Opened in 1970, the College’s Knightstone Campus was the first College building to be constructed. Built in a typically brutalist style, the College has invested significantly over the years to modernise the building, creating a new entrance atrium in 1998.

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Loxton Campus

The College’s second campus, which includes its Sixth Form Centre, was built on the site of the former Broadoak Sixth Form College. The site was renovated and reopened in 2008.

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South West Skills Campus

The South West Skills Campus started life as Bushacre Business park. The College moved into the former Clarks shoe factory initially, and as provision grew the site expanded into the roadside industrial units and Renault garage. This renovation earned the College a nomination for two building excellence awards.

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Weston College Conference Centre

Built in 1892, the Hans Price-designed Conference Centre was refurbished from a derelict state in 2012, winning the Somerset Trust ‘Building of the Year’ award and earning a nomination for an English Heritage Angel Award in the process.

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Law and Professional Services Academy

Weston College bought the former Arosfa Hotel in January 2016 and spent millions of pounds on much-needed renovation work to the row of Victorian terraced houses. The building opened for teaching and student accommodation in September the same year.

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Winter Gardens Pavilion

The College reopened the Winter Gardens Pavilion to the public in September 2018. The public now benefits from updated facilities, a new modern British restaurant and a new cafe.

Click here for more before and after pictures of the Winter Gardens Pavilion.

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The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Joint Committee has agreed £8.7 million in funding for two Weston College projects.

UPDATE TO ARTICLE – Both brand new facilities have since opened. Click here to visit our facilities page.

The College will now be able to create two new centres which will focus on teaching skills in key priority sectors for the West of England.

£3.3 million will be put towards creating an Construction Training Centre, and a further £5.4 million will go towards creating a Health and Active Living Skills Centre. These new centres will address a number of skills shortages in the local area, as well as creating jobs and benefitting businesses. The Health and Active Living Skills Centre will be community-focused and seek to improve health and wellbeing across Weston and North Somerset.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “This announcement confirms our intention to now enhance construction skills, health, wellbeing and fitness across North Somerset.

“Our facilities, including the Winter Gardens and university centre development will provide state of the art learning and resources across a range of qualification levels and sectors, meaning that local people will benefit from unprecedented access to learning opportunities including degrees.

“These new centres will give us the complete resources to meet the growing demand for these skills across the region, particularly in terms of Hinkley Point C.”

This announcement comes at the end of a successful month for Weston College, which saw its higher education provision, University Centre Weston, graded Gold under the Teaching Excellence Framework – putting it above many Russell Group universities and among the top 20% of university-level education providers in the country and on par with Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Tim Bowles, West of England Mayor, said: “Through the Local Growth Fund the Joint Committee can approve projects that will deliver much needed infrastructure. North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and the wider region will benefit from these projects approved today to improve skills in engineering, construction and health.”

Professor Steve West, Interim Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Approval for these projects show that we can work together to make the West an attractive option for business and industry. These are important steps in ensuring that we have the right skills in the right sectors coming through for the long term.”

So your secondary education is coming to an end and you're faced with many choices...

Different people learn in different ways, and some may choose to stay on at a local sixth form. For the majority of local school leavers, Weston College is a popular option due to the diverse range of courses and wanting to experience a fresh environment with a lively and exciting atmosphere as well.

If you're considering College but are unsure about how it compares to school, read on!

As part of your learning experience at Weston College you'll have access to the full Microsoft Office 365 online dashboard.

Simply use your College login (given to you during enrolment) to access a range of features...

Help and advice for using Microsoft Office 365 apps and software is available through the LibraryPlus service at each of our main campuses.

You can book a one-to-one session with a LibraryPlus learning technologist to help you get the most from Office 365.

This year Weston College hospitality students will get the opportunity to learn from renowned chef, Mikey Bain.

Mikey enjoys a growing reputation in the industry, having learnt under some of the UK’s best chefs such as Ramon Farthing and Martin Burge who have successfully run Michelin Star restaurants. Having served a great tutelage under these chefs, it wasn’t long before Mikey was running his own kitchen. He had great success here too, having achieved 2 AA rosettes whilst running the kitchen at Beechfield House Hotel. Mikey is now Senior Sous chef at Calcot Manor.

Sandra Bull, Divisional Lead for Hair, Beauty, Hospitality and Catering at Weston College said: “We are delighted to welcome Mikey to the team through the chef’s forum. He has had a great career so far and has a lot of experience to share with our students."

Mikey added: “I am thrilled to be presented with this opportunity, and cannot wait to get started. Learning from industry professionals has really helped me grow into the chef I am today, and I would love to share my expertise to help future chefs.”

For more information on our hospitality offering, click here.

On Monday (14) January, five of Bristol’s most highly-skilled chefs helped 40 young people from three catering colleges serve up a mouth-watering meal for 70 extremely discerning diners in one of the most famed catering colleges in the country. Nearly £500 was raised to support young people with travel costs in accessing work experience, essential equipment and helping colleges to fund employer trips, visits and feeder school travel to college events.

Heads of School for service industries, catering and hospitality from three colleges: Weston College, City of Bristol College and Coleg Gwent, each brought a team of front of house and kitchen students to work in the kitchens with the visiting chefs and a thoroughly inspirational day was had by all.

The Chefs’ Forum bridges the gap between industry and education and by hosting the Chefs’ Lunch in what is now the seventh year of The Chefs’ Forum. 

Guiding the students from the three participating colleges on the day were Elisabeth Julienne from Gambas on the starter, Saravanan Nambirajan and Raju Raju from The Mint Room on the fish course, Louise McCrimmon from Harvey Nichols on the meat course and Istvan Ulmann from Berwick Lodge on dessert. Presiding at the occasion ‘front of house’ was the fantastic Sarah Arikan, Owner of Berwick Lodge and Front of House expert.

All ingredients and drinks for the lunch were kindly sponsored by Koppert Cress, Fish for Thought, Walter Rose & Son, Brindisa and Santa Maria.

Together, the chefs and students created and served a four-course meal for around 70 professionals from the catering industry who were all there to get in touch with the next generation of talent whilst catching up with their peers and suppliers.

Catherine Farinha, Chefs’ Forum Founder, said: “It is great to have so many fantastic chefs here today and bring three colleges together. It is fantastic to return to City of Bristol College for the seventh year later to work with another new cohort of students and the next generation of top chefs. The chefs and students did a fantastic job today, they really stepped up to the task and it’s so important that we nurture and support the next generations of hospitality professionals. It’s important they have the opportunity to work with industry on the practical side, as well as on theory. For the three colleges that took part today, this event was an excellent opportunity to build on important networks and partnerships in the hospitality and catering industry.”

Photography by: www.jamesaphotography.co.uk

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m Lauren Smith, I’m 20 years old and have high-functioning autism.

I’m an ex-student of Weston Bay, currently studying a degree in Special Education with the University East of London. I also volunteer for People First and The Curly Hair Project.

I’m passionate about raising awareness and supporting others with autism, which I do through autism awareness events. I have an upcoming event on 6th April - Autism Networking Day. This free event will be open to young people, parents and professionals and there will be a chance to participate in well-being activities, learn about local support services and listen to young people’s perspectives. It's being held at Locking Castle Church (Weston-super-Mare) from 11.30-3.30pm.

I have written a book called ‘Tick Tock: It’s Time to Listen’, which is a poetry book based on my experiences of living with autism and navigating the education system. Join me at my book launch on 5th April at Weston Museum. 

My ambition is to set up my own autism awareness business.

What did you study at Weston College?

I studied Level 2 Health and Social Care at Weston College and then progressed to a Level 3 Extended Project Qualification, where I was awarded a distinction and A*.

I particularly enjoyed the independent research project, focusing on autism and effective support within education.

When studying at Weston College, I did encounter difficulties in the mainstream environment so I turned to Weston Bay (the College’s specialist facility for people on the autism spectrum), for additional support. I worked through an independent living programme at Weston Bay and accessed a few of their social activities.

Do you have any fun stories or fond memories of your time here?

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Disneyland Paris with Weston Bay and enjoyed sharing my fundraising efforts. During my time at College, I held a cake sale, participated in an autism awareness walk and dressed up in 30 different fancy dress outfits to fundraise for the National Autistic Society. I organised and participated in a BBC report to promote Weston Bay and also represented the College at an anti-bullying champion event at a local primary school.

How did Weston College and Weston Bay help you get where you are today?

They helped me:

• Develop my confidence and social skills
• Make new friends
• Meet like-minded people, which helped me to realise what I wanted to do as a career
• Be more determined and hard work to become a stronger person and create opportunities for myself.

Do you have any advice to future students?

• Be yourself! Try and work towards your passions, regardless of whether or not you are good at it.
• Tell someone if you are struggling. It’s okay to ask for help! Make sure you stand up for yourself and strive to get your voice heard.
• Don’t let obstacles get in the way of what you want to achieve. We can all achieve – we may just need to take different paths to get to our destination.

Anything else you would like to add?

Weston Bay is an excellent facility and can offer effective support alongside a mainstream course. However, as autism is a lifelong condition, the struggles still exist and, without appropriate, consistent support, it can have a devastating effect.

I would like to see more support and, in light of this, have set up a Weston Bay alumni group on social media to allow ex-Weston Bay students to keep in contact and support each other. I organise monthly social activities, including meals out, bowling and Airhop. I have set up a Facebook page called ‘My Rainbow Life’ where I share experiences and support others with autism.

Weston College’s Hair and Beauty Centre has been selected to host the regional stage of the WorldSkills event for the second year running.

Around 80 students from across the South West will visit the College on Tuesday 18th June to put their hair and beauty skills to the test.

WorldSkills is a prestigious international competition designed to create excitement and passion for learning in young people. Competitors take part in regional and national events before progressing to the international finals.

Experts design the industry-specific competitions, which help equip apprentices and students with the skills UK businesses need to compete globally.

Sandra Bull, the College’s Lead for Hair, Beauty, Barbering, Hospitality and Catering, said: “Each year colleges apply to host these prestigious competitions, so it speaks volumes for the quality of our hair and beauty facilities that the regional event is returning here.

“The Hair and Beauty Salons were refurbished recently, which makes it the perfect setting for the competition.

“As well as hosting the event, we’re also proud to have four learners – Ella Aston, Zoe Clark, Chloe Williams and Emily Spence – competing for a place in the national finals. We wish them the best of luck!”

The day will include competitions in hairdressing, beauty therapy, beauty therapy practice, creative media make-up, commercial make up and nail techniques.

The four College competitors have been putting in hours in addition to their College timetable to train for the event. Local employers have also helped them prepare by providing feedback and coaching. They secured their regional places after submitting photographic entries.

Winners of the regional heats are announced in September and the national finals take place in mid-November. The UK finals involve 1,000 young people aged 18–24 competing in 40 skills areas, from mobile robotics and graphic design, to carpentry and catering.