Visitors to the Newbury College Open Evening on Thursday 08 February were surprised to discover the science lab at the Monks Lane campus had become the scene of a mysterious poisoning. Clues had been hidden across the lab for visitors to find and solve the mystery of the fateful incident.
The simulated crime scene was just one of the activities that visitors could interact with as part of a tour of the college facilities, which included construction and motor vehicle workshops; beauty and hairdressing salons; art and media studios; a professional kitchen and restaurant; an animal care unit; a sports hall and a brand new £1m Solutions Lab.
Science is offered to all students as part of the year 10 and 11 programmes in the Academy at Newbury College and provides a more practical approach than traditional GCSEs. Many full-time vocational BTEC subjects offered to students from year 12 and beyond also include science-based units and can be equivalent to several A-Levels.
Deputy Principal and Director of Curriculum, Fadia Clarke, said: The Academy at Newbury College is just one of the many ways we support young people who are looking for a more practical and skills-based alternative to traditional study. Our curriculum has been designed to engage students in subjects that they are passionate about and provide them with vocational and employability skills as well as essential skills such as maths and English. Many of our students go on to meaningful employment, university or higher education within the college.
Newbury College is constantly reviewing the curriculum it offers to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the local employment market and provide courses that enable students to experience more and achieve more. A special page on the college's website at www.newbury-college.ac.uk/vote, allows potential students to vote for courses they believe should be offered by the college in the future.
In an event that celebrated Dr Anne Murdoch's 17-year long career at Newbury College, governors and staff, past and present, gathered with Mayors, local business leaders and members of Anne's family to celebrate her time as Principal. The event took place in an indoor marquee in the College sports hall on Wednesday 31 January. The proceedings were led by Geoff Knappett, Corporation Chair, and hosted by Communications Officer, Shaun Daubney, who highlighted Anne's many achievements and successes in a this is your life'-style presentation.
Contributing to the tributes that were made on the day were speakers Tony Allen, former Corporation Chair, Councillor Ellen Mary Crumly, Mayor of Thatcham, Pamela Lumsden, CEO, AOSEC and Roly Wise, an Engineering Assessor who has worked at the College for over 40 years. Those that could not attend, sent their well wishes via video ' these included Richard Benyon MP for Newbury, Campbell Christie, Principal, Bracknell and Wokingham College, Jacinta O'Shea, Managing Director of Keystone Projects Ltd and Anne's grandson, James Murdoch.
It's been a wonderful 17 years at the College, reflects Dr Anne Murdoch, Principal and CEO. I joined just before the College moved from its old site on the Oxford Road to its new campus on Monks Lane. In the time I've been Principal, I've been through five Ofsted inspections that have seen the College improve from unsatisfactory in 2004 to Good in 2009, 2015 and 2017, seen approximately 70-80,000 students take our courses, and developed the campus by adding a sports hall, training restaurant, construction centre, animal care unit, hair salon, and, most recently, an engineering solutions lab.
I've had the pleasure of working with many great staff and governors over the years and received a huge amount of support from the wider stakeholders, such as employers, the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP and local authorities. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all. I look forward to working alongside my successor Iain Wolloff for a short time before I leave and I wish him every success in his new role.
Anne's last day at the College is Friday 09 February, after which she takes up a position with the Principal's Professional Council. She will also assist in helping the College open a brand new primary school on its site in 2019.
As part of its wide vocational and academic offering, The Academy at Newbury College offers young people in year 10 and 11 (14-16 year olds) the opportunity to study GCSEs alongside a vocational programme. The students, some of whom have opted to leave mainstream school or have up to this point been educated at home, take up to five GCSEs or equivalent in subjects including Maths, English and Science. The two-year programme offers students the opportunity to study their key stage 4 education in a different environment with a focus on vocational skills, it also offers post-16 progression to Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) and 3 (A-level equivalent) vocational courses and apprenticeships.
In response to the publication of the government's new Progress 8 data last week, where some schools and colleges were listed as below and well below average', the Further Education sector has highlighted the importance of the role it plays in the education of young people and how a direct comparison does not do the sector justice.
Progress 8 data is based on school models where students have taken eight GCSEs. The module excludes vocational subjects and functional skills programmes, explains Dr Anne Murdoch, Principal and CEO of Newbury College. Our biggest challenge is that the Progress 8 accountability measures reflect a broad curriculum and a diverse cohort. Our students, a much smaller cohort (only 33 were involved in the year used for the recently published statistics) spend two years on this direct-entry programme and take a variety of vocational, GCSE and functional skills qualifications, and plenty of them do very well, going on to study A levels/BTECs and then progress to university or into meaningful employment.
To this end, we (and the wider FE sector) are disappointed that the measures compare direct-entry FE provisions with the mainstream offering. The AOC has asked the Government to reconsider this strategy, as we, like many other FE colleges, provide an important service to students who may have experienced an alternative education, or have had a disruption to their education of some kind or have barriers to learning. The ethos of what we offer to students in the Progress 8 measure is a programme to help them stay in education ' the value of which should not be underestimated."
Bryony Petersen and Gabriel Stirling both attended Newbury College's pre-16 programme. Bryony is now studying at Northampton University for her paramedic degree and Gabriel is at Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke studying towards a career in politics. Read their case studies here. In May 2017, Newbury College was graded a good' college.
Newbury College, in collaboration with Hogan Music & Academy, is pleased to offer a series music workshops. The first, taking place at Newbury College on Saturday 10 February, features legendary drummer Steve White. Steve has played with stars such as Paul Weller, Ian Dury, and, at seventeen, was the youngest performer on stage at the Live Aid concert in 1985 when he played with The Who.
The workshop, taking place between 3-6pm, promises to be inspiring, educational and fun. Steve will talk through his lengthy career and play some of the songs he performed with Paul Weller and The Style Council. He will demonstrate tips and exercises to help drummers improve their playing and answer question from the floor. Steve is also offering a few one-to-one sessions earlier in the day, these will run from 10am to 2pm.
Matt Foster, Music Technology course leader at Newbury College said: Newbury has a thriving music community and a wealth of talent. Together with Hogan Music and Academy, we are hoping to promote more of these fantastic educational opportunities for musicians to attend. To have someone of Steve's calibre playing at Newbury College is an absolute honour; it promises to be a fantastic afternoon.
The aim of the collaboration and the workshops is to promote the joy of music to a wider audience and make it accessible to all, said Mike Barbour, General Manager at Hogan Music. As a charity, Hogan Academy offers free music lessons to young, disadvantaged people. We'd like to encourage anyone interesting in learning to play the drums to come along to the workshop. With an inspiration like Steve ' who knows where it could lead!"
Newbury College offers Music Technology courses at Level 2 and 3. Hogan Music and Academy offers one-to-one tuition at its music centre on Bartholomew Street.
Tickets can be purchased from Hogan Music at a cost of £10 per person for the workshop and £50 for the one-to-one sessions.