Newbury College students put the skills they have learnt over the course of the year into good practice at the Monks Lane Campus' Spring Open Day on Saturday 16 May 2015 with over 300 visitors attending the event.
There were opportunities to talk to subject tutors and other staff about the courses on offer, take tours of the College's state-of-the-art facilities and get involved with have-a-go activities. Visitors were also able to experience College students demonstrating projects from across the curriculum.
Animal Care students continued on last year's successful fundraising with the now annual Dog Show in support of Dogs Trust and RSPCA which saw 18 dogs enter the competition. Public Services and Sports students put on activities including archery, penalty shoot outs and face painting. Skills Project Mentor Sian Ellis, who helped students organise the activities said, "The event is a great opportunity for our students to put their skills into practice as well as supporting fantastic causes. I'm really proud of the hard work and commitment the students have showed"
Open Events at Newbury College are always an excellent opportunity for people to discover the wide range of courses available to them, from full time vocational and academic programmes for school leavers, to professional, leisure and business training for adults. This year the College also held recruitment sessions for people interested in employment.
Newbury College Principal Dr Anne Murdoch OBE said, "We were delighted with the number of visitors who came to the College. We have worked hard on expanding our curriculum offer for September 2015, including a new Music Technology course in partnership with Hogan Music, as well as Horticulture, Fashion, Event Management and many more. These new courses are also complemented by new GCSE and A Level programmes, providing the widest local choice of options for school leavers from year 10 and up".
Newbury College Hair and Beauty students Yasmin Allen and Nicole Blunt celebrated their success in a recent presentation. Students received certificates for their participation during progression week by Bravo Hairdressing owner Phil Jackson.
The presentation took place in the College's hairdressing salon and Phil Jackson commended students for their hard work and commitment to the programme. Progression week gave students the opportunity to attend a number of talks and interactive demonstrations that covered a wide range of professions within the hair and beauty industry including, Trichology, Make Up Artistry and Hair Extensions.
Hairdressing salon co-ordinator Jenny Parks, who organised the week said, "It is important that our students are inspired about their futures. To help them choose the appropriate next step in their careers we invited a variety of speakers from the industry to come in and talk to the students. The speakers explained how they had succeeded and provided practical demonstrations. The week was a great success and something that we look to build on in future years to come".
Phil Jackson continued, "As a Newbury salon we are keen to support our local College and look forward to working with Newbury College on future projects".
Newbury College's Hairdressing and Beauty salons are open to the public and offer discounted rates. To book an appointment call 01635 845000 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.
Newbury College are proud to once again be taking part in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire Open Studios Scheme which takes place during May this year. The exhibition at the College is being held in the state of the art Mezzanine Gallery on site, and features the varied collection entitled ‘Parts of a Whole’ showing both staff and students work.
The exhibition was inspired by a student group interpretation of a portrait of the artist and sculptor Alberto Giacometti. The exhibition brings together work produced in groups and by individuals and represents a wide range of media from painting and drawing through fashion and textiles to prints, photographs and ceramics.
Art Technician and Exhibition Co-ordinator at Newbury College Nicki Lister, said, “What I like about the Open Studio’s ‘Pieces of a Whole’ exhibition is the variety of creativity, media and styles produced by staff and students. There is something to excite and interest everybody”
This is the second year that Newbury College has participated in Open Studios enabling students to learn the requirements of exhibiting art work to a professional standard and to showcase their work. The exhibition also develops awareness of the business side of the creative industries through helping to promote and curate the show.
The year’s exhibition shows over 150 individual art works. Several pieces of art work are available for sale and artists are open to commissions. All visitors are welcome to view the works and enjoy the variety of pieces that showcase local talent.
‘Parts of a whole’ is open to the public on Saturday 16th May from 10.00am – 1.00pm and on Wednesdays – Fridays 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 20th, 21st and 22nd May from 11.00am – 4.30pm.
Newbury College is working in partnership with Prior’s Court School, a provider ofeducationandresidentialcareforyoungpeopleaged5-25withautism,learningdifficultiesandcomplexneeds, in an exciting partnership to deliver a newly developed qualification ‘Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare’ for more than 100 staff members.
Marian Shannon, Director of HR & Training at Prior’s Court, is delighted to be working with Newbury College; “The new Level 3 Diploma is one of the required qualifications which have come into force following the changes to the Children’s Homes regulations in April 2015. As a leader in our field and an organisation that is committed to ensuring the highest levels of expertise to meet the needs of our students we welcome this change and the opportunity to work with Newbury College to deliver the highest standards of care for young people with autism.”
Debbie Blaber, Coordinator for Work Based Learning at Newbury College who will be managing the project says, “It is a privilege to be working with such a respected local organisation with a national reputation for being leaders in their field. Prior’s Court has pro-actively embraced this new qualification and is committed to investing in the training and development of their staff, these are exciting times to embark on such a partnership.”