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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.

Adults studying at Newbury College joined others from across the county at the annual West Berkshire Learner Achievement Awards, on the 7 June.

The West Berkshire Learner Achievement Awards celebrates the successes of adults learning in an array of study options, from apprenticeships and professional qualifications to health and wellbeing courses. The event is held as part of the Festival of Learning and aims to highlight the benefits of learning, celebrate the achievements of adults using learning to transform their lives and encourage lifelong learning.

As a proud sponsor of the event, Newbury College is also delighted to congratulate three of its students; Charlotte Little, winning the Outstanding Achievement Award, Christine Caldaralo, joint winner of the Determination Award, and Xenia Bellis, presented with the Inspiring Others Award. They have all worked incredibly hard and overcome diversity in their attainments.

A full list of winners and further details of the awards can be found on the West Berkshire Council website 

If you are feeling inspired to take the next step in your learning journey, click here to find your next opportunity. Who knows you could be on the award list next year!

 

Charlotte Little Outstanding Achievement Award 300

Charlotte Little - Outstanding Achievement Award

Newbury College Principal and Chief Executive, Iain Wolloff, presents Charlotte Little with her award for Outstanding Achievement

 

Karen Winter and Christine Caldaralo Determi 300

Christina Caldaralo (right) - Determination Award

Christina Caldaralo receives the Determination Award. This was jointly awarded to Karen Winter (pictured to the left)

 

Xenia Bellis Inspiring Others Award 300

Xenia Bellis - Inspiring Others Award

Xenia Bellis receives her Inspiring Others Award for her achievements and progression.

On Saturday 22 June guests are welcomed from near and far to join the D-Day 75th Anniversary Commemorative Convoy at Newbury College, for their final stop.

The convoy starts at 9.30 AM from MOD Southwick, near Fareham, Hampshire former D-Day Headquarters with 50 vehicles escorted by 25 motorcycle outriders of the Royal British Legion Riders Branch. The route will take them to former RAF Lasham home of the Lasham Gliding Society and onto Milestones Living History Museum in Basingstoke, arriving at approximately noon. Moving on through Kingsclere to Greenham Common, the convoy and guests will be greeted by the Poppy Parachute Team, who will drop on to the common at approximately 2.30 pm, symbolising the returning spirit of the men to the base from which they flew on D-Day. Weather dependent, a Historic Aircraft Flight Auster AOP Mk9 ' XR244 (G-CICR) will be tracking the route above the convoy.

The journey is a recreation of General Eisenhower's drive from D-Day Headquarters on the afternoon of 5 June 1944 when he visited men of the Parachute Infantry Regiments at Greenham Common hours before they were to drop into Occupied Europe. Patrick Kempe, one of the team of volunteers helping to organise the event said, In this 75th Anniversary Year of D-Day it is right that we recognise the dedication and sacrifice of a generation and also take the opportunity to help today's Armed Forces personnel through fundraising for the Royal British Legion. A huge thank you to the many organisations who have come forward to contribute both financially and practically to ensure we can present this historic event.

Newbury College are privileged to host the final commemorations including, Arborfield Military Wives Choir, Army Cadet Force band and dancers, and the planting of a commemorative apple tree. Vice Principal, Lee Hunt (MBE) commented, We are delighted to offer our campus to this momentous event. As a community college, it is important for us to reflect the recognition the event deserves.

Guests are welcome to the College between 2 - 5pm to join in the commemorations, with convoy vehicles expected to arrive around 3:15pm. Entry is free and all proceeds raised on the day will be donated to the Royal British Legion. See the event on Facebook for more details.

Newbury College has been awarded £1.75m from the Local Growth Fund, towards the development of the University Centre Newbury (UCN). Additional funds for the £5.5m project will be drawn from the College and investment from supporting partners and will bring a state-of-the-art, digitally integrated, zero carbon, higher education facility to West Berkshire.

Research by the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (TVBLEP) and consultation with local employers across the region, identified critical skill shortages of employees with high-level skills, particularly in Digital Technologies, Engineering, Business & Finance, Health, Social Care & Education and Construction.

The UCN is supported by foundation partnerships with local businesses including Vodafone, Roc Technologies, Xtrac and Sovereign Housing and aims to address the needs of local employers and ensure training is relevant and specific, not only for new employees, but also to increase the opportunities to upskill existing staff and help businesses utilise their Apprenticeship Levy payments more effectively.

Director of Business & Partnerships, Dr Jo Houghton said, We are delighted to have received the funding and support of the TVBLEP and excited that the Planning Application has been submitted. The University Centre Newbury brings a wealth of opportunity for businesses to meet their workforce requirements to engage and upskill in digital technologies, and provides a fantastic opportunity for students of all ages to achieve a higher level of training locally.

Newbury College has already formed strong relationships with local businesses in the engineering sector, including AWE and Xtrac, enhanced by the opening of the Engineering Solutions Lab in 2017 and the subsequent strength of the Degree programmes in Engineering, which is already expanding to Postgraduate level from September 2019, in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University.

The Careers not Courses campaign, recently launched by Newbury College, marks an open conversation between business and education and designs a curriculum that meets the skills demand of the local community, building and equipping a digital-first workforce with a logical progression from further education into higher education (HE).

UCN provides a solution for the community that sees an expansion of the current HE provision enabling opportunities for young talent to remain in the area and study university-level qualifications alongside their chosen career.

Built to new zero-carbon standards, UCN will be environmentally sustainable. The Centre incorporates digital technologies that enable students the option to study flexibly such as, real-time remote classroom access and blended learning options. Labs will be equipped with the hardware and software that facilitate the delivery of key digital technology including big data, software development, cyber security and cloud computing.

Key partners including, Buckinghamshire New University, QA Ltd, and The Open University, have been specifically chosen for their expertise to support the delivery of a centre of excellence for the development of higher skills.

West Berkshire Council, the Rt Hon Richard Benyon MP, Kennet School and Park House School have also provided strong support for University Centre Newbury.

The first intake for the University Centre Newbury will be September 2020. To find out more about higher-level study options, visit www.newbury-college.ac.uk