Newbury College has recently been named a pilot site for Rush Hockey. The sport has recently been created for those who love a team sport but have never had the time to commit. The game fits around people's lifestyles, is fast, furious and fun. Rush Hockey is a 5-a-side game, played on a smaller pitch than normal Hockey, and can be played indoors or outdoors.
This opportunity has been made possible thanks to a National Lottery funded sports grant from Sport England which has enabled Newbury College to be one of 150 colleges around the UK to recruit a full time sports professional, a 'Sports Maker', to help increase student participation in sport.
Sports Maker Aimee Kaur is delighted with the involvement from students and said, "Rush Hockey is a great sport for students to get involved in and allows the students the opportunity to work as a team which is a useful skill for both their social and working lives".
Rush Hockey sessions were launched at the College at the end of February and have so far proved popular with students, engaging a variety of curriculum areas from Motor Vehicle to Animal Care.
The programme has been launched by Sport England in order to carry out research to look at the attitudes and behaviours of college students towards sports and to help them increase participation.
Newbury College is working with The Central School of Ballet. Spring 2015 sees the return of Central School of Ballet's renowned touring company Ballet Central to the Newbury Spring Festival at The Corn Exchange on Thursday 14th May. In advance of this popular performance, Central School of Ballet has been allocated funding by the Greenham Common Trust which has allowed them to offer workshops with local primary and secondary schools including Newbury College.
Last week Newbury College's Preforming Arts GCSE students were treated to a workshop from Central School of Ballet. The workshop required the students to work together and aimed to improve communications between pupils, enhancing their classroom relationship.
Performing Arts Lecturer k9ztge Gudino-Resendiz, who has been working with The Central School of Ballet to organise the workshops for College students, said "This is an exciting opportunity for the students to be part of a community project where not only dance skills are at play but their social, physical and intellectual abilities too". Central runs a wide programme of outreach work to encourage and broaden participation in dance and are passionate about encouraging young people to adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle through dance.
"We are looking forward to bringing our Dancing Partners programme to schools in Newbury" said Central's Head of Widening Participation and Access, Debra Cougill, "Our workshops are accompanied by a pianist or percussionist therefore enriching the class and additionally offering participants the experience of hearing live music. The primary schools that we visit also receive Continuing Professional Development Training during which we aim to provide classroom teachers with the skills and the confidence to deliver dance as part of their PE curriculum and integrate it across the Curriculum".
Central School of Ballet has had a long standing relationship with the Corn Exchange Theatre in Newbury and Ballet Central, the school's graduate touring company, perform annually as part of the Spring Festival. Each year Central invites local schools to the Ballet Central afternoon dress rehearsal to observe their third year students perform. "This has proved invaluable to young people not only in giving them positive role models but in encouraging young people to think about their own pathways and progression routes into Higher Education" adds Debra.
The dress rehearsal and Q&A with members of the company also introduces children to the work of the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama (comprised of eight elite schools across the country who are specialists in their art form). "The Conservatoire are passionate about encouraging young people from as diverse backgrounds as possible across the country to consider the arts as a career path and they provide scholarships and bursaries to emerging talent who could not otherwise afford to do so." explains Debra.
Staff, Governors and Students at Newbury College are celebrating a 'Good' result in their recent Ofsted inspection. The College has maintained its Ofsted rating of 'Good' overall and is delighted by the praise given by inspectors to the work the College does with its students.
Ofsted commended the College on its good teaching which develops learners' knowledge and skills, as well as the use of highly innovative strategies to develop learners' personal, social and employability skills using the College's Passport to Progression programme. Inspectors also found the College has very high progression rates to employment and further study at a higher level.
The report highlights the very good information, advice and guidance the College makes available to learners, along with very thorough and effective additional learning support. In addition, as in previous inspection reports, Ofsted praises the high quality provision for learners with severe or complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities enabling learners to develop greater independence.
As an organisation with an established history of vocational provision in and around West Berkshire, Newbury College was also praised for its strong employer links that help ensure the College responds well, both to the local and regional priorities set by the Local Education Partnership (LEP) and to the employment opportunities available in the region.
Dr Anne Murdoch, College Principal said, "I am delighted that, following a four day inspection, Newbury College is graded as 'Good' on all measures used by inspectors. The report confirms the hard work and commitment of everyone to ensure that all our learners at the College receive really good education and training. Ofsted confirmed that Newbury College learners value their programmes, feel valued and safe, and achieve in their programmes at every level. In addition, learners appreciate the arrangements for providing information, advice, guidance and support".
Newbury College has consistently outperformed similar providers nationally by continuing to focus on developing learning for individuals and business. For 2013/14, overall student achievement on their courses was 97%. Ofsted commented that the strong and clear corporate vision ensures the College responds well to individual learners as well as to employers.
Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. Their aim is to raise aspirations and contribute to the long term achievement of ambitious standards and better life chances.
Trustees from Kennet Valley at War Trust visited Newbury College on Friday 27 February to present Media Students with a remote-control helicopter camera which will be used to help the students complete the new website they are working on as part of a lottery funded project.
Students at the College have been working with the Trust to preserve West Berkshire's wartime history and promote its heritage to future generations after it received grant money to conserve its collection of Second World War artefacts. Students have been photographing items from the museum to include in a database driven website that they have designed as part of their College course.
Newbury College's Interactive Media Course Leader Julian Bellmont said, "The project is of enormous educational benefit to the students, enabling them to get actively involved in the local community. The UAV Drone will allow students to take aerial photographs that will be included on the website".
Trustee Roger Day said, "This is a very exciting development. The innovative use of a remote-controlled helicopter camera to photograph Littlecote House, home to the 506th (US) Parachute Infantry Regiment from late 1943 until June 1944, and other areas of the Kennet Valley's Second World War heritage will add considerable value to the new website."
Media student at Newbury College Matt Steele said, "I've really enjoyed working on this project and have learnt a great deal."
The Kennet Valley at War Trust received £30,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for this exciting project to conserve and enhance the charity's collection of Second World War artefacts and to increase the number of ways in which the local community can access the collection and celebrate their local heritage.
The project also enables the creation of a new education pack (to be available online, and to be printed and distributed to 250 schools in North Wiltshire, West Berkshire and Swindon), the development of three walks exploring the Kennet Valley's war time archaeology, and the delivery of a series of 10 workshops to broaden access and enable great community involvement.