Weston College student Libby Bunker, 16, has qualified to compete in a national gymnastic acrobatics and tumbling competition in May. 

Libby, who studies Business at Weston College and is a member of its Academy of Sport, attended the South West preliminary completion for national finals earlier this month where she achieved first place in tumbling. 

The finals, organised by the British Schools Gymnastics Association, are happening in Stoke-on-Trent on 30th April-1st May where Libby will be representing the College in tumbling.

Libby said: “This is a great opportunity to represent the College in a sport that I am passionate about and have been doing for so long.

“I feel like all my hard work is starting to pay off.”

Paul Taylor, Sports Development and Performance Manager at the College, said: “It is great to see hard work and commitment paying off.  It is very challenging combining an elite athletic and academic programme.

“We are really proud of Libby’s achievements.”

The Weston College Academy of Sport provides students with outstanding coaching, training and support. 

The programme is aimed to develop the skills that the students already have within a professional and structured environment.  

Farhath Siddiqui, who studies Film and Media Arts Production at UCW, was recently invited to accept an award on behalf of internationally renowned street artist Banksy, but she didn't celebrate with a glass of bubbly...

That's because Farhath is Muslim, and Muslims don't drink - so how did she celebrate? Read on to find out more...

When I tell people that I’m a Muslim, one of the top things people respond with is the question: “Do you drink?”

When I tell them that my faith doesn’t allow it, my answer is often met with disbelief and further remarks such as: “What, not even a little bit?”

The answer is no – I have never consumed alcohol before and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I'm sure a lot of you reading this who love to party feel that I may lead a boring life, and while that might be true in some respects it isn’t because of the lack of alcohol! Just because I don't drink doesn't mean I don't join in with party. I love to party.

Sober doesn't mean boring.  I have been sober on all of my nights out, and I still have managed to have the best time by the end of them! The hype of intoxication shouldn't be something you feel peer pressured to do.

Not drinking on your nights out is always an option. It doesn't mean you can't still have a good time, you won’t wake up with a hangover, and you’ll remember the whole evening…

You might find that you still make a bigger fool of yourself than any other drunk person. If that's the case, take a long hard look at yourself and make sure you do whatever you did again.

Weston College and the Federation of Small Businesses Limited (FSB) have joined forces to generate more apprenticeships opportunities across the West of England.

Following the FSB ‘Make or Break, getting apprenticeships reform right for small businesses’ report in August 2016, it was discovered that two in three small-medium enterprises retain their apprentice once they have finished their studies, which represents the benefits of hiring apprentices. Weston College actively seeks to better these statistics, with over 90% of its apprentices being offered permanent positions once they have completed their course.

The objective of this partnership is to highlight opportunities for small-medium enterprise employers across the West of England to engage with apprenticeships to recruit and develop talent, supporting their business growth.

John Mayer, the FSB Weston-super-Mare branch Vice Chairman said: “The FSB are committed to supporting our members locally and nationally to understand the opportunities presented by apprenticeships to attract, retain and develop a skilled workforce. There are significant benefits to employing an apprentice, giving the employer a valuable resource they can invest in to help successfully manage their businesses. We are therefore delighted to be working in partnership with Weston College to directly address some of the myths and lack of understanding around apprenticeships and generate additional employment opportunities across the region.”

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “At Weston College we pride ourselves in putting students first, and we are committed to giving our learners the best opportunities possible. We are excited by the prospect of working with FSB, as we aim to expand our network of local businesses and employers, to deliver more apprenticeships in the region.”

The partnership will include Weston College and the FSB hosting a joint Apprenticeship Expo event on 31st October at the Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare. The event will focus on enlightening businesses to the opportunities that apprenticeships can present to their organisation. Organisations will receive advice on recruitment and funding, as well as the opportunity to hear first-hand experiences from companies that offer apprenticeships.

Employers can register their interest for the event here

To discuss the advantages apprenticeships can bring to your organisation, contact us on 01934 411 411 or email apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk

We have been using Weston College for our apprenticeship program for the last three years now. Weston College has been extremely helpful with this process and we have always been impressed by the candidates that they have given us.

The process worked very well as a representative from Weston College came and met with us to learn about our business and the office environment that we run. They then sent us CVs for candidates they felt would be suitable in our required role and we handpicked candidates from these for interview.  We started off by offering a traineeship program to the successful candidate which lasted four weeks, this allowed us to analyse their suitability for an apprenticeship and to see if they would fit in with the culture of the business.

It is very difficult to judge a candidate from an initial interview as some candidates may not be confident in a formal interview yet could be very confident and capable in a team environment. This initial four-week program also allows the candidate to decide if our work place is the correct choice for them rather than just going for an interview, accepting the job and then finding that they don’t feel comfortable in that work place.

We were very sceptical when we first took on an apprentice due to their age and maturity, however, I am pleased to say that they have exceeded our expectations at every level.

It is important to us that the candidates are smart, conscientious, hard-working and willing to learn. We strongly believe that you get out what you put in, which is why we expect the apprentices to show commitment to us and in return we will show commitment to them. We believe in continual training and upskilling our staff, even after the apprenticeship has finished, allowing the candidate to be successful in their chosen career.

We have found the apprenticeship program extremely beneficial to our business as it has allowed us to mould them into the role we required within the business. 

Two of our apprentices have passed their qualifications on time and the third is due to finish this month. We have been so impressed with our apprentices that we have offered them full time employment and they are now very valuable members of our team.

One of our apprentices has gone on to become a fully qualified Mortgage Adviser and the other is now a full qualified Will Writer.

We would highly recommend the apprenticeship program and Weston College.

Nick Barnes,

Director

EveryStep Financial

Weston College held a successful fundraising week in March, raising £3600 for local charity Weston Hospicecare.

Over the week students and staff from across the College took part in various activities, with the aim of raising money for the local charity.

The main event of the week was dress up day, in which staff and students all over the College got in the spirit, dressing up as superheroes, unicorns, octopuses and air hostesses for the day.

There were also a number of awards given out for those who contributed to the week’s success. The College’s Inclusive Practice Faculty won the overall award for fundraising, after students came up with inventive ways of raising money, including writing the first sentences of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in coins.

Weston Hospicecare was thrilled with the money donated to them.

Rachel Mansfield, community fundraiser at Weston Hospicecare, said: “We are once again enormously grateful to the students of Weston College for the fabulous support offered during their RAG week celebrations.

“We’ve loved following the students’ exploits, and we’re thrilled by the incredible amount of money raised for Weston Hospicecare – it really will play a big part in enabling us to support people with life-limiting illnesses and their families across Weston-Super-Mare and beyond.

“We’d also like to say a special thank you to the students from Weston College’s Inclusive Practice Faculty, who won an award for an outstanding contribution to the charity week for a video they created on behalf of Weston Hospicecare – we enjoyed welcoming the students to the hospice when they were filming, and were really impressed by the super piece of work they put together.”

Weston College is providing staff with the opportunity to boost their digital skills.

The new ‘Digital Advocate’ programme is a part of Weston College’s digital vision – to create an environment in which learners can use real-world technologies to create, collaborate and share.

Staff will be recognised as Digital Advocates, and will help to identify opportunities for further digital enhancement, as well as share new practices.

Digital Advocates will form a cross-College group, supported by the College’s dedicated Learning Technologists. The network of Digital Advocates will share new digital developments, approaches and form a community of good practice.

The College works closely with Microsoft, and Digital Advocates will have access to a range of resources, support and certification, including Microsoft Certified Educator.

Liam Fisher, the College’s Learning Technology Manager, said: “This is a really exciting new programme, and one which is sure to enhance the learners experience at the College.

“We believe that developing digital skills and practices in our staff and learners is the key to unlocking the potential for technology to transform our teaching and learning.”

It can’t have escaped your attention that further education is undergoing a major shift towards workplace learning.

Locally and nationally, we’re experiencing widening skills gaps in numerous sectors, which requires government, providers and employers to work together to find alternative ways of providing the skills the economy demands.

Among the government’s solutions is the T Level qualification – described as the biggest overhaul in post-school education for 70 years.

And Weston College will be at the forefront of this ‘revolution’ as one of 54 providers selected to pilot the new qualification.

T Levels will be available in 15 industry-related subjects, known as ‘pathways’. We will deliver the Digital (software applications design and development) T Level from September 2020 – two years before the full roll-out.

T Levels provide a genuine alternative, and equivalent, to A Levels. They’re aimed at 16 to 19-year-olds who would rather study work-related courses than traditional academic subjects. As well as preparing learners for employment, T Levels are designed to raise career aspirations and to dispel the myth that vocational courses are the poor relation of A Levels.

An integral component of each T Level programme is a high-quality, structured and outcome-focused industry placements.

T Level learners must undertake an industry placement of 315 hours (45 days) before they can complete the course. However, industry placements will be important in their own right, by helping young people gain the skills needed to move into employment.

Delivering such extensive and authentic workplace learning clearly requires a huge commitment from local employers. We’ve taken great strides over the last decade to forge close relationships with businesses but, with T Levels fast approaching, we’re working even harder, and putting even greater resources, into building new partnerships with industry.

After successfully applying for Capacity and Delivery Funding (CFD), we’ve put in place a Work Placement Team, whose remit is to work with employers from across the region to establish and develop high-quality placements that fulfil genuine commercial need.

The team will also provide support and guidance throughout the placement and monitor learners’ progress.

T Levels represent a tremendous opportunity for employers.

The curriculum is shaped by employers and benefits from the unique insights of business leaders. The industry placements at their core provide businesses with talent pipeline where they can develop their, potential, future workforce according to need. They also allow existing staff members to share their knowledge and develop mentoring skills.

Aside from T Levels, work experience is at the core of virtually all Weston College provision.

All our FE courses are part of a ‘study programme’ that is designed to prepare young people for their future career. Our facilities aim to mimic real-life workplaces and some – including our Hair and Beauty Centre and Grove Restaurant – operate as commercial businesses.

We recently became one of just 22 providers to be awarded Career College status. This significant investment will enable the College to provide an extra 1,000 places for 16 to 19-year-olds, who want to combine academic studies with practical, work-based learning.

These developments and facilities will complement the T Level curriculum as we prepare for the pilot.

It’s an honour and an exciting challenge for the College to be helping to roll out this pioneering new qualification, but it also represents a huge opportunity for regional businesses – one I’d urge them to get involved in.

If you’d like to find out more about T Levels and/or industry placements, please get in touch with our Work Placement Team workplacementteam@weston.ac.uk

As part of National Careers Week, learners were given the opportunity to win Amazon vouchers by entering the CV Writing Competition. Learners submitted their CV's and were then judged by our careers advice team.

Many thanks to all that got involved and CONGRATULATIONS to our winners and runners-up.

The two winners (who received a £50 Amazon voucher) were:

• Ela R.
• Jemma G.

The two runner-ups (who received a £20 Amazon voucher) were:

• Harry B.
• Emily W.

Lisa and Jasmine from our careers team added:

"Thank you all for your entries. We enjoyed reading them and have provided feedback through your email. Keep an eye out for next year, where we hope the prizes will be even better!"

If any Weston College learner would like CV feedback or careers advice, please contact lisa.hall@weston.ac.uk or jasmine.morton@weston.ac.uk.

The treatment of further education (FE) is nothing short of shocking and the recent Augar report is a condemnation of what has happened to the ‘poor relation’ in the educational sector.

As a practitioner who has had the opportunity to work in the school/academy, FE and HE sectors, I am amazed at the lack of investment by Government for what I passionately regard as the key driver of skills and aspirations for our economy. The question now is whether this is the light at the end of the tunnel, or if the glimmer is about to be extinguished as a result of the political malaise our country now finds itself in.

As I write this article, I have literally hundreds of learners taking GCSEs or Functional Skills examinations in mathematics and English. An inordinate number of dedicated staff have coached and developed these 17-year-olds to give them the best possible chance of success, while the level of pastoral support that has gone into supporting learners has been extensive. Our College cannot afford to produce this level of support, but we do because these young people need these skills to progress. And our finances are pushed to the wire as a result.

Of course, there is another issue here. Why are so many learners arriving at the College with such poor achievement in these core subjects? The answer is clear – they have not had the necessary teaching at their previous schools and academies. A specialist in lean management principles would have a field day here, but the problem is tackled too late. The Government must target this robustly. After all, how can a school or academy that cannot get the majority of their learners through such exams be deemed ‘outstanding’? Words fail me.

So, is the Augar report correct? Does it go far enough and can it change our sector? The first issue for me is the sheer breadth of the report which, whilst highly critical of the lack of funding for FE, is contained within a detailed evaluation of all post-18 delivery. The messages within it, however, are very clear and, although most of the observations are common sense to the FE practitioner, I wonder how well they will be both received and understood. Only this week, one MP commented that they had already resolved the issues in FE. Deluded? Most definitely. Ready for change? Not on the basis of that comment! Yet, colleges continue to suffer and one has to wonder what it will take to galvanise action.

The recommendations within the report are, as I’ve said previously, not new to those of us in the sector. They include reducing the inflexible and costly rules to allow for strategic focus and planning; the rationalisation of colleges, where necessary; reversing reductions in core funding; introducing an appropriate adult budget; investing in workforce so there is comparability of salaries with schools, academies and HEIs; and proper recognition for college identity. This would provide a major start to correcting years of starvation of resources, including capital investment.

The next stage? Watch, wait and maintain impetus I guess. We are in a time of change and influence, but imagine if the findings of Augar were even more concise and stated that Government had in effect:

• Failed to strategically plan
• Allowed a growing deficit to spiral out of control
• Complicated processes and done little to enable progression
• Ensured an inequality in pay and working conditions
• Failed to invest appropriately.

Do you not think this is starting to look like a report from the FE Commissioner? It’s time for intervention I think. Will it happen? Who knows? The danger that if it doesn’t happen the reality is now actually even more dangerous for skills in general than our sector!

Dr Paul Phillips, CBE

Principal and Chief Executive