The Royal Marines Visibility Team visited Newbury College last week to give an insight to Uniformed Public Service students into recruitment, training and the role of the Royal Marines and Royal Navy.
The visit gave students the opportunity to speak to serving members of the forces and take part in a variety of fitness tests, which included sprints, press-ups and team competitions.
Course Leader for Public Services Neil Metcalfe organised the visit and said, "We are extremely grateful to the Royal Marines and Royal Navy for visiting the College. It is important for the students to see all aspects of the Military as well as other public services. The visit enabled students to understand what would be expected of them in the Marines and Navy and the types of fitness tests that they would be required to take part in throughout their time in the services".
Corporal Jones RM commented on how good the group were and how the students worked exceptionally hard during the physical activities. In his talk he told students that it's not just within the military; teamwork and commitment is important in all walks of life.
Ethan Prince, a student at Newbury College who has already applied to join the Royal Marines, stated that he "thoroughly enjoyed" the afternoon especially the fitness tests as he now has an idea of what to expect and feels more prepared.
His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO, visited Newbury College on Tuesday 18 November 2014, prior to his appointment at The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service presentation, which was held at the College later that day.
The visit included a tour of the Motor Vehicle workshops and an opportunity to speak to students and local employers from the Motor Vehicle Industry. His Royal Highness had the opportunity to see a number of demonstrations from various areas within the Motor Vehicle department and from College employer partners. Staff and students demonstrated breaks pads, a rolling road, and how the Break Horse Power (BHP) of a car is tested.
Principal of Newbury College, Dr Anne Murdoch OBE said, "We would like to extend our thanks to His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester, for taking the time to visit the College and engaged with our students. The visit was a fantastic opportunity to exhibit our state of the art Motor Vehicle workshop and for our students, and the local employers we work closely with, to showcase their skills. The Volunteer Awards Ceremony was held in our new Sports Hall, which is a fantastic facility that can transform into a gala marque".
Employers exhibiting on the day included Williams and Xtrac who work closely with the College on their Apprenticeship programme. West Berkshire's Classic Vehicle Club also exhibited two classic vehicles, a 1914 Morris Bullnose that was used in the hit TV show Downton Abbey, and a Super Charged Lotus.
VIP guests who attended the events included The Lord Lieutenant for the Royal County of Berkshire, Mrs Bayliss; High Sheriff of Berkshire; The Chairman of West Berkshire, Cllr Jeff Beck; The Chairman of Greenham Parish Council, Patrick Planterose; The Mayor of Newbury Town Cllr, Jo Day; The Mayor of Thatcham, Cllr Gary Johnson and the Mayoress of Thatcham, Mrs Heather Johnson.
The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is an annual award which recognises and rewards excellence in voluntary activities carried out by groups in the community. Following the event, His Royal Highness had the opportunity to meet with Catering and Food and Beverage students who presented the Duke with a cake. Students also catered for the event.
Students at Newbury College have been working with The Kennet Valley at War Trust to preserve West Berkshire's wartime history and promote its heritage to future generations after it received grant money to conserve the Second World War artefacts. Students will be photographing items from the museum to include in a database driven website that they have designed as part of their College course.
The trust has received a grant of £30,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to conserve and enhance the artefacts, which will be used in a project focusing on the history of the Kennet Valley during the conflict. The collection, based in a small museum within Littlecote House, near Hungerford, ranges from a three-ton Sherman tank turret to part of a German Heinkel 111 bomber's wing. There are also British, Canadian and American military uniforms, photographs, helmets and badges.
The project's spokesman Tim Green said "We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident the project will help young people and the wider community better understand and take pride in their local heritage".
The project will enable young people in the area to research, photograph and digitise the artefacts to create a new website and will be run by Trust members, students from Newbury College and Ramsbury Primary School. It will also create an education pack, which will be distributed to 250 schools in North Wiltshire, West Berkshire and Swindon, the development of three walks exploring the Kennet Valley's wartime archaeology and a series of workshops.
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".
Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East, Stuart McLeod, said "The Trust's collection reflects many different aspects of civilian and military life along the valley during the Second World War and we're pleased to support this project which will create a lasting legacy of the local community's wartime memory.
Newbury College reinforced to students the importance of staying safe by holding its annual, 'Stay Safe' Day at the College. The event is aimed to reinforce safety to students and inform them about how they can stay safe.
A range of different organisations attended the event including Thames Valley Police community support officers with the local drugs unit, Royal Berkshire NHS blood and transplant service, Royal Berkshire Fire Service, Juice, The Edge and The Samaritans. The exhibitors held a variety of activities to promote safety which included: wearing beer googles, taking part in quizzes and signing up as blood donors.
Sports Maker and Enrichment Officer, Aimee Kaur organised the event and said, "The day is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn the importance of staying safe, not only have we promoted our local services but students now have an understanding of which services offer the appropriate support for different situations. I was thrilled with the student participation and they all thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt a great deal".
Media Hair and Make Up student Kaya Rimple who took part in the event said "I really enjoyed the stay safe event and trying out different activities from a range of organisations, especially the wearing the beer googles! I hadn't thought of how vulnerable alcohol can make you beforehand!"