Staff and students at Newbury College have been getting in the mood in the last week with their annual Christmas Carols Service and taking part in the national wear your 'Christmas Jumper Day' in support of the charity Save the Children.
The annual carol service was attended by staff and students and lead by College Chaplin Ian Gardner. This year the carols were accompanied by The Salvation Army's brass band. The Salvation Army band has become a regular performer at public events, especially over Christmas time.
Sports Maker and Enrichment Officer Aimee Kaur who organised both the carol service and Christmas Jumper event at the College said, "The carol service is a popular event in the College calendar and I was thrilled with the participation from both staff and students at the carol service and taking part in the Christmas Jumper Day. Christmas is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to come together and the Christmas Jumper Day enables us all to raise money and awareness so that every child's potential can be fulfilled in many countries around the world. As a College we are proud to be contributing towards transforming the lives of less fortunate children. I'm pleased to say that the event has raised more than £100 for the charity".
The Children's Christmas Jumper Day is now in its third year and has currently raised more than £1.6 million for the charity. The charity was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 in order to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts. Save the Children is an international non-governmental organisation that promotes children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries.
Newbury College held its annual Graduation and FE Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 9 December to celebrate the success of its learners. The College was delighted that, Mr Simon Greenstreet, Head of Communications UK/Ireland for Bayer Plc attended as the guest speaker.
The evening was a celebration of learners who have achieved Higher Education qualifications, Level 4 and above, and further education learners who received awards to recognise their hard work and dedication to their course. The event was attended by Governors and VIP guests, the Mayor of Thatcham, Cllr Gary Johnson and Cllr Billy Drummond. The FE Awards were sponsored by local employers who included Apple Print and Creative, M & B Hair, The Vineyard, Hogan Music, Hitachi Capital, Jewsons, Newbury Building Society, The Breeze and The Corn Exchange.
Dr Anne Murdoch OBE, Newbury College Principal said "The Newbury College Graduation and FE Awards Ceremony is a celebration of the achievements of our hardworking students and staff. The event is also an opportunity for family and friends to recognise the successes of individuals and for the College and employers to present special awards to recognise the outstanding achievements of some of this year's students. We are particularly grateful to Mr Simon Greenstreet, Head of Communications UK/Ireland for Bayer Plc, for presenting the certificates and awards to Graduates on this occasion, and to the sponsors of the FE Awards for their commitment to supporting our courses and their generous donations."
The Higher Education graduates came from a variety of courses including Computing, Accounting, Engineering, Teacher Training and Management graduated in front of their family and friends. There were also a number of Higher Education awards presented to recognise students who had shown exceptional commitment and achievement.
The Newbury College 'Outstanding Further Education Learner Award' was awarded to Mechanic Engineering learner Andrew McCutcheon, the 'Outstanding Adult and Community Learner Award' was awarded to ESOL learner Poly Nazmun and the 'Outstanding Higher Education Learner Award' was awarded to Gemma Stobie who has been studying the Reading University Foundation Degree in Children's Development. This year there were two Institute of Engineering Design 'Annual Student Project Awards' which were presented to Dominic Callaghan and Jamie Pinnell by Richard Willis, Newbury College lecturer and member of the iED.
Guest speaker Simon Greenstreet delivered a speech about his experience working in multimillion pound companies and reinforcing to learners to never give up on achieving your goals. Following the ceremony graduates, award winners and guests were treated to a drinks reception with canapés. The refreshments were made and served by the College's catering students in the new catering training restaurant.
Mr Greenstreet has spent most of his career working for large international companies including Rolls-Royce; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Pfizer and international law firms, including Eversheds. He also worked for a period in the Cabinet Office in Central Government working for the Deputy-Prime Minister, advising on small firms' policy. For three years Simon put his own advice into practice by running three businesses, before joining Bayer in 2012.
Bayer is a global Life Sciences company specialising in human, animal and plant. As a research-led innovation business, Bayer sets trends in research-intensive areas including cardiovascular and cancer therapies. Bayer's mission is 'Science For A Better Life' and its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve the quality of their lives. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In 2013, the Group employed 112,000 people; had sales of €40.2 billion, and invested €3.5bn in research and development.
Hairdressing students at Newbury College are taking part in The Rucksack Project, delivering rucksacks to the homeless.
The Rucksack Project is a national campaign to help the homeless. College students will be organising the event in their tutorial sessions, designating roles, contacting local charities to raise awareness and collecting items to include in the rucksacks. They will also attend and manage the event on the day.
Hairdressing lecturer Deb Chester whose class is taking part in the project said, "I'm involved in the Rucksack Project in Portsmouth and thought it would be great to get our students involved in. The Rucksack Project helps people when they most need it and I felt so passionately about it that I thought it would be great to get our students involved and I am thrilled with their enthusiasm and commitment to the project".
The Rucksack Project has been running since 2009, growing each year, and has now become a worldwide project.
A student from the hairdressing class who strongly supports the project said, "I feel passionately about helping people less fortunate than myself as I was homeless for two years so I know how it feels".
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.