Acceptance of those with BTECs and a combination of BTECs and A levels is increasing rapidly and the proportion has almost doubled in the last eight years.
The article praises the qualifications, saying "The BTEC curriculum is considerably freer and more flexible than the tight syllabus and marking schemes of A-levels. In the University of Bedfordshire's experience, BTec students show great strength in idea generation, independent learning and creativity, in ways that are atypical among A-level students."
Newbury College offers a wide range of BTEC qualifications for school leavers in subjects including Animale Care, Art and Design, Business, Computing, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Media Production, Music Technology, Public Services, Sport and more.
An increasing number of students on BTEC programmes at Newbury College also have the opportunity to progress to HNC and HND qualifications as an excellent alternative to university.
Free drop-in Advice Clinics are being held at our Monks Lane campus today (17 August 2017) and on GCSE Results Day (24 August 2017) to support young people make the right choices about further education, higher education, apprenticeships or finding employment.
Back in May, over 400 of our students took part in a country-wide satisfaction survey. The results from the survey showed that the enrichment activities we offer here at Newbury College scored 5% above the benchmark, with 84% of our students agreeing that we offer a good enrichment programme.
Students on full and part-time courses can enjoy a wide range of enrichment activities throughout the year. Some of the highlights include Freshers' Day, Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, Road Safety Week, 'New Year, New You' campaign and Mental Health Awareness Week.
From a wellbeing perspective, students have a dedicated Counsellor and Chaplain they can access, as well as clinics promoting healthy lifestyle choices. In addition to this, the college Sport Maker offers a different sporting activity every lunchtime in the sports hall. This year the Sport Maker has also organised a basketball and football team, who regularly play against other local schools and colleges.
If you'd like to know more about what Newbury College can offer, come along to our Open Enrolment morning on Saturday 02 September, 10am-1pm or drop in during the holidays.
Happy Kids, an independent pre-school based in the grounds of Winchcombe School in the heart of Newbury, prides itself on providing a safe and friendly childcare environment tailored to the individual needs of children. As children learn through play, exploration and first-hand experiences, Happy Kids provides an environment that allows them to use their senses, imagination and previous experiences to support their learning.
Ofsted requires all staff working in pre-schools to be trained in paediatric first aid. Happy Kids ensures all of its staff are up to date with their training, but it can be a time consuming process. Kim Whelehan, Happy Kids Pre-school Manager, explains: When staff attend courses on an individual basis, we have to change rotas and arrange cover; it can be very disruptive for the other staff and children. It's far more valuable for us as an employer if the whole team can attend a course together at the same time.
Happy Kids uses Newbury College's in-house training service, where courses are delivered at a time convenient to the employer, such as evenings, weekends or during the school holidays. Deputy Manager, Sharon Dumelow, is very positive about this method of delivery: Having the trainer deliver at our premises is much easier and, because we've been using this service for a while, the trainer has got to know our staff and ethos well.
The familiarity means we are all relaxed and this helps us feel comfortable enough to ask the questions we perhaps would be afraid to if we were on our own. I've been on courses where it's just me attending from here, and I feel we benefit much more from a group approach.
We also offer parents the opportunity to join us on our courses. This is great for them because they can increase their skills and it makes the training more cost effective for us too.
Emily Chandler, Business Development Executive at Newbury College, recommends this approach to other settings: Training providers need to meet the needs of busy employers. Offering nationally-recognised qualifications delivered at individual premises is a good example of how the College is adapting its work with employers.
We see that once a setting has benefited from this approach, they continue to come back to us for more of the same. The quality of the courses remains unchanged, we use the same trainers and materials from our open courses but, without a doubt, there is a benefit to all parties when our trainers get to deliver with teams this way.
For more information about Newbury College's bespoke training and in-house delivery, contact the Business Team on 01635 845229 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dr Anne Murdoch, OBE, who has been Principal and CEO of Newbury College for 16 years, recently announced her intention to retire at the end of the year. As well as the College's longest serving principal, Anne is also the only female principal in its 70-year history.
Previously the Deputy Principal at Farnborough College of Technology, Anne Murdoch joined Newbury College in 2001 when it was located off the Oxford Road in Newbury. Anne oversaw the relocation of the College to its current, purpose-built site on Monks Lane in 2002, and has since developed the campus facilities to include a sports hall, construction training centre, training restaurant and, most recently, an engineering solutions laboratory.
The College, which was OFSTED rated good' in 2009, 2015 and 2017, also plans to open a new primary school ' Highwood Copse ' in 2018.
Speaking about her career, Anne said: It has been an honour and privilege to have spent most of my career within the education sector and my greatest joy to have served as Principal and CEO of Newbury College for over 16 years. The staff, students and partners have been an inspiration to me and I will miss them greatly.
Now that the College has had another good' OFSTED inspection and is in a strong financial position, it's a good time to hand over the leadership. The College is moving into an exciting new phase of development, with a new primary school planned and excellent facilities for science, technology, engineering and maths in place ' I have no doubt it will go from strength to strength.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues for their support over the years.
Anne was awarded an OBE in 2012 and graduated from the University of East Anglia with a Doctorate in Applied Education in 1983.
The College has also recently appointed a new Corporation Chair, Geoff Knappett. Geoff, former director of Newbury Building Society, who served on the College's corporation board for over eight years, and took over from West Berkshire Council's Chief Executive, Nick Carter whose term ended in April. Chris Boulton, Chief Executive of Greenham Common Trust, and Peter Allen, a retired businessman, have also recently joined the board.
Commenting on Anne's retirement, Geoff said: The governors express their sincere appreciation and gratitude for the way Anne has managed the College. Her drive and inspirational leadership have made a significant contribution to the College's success and achievements over the years. She will be greatly missed by governors, staff, students and stakeholders alike and she will leave with our very best wishes.
It is anticipated that Anne's successor will be in post from 1 January 2018. Anne will continue to work on a part-time basis to see the development of the primary school through to its opening, along with other campus projects. She will also help the College celebrate its 70th birthday next year.