News and events

Weston College celebrated the achievements of over 40 students at its annual Celebration of Success event. Hosted at the Winter Gardens Pavillion, the awards ceremony recognised the commitment and outstanding performance of students from all ages and disciplines.

The students were nominated by college staff and winners were selected by the college's Principal and Chief Executive.

Weston College teaches over 30,000 students a year across all levels from school leavers and a diverse range of courses for adults to re-train and upskill.

As part of the evening, guests were treated to a delicious 3 course meal, made by the College’s Hospitality and Catering students as well as performances from University Centre Weston’s (UCW) BA (Hons) Musical Theatre students.

With the prestigious ceremony underway, one-by-one, the winning students were announced and took to the stage with a resounding applause from family, friends, and special guests. They were presented with their award by Chair of Governors, Andrew Leighton-Price.

With thanks to our sponsors Honeyfield Property Services, Ashton Gate, PACE Agency, Puxton Park, Image Sign and Mindful Education.

As the main event sponsor Honeyfield Property Services’ Director, Jon Patch presented certificates to our Principal Gold Award Winners for Under 19 and Adult Student of the Year, to Ruby Gane and Robert Aldous respectively.

Whilst at the college Robert was offered full time employment at Mercedes Sytner. He commented:

“Its heart-warming to know you’ve been nominated by members of staff, and they can acknowledge and see the progress you’ve made.

“This award has really boosted my confidence and self-belief and tonight is a massive achievement for everyone who has been pushed to their full potential and achieved greatness. I think that is a big testament to Weston College”

Teresa (Counselling Student of the Year) commented:

“This award means everything. I have never won an award in my life and I don’t think I’d be able to get to how far I have come and get to this point without Weston College and the support from my tutors” 

Weston College Group Principal and Chief Executive Sir Paul Philips commented: 

“Tonight is a celebration of the success of our learners and those who have supported them. From 30,000 learners, getting to this stage is no mean feat.

“The talent of my Governors and staff, and the excellence of our learners, all point to brilliance. Witnessing first-hand this talent of my learners and staff makes me incredibly proud, not just for their success but for the dynamism and entrepreneurship of everyone across the organisation."

The evening continued with several awards to recognise students that were shortlisted for the national Association of Colleges (AoC) awards; Teryena Hobbins was nationally shortlisted for AoC Adult Learner of the year, Jack Kimmins was shortlisted for the Higher Education Student of the Year and Paige Crocker was shortlisted for the Student Green Commitment Award.

As part of curriculum Weston College students get the opportunity to be involved with WorldSkills competitions, this year two learners made the finals and achieved Silver and Bronze (Skylar Beacham and Lottie Trueman respectively).

The evening continued with several awards to recognise the teams of Business learners that took part in the Weston Hospicecare Business Enterprise Challenge. This challenge saw local businesses advising and investing in the young entrepreneurs to set up their own business ventures and to generate profits that were donated to Weston Hospicecare, the College presented Weston Hospicecare with a cheque for the total money raised by all the Business Learners, for an amazing £5751.

A huge congratulations to all our winners!

At Weston College we love working with employers who are just as passionate about creating opportunities for our future workforce, as we are!

One company that we work closely with, through our Public Services Career Excellence Hub, is the Royal Air Force (RAF).

We asked Jacqueline from the RAF a few questions, about the work we do together:

Who are you and what do you do for a job?

I’m Jacqueline, and I work in the Royal Air Force Careers Engagement Team.

We engage with educational establishments, key influencers and opinion formers to attract and recruit people into the Royal Air Force through face to face and virtual engagement throughout the UK by various means.

How do you work with Weston College?

We invite learners that study a Public Services course to visit RAF Brize Norton to look at life and meet service personnel in their working environments. We run this trip twice a year for Weston, to people at different stages of their course, to showcase Station lifestyle and careers. RAF Brize Norton is home to over 8,400 Service Personnel as well as 1200 civil servants and contractors making it our largest station.

I also deliver virtual careers insight events to learners too, which allows learners to hear about specific RAF Careers, the pros and cons, challenges of service life and contract, giving them the opportunity to ask any questions.

We find that learners from Weston College are always really engaged, and that the staff are always really supportive of their learners and careers within the RAF.

What impact has this had on your organisation?

We have had several learners join us as a direct result of our virtual and face to face engagement, which has been really fantastic for us.

A big thank you to Jacqueline from the Royal Air Force for speaking to us about the work we do together and how it is impacting them and our students.

If you are interested in a career in Public Services, you can see our available courses, by clicking here.

Carpentry is an exciting trade, which is in high demand! It is a very skilled trade, with carpenters using natural materials (wood/timber) to cut, shape and install wooden structures, fittings and furniture.

In the UK there are more than 5,000 organisations who recruit carpenters, with an estimated turnover of nearly £4 billion.

With so much demand, you might be wondering how to become a carpenter? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

There are several different routes you can take to become a carpenter or joiner. You might be someone that is looking to earn while they learn, and the good news is, you can do this through an apprenticeship. Or you might be someone that wants to complete a course to learn some skills before entering the carpentry – whether this be full-time or part-time with evening courses.

Let’s look at the options in a little bit more detail.

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a fantastic way of entering the industry, and can be a great way to get your foot in the door with a local organisation that is looking to grow and develop their workforce.

Apprenticeships are open to anyone over the age of 16, so you could be a school leaver, or someone that wants to turn their passion into a career. As an apprentice you will be employed by the company, and complete training at college – you will be expected to work at least 30 hours a week, with the rest of your hours being training.

You can complete apprenticeships at a number of Levels, depending on your experience and skill level. At Weston College, we offer several different carpentry apprenticeships, click the course below to find out more:

• Carpentry and Joinery Level 2 – 14 months
• Site Carpentry Level 2 – 14 months
• Carpentry and Joinery Level 3 – 12 months
• Site Carpentry Level 3 – 12 months

Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you can either further your development by studying the next level, or go into full-time work.

Before you work on a construction site, you will need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card.

College Courses

If you would prefer to study at College, there are a range of options available, from full-time courses to shorter part-time courses.

We offer courses for Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3, which all aim to develop your skills and prepare you for life as a carpenter.

On our full-time courses you will be part of our Construction Career Excellence Hub, which means that you will get unrivalled access to employers, with opportunities for work experience, master classes and hearing from industry insiders. Our construction courses are all endorsed by organisations from industry.

We also offer FREE adult courses in Carpentry, which allow you to sharpen your skills and are a great opportunity to change careers.

If you'd like to find out more about a career in carpentry, come along to one of our open evenings and chat to the team, they will be more than happy to help!