Newbury College opened its doors to over a hundred young school leavers on Monday, providing a taste of college life and their future careers.
The annual event has become increasingly more popular, as the College embraces a new career-focussed curriculum, which is being led by local employers and aims to provide young people with the skills they need to succeed in their future employment.
Vice Principal, Lee Hunt MBE, said: At Newbury College we believe in careers, not courses, and we have been building some fantastic relationships with local employers to shape our curriculum offer. We are delighted that so many young people share in our vision and have taken this opportunity to choose Newbury College to improve their employment prospects.
The school leavers visiting this year's event took part in a range of hands-on, career-related exercises, including graphic design workshops, electrical installation projects, performance car demonstrations from Think Ford and some innovative team building activities, before enjoying some fun in the summer sun with an inflatable bungee-run and a live performance by LongDayLateNight.
Newbury College has been laying the groundwork for the launch of new T Level qualifications, a mixture of classroom learning and on-the-job' experience that will be equivalent to 3 A Levels. These new qualifications will provide the knowledge and experience needed to open the door into skilled employment, further study or a higher apprenticeship.
While the official launch date for T Level qualifications is set for 2020, Newbury College is already making many of the changes ahead of time, allow students enrolling in September 2019 to benefit from studying a subject that is both engaging and worthwhile.
There is still time to apply for a full-time study programme at Newbury College or enquire about an apprenticeship with one of the College's many industry partners.
On Tuesday 25 June, engineering students studying at Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) levels, presented their end of year projects to a panel of expert judges and dignitaries including the Mayor of Newbury, Cllr Elizabeth O'Keeffe, Cllr Graham Pask and Cllr Mike Cole.
Almost 90 students, many of whom are in paid employment as higher-level apprentices, competed with their peers for the Best Project in their relevant categories. Students were able to gain vital feedback on their project design and development and practice their presentation skills throughout the exhibition. Many of the projects have been created for and applied to the businesses in which the students are employed.
Newbury College was delighted to welcome back former Degree student and IED award winner, George Collins, to speak about his journey into a career in Engineering, and introduce the awards.
The winners are:
HNC Electrical & Electronics (Level 4)
Runner-up - Megan Purchas, AWE
Best Project - Liam Mundy, STFC
HND Electrical & Electronics (Level 5)
Runner-up - Joe Thompson, Thames Water
Best Project - James Lavington, Thames Water
HNC Mechanical Engineering (Level 4)
Runner-up - Andrew Male, Diamond Light Source
Best Design Unit - Oliver Hensberg, MSA ' The Safety Company
Best Project - Calan Kenward, LG Motion
HND Mechanical Engineering (Level 5)
Runner-up ' Adam Churchman, STFC
Best Project ' Callum Brown, Reeling Systems Ltd
Iain Wolloff, Principal and Chief Executive, Newbury College said, We were particularly delighted to see the outstanding quality of the work on display. Our annual Engineering Exhibition is a fantastic model of our degree level programmes and sets the standard for the expansion of our higher-level provision with the development of University Centre Newbury (UCN).
If you want to find out more about a career in Engineering or Apprenticeships contact our business team on 01635 845229.
Plans to establish the University Centre Newbury (UCN) took a significant step forward with the recent granting of planning permission for the multi-million pound new development. The Centre will provide degrees and other higher level qualifications in the key sectors of digital technology, business & finance, engineering, health & social care and construction.
The first students of the University Centre will begin their studies in dedicated facilities within the College building in September 2020, before moving into the iconic new building once it is completed. Images of the new building at the front of the College campus show how the UCN will work as a key part of the learning campus for Newbury and West Berkshire. The original timescales for the completion of the building have been extended to focus on the development of the state-of-the-art digital facilities and achieve the demanding zero-carbon standard; constructing the first public building in West Berkshire to achieve this new level in sustainability.
College Principal, Iain Wolloff said:
We are delighted at the fantastic progress with establishing the Centre and look forward to welcoming the first UCN students in September 2020 to study in the dedicated space within the existing College facilities, before moving into the exciting new building. We have been amazed at the enormous support for the Centre from employers and organisations throughout the community and will launch a range of new degrees and other HE courses as planned'.
Geoff Knappett, Chair of Corporation, said:
The enthusiasm for the University Centre was been overwhelming and I am thrilled at both the approval of the fantastic new building and the plans for the University Centre project to get underway in specialist accommodation. I would like to thank all those who have worked so hard in the College, in our University partners and across West Berkshire, to turn the long-held dream of a University Centre into a reality'.
You can listen to the Principal talking about UCN on BBC Radio Berkshire here or find out more about higher-level study options, visit our higher education page
Newbury College beauty and hairdressing students have cast a spell on audiences at their annual showcase evening with fantastic creations straight out of the pages of their favourite bedtime stories.
Each student designed and created a look ' including hair, makeup and clothing ' based on their interpretation of the theme. From family-friendly Disney-inspired princesses to creepy creatures from the twisted world of Tim Burton classics, the students pushed the standard even higher this year as prosthetics and LED lighting were used to enhance the daring designs.
When the models took to the catwalk, in front of a panel of industry experts from commercial salons and leading companies in the sector, including Lilly Hennah from CJ Beauty & Co, Jason Palmer from Jason Palmer Hairdressing and Ailsa Willis from Diva Pro Styling, the audience was enchanted.
The judges had such a tough time in choosing winners that for the time, they even announced some highly commended entrants in the list of finalists. Highly commended students included Charlotte Canning, Christine Caldaralo and Holly Hoskins for their interpretations of Steve the Alien, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Overall winner, Joana Camacho, made a splash with her interpretation of Serefina, a dark mermaid from Jennifer Donnelly's Deep Blue, and was closely followed by runner up, Lauren Harris, whose Narnia inspired Ice Queen gave the audience chills.
Other finalists included Lucy Oliver with her hair-raising take on Snow White's Maleficent and Lydia Leighfield, whose Thumbelina was a big hit. Theona (Tee) Walmsley was awarded Best Mood Board for her creative preparation and exploration of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.
Rachael Elsey, Curriculum Manager for Services, said: We'd like to thank everyone who came along to support the event, including all the friends, family members and judges. Our annual showcase event is designed to allow the students' imagination to flourish, and they certainly didn't disappoint! Some of the creations were truly amazing, and we are very proud of what they achieved.