News

Berkshire Community Foundation has launched The Berkshire Flood Recovery Fund' in response to the hardship being suffered by communities as a result of the recent extreme weather conditions.

Chris Barrett, chair of trustees of BCF, said today (Friday): The devastation floods have caused in Berkshire, and the practical help we have received from the Armed Forces and today from The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry in Datchet have made headlines around the world but here at BCF we know that the impact will be felt by our communities for months to come and that is why it is so important that we set up a sustainable fund to help people long after the headlines move on.

We are about local giving and we are calling people and businesses to give their support to our local communities by contributing to the Berkshire Flood Recovery Fund.

BCF is uniquely placed to make sure that the right help gets to the right people at the right time.

The Berkshire Flood Recovery Fund will support Berkshire community groups and charities that are helping individuals across the county.

Berkshire Community Foundation (BCF) will support community groups who in turn support individuals when they are most in need and at their most vulnerable.

BCF is also working in partnership with others to develop longer term support for affected communities, as they recover from the immediate impact of the floods.

Please donate online at www.localgiving.com/berkshirefloodfund. A telephone line will be open in the near future. Cheques can be sent to (and made payable to) Berkshire Community Foundation, 1650 Arlington Business Park, Theale, RG7 4SA.

Newbury College welcomed a record number of people to their Open Evening last night with over 600 people attending the event which showcased the variety of courses the College has to offer.

The open evening was more interactive than ever with curriculum areas demonstrating their courses with fantastic displays and have a go activities. These include a climbing wall, wire a plug, piping hot carpentry, seated head and neck massage, manicures, Photoshop techniques and many more. A number of the 'Have A Go' activities were set up as part of the, 'National Skills Show'. The Skills Show inspires and transforms young people's lives through a series of interactive events held across the UK, changing the way we think about skills, training and apprenticeships.

Newbury College Principal Dr Anne Murdoch said, "The evening was a great success. We are delighted with the record numbers that attended our Open Evening and pleased that so many people are interested in the courses we offer".

Local businesses that are involved in course programmes including The Ambulance Service and Adventure Dolphin showed their support on the night offering advice about careers and providing activities.

The evening was a fantastic opportunity for the local community to view the College's state of the art facilities, including the brand new training restaurant and state of the art plumbing workshop, which is due to be officially opened later next month. Potential learners had the opportunity to see the many courses on offer and speak to subject specialists. Current students were also on hand to talk to prospective students and their parents and show them around while talking about their College experience.

The College's 'Young Enterprise' team, named Idyllic, also attended the event where they were selling refurbished and upcycled jewellery and other individual handmade pieces.

For those in Year 11, the evening was a chance for them and their parents to discover the options available to them after GCSEs. Meanwhile, adult learners attending the event had an opportunity to find out more about Newbury College and explore ways in which to further their career or to develop a new hobby.

Newbury College welcomed the U19 England Cricket team to its new sports hall this week, where they held their last training session before they head off to the cricket world cup, which is being held in the United Emirates next month.

England will begin with a game against hosts UAE at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on 14 February before playing Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the other group stage matches in Dubai. If England progress further they could then go on to face one of 15 other countries in the latter stages of the tournament.

Head Coach Tim Boon, who is responsible for the training of the team was impressed with the facilities at the College and said, "The facilities at Newbury College have been excellent. Players were able to focus on priority goals in their skills work as well as complete physical tests".

The College has a partnership with Berkshire Cricket which sees various squads from the county training in the College's state of the arts sports facilities, as well as it being the base for their extensive Coach Education programme.

Having Berkshire Cricket situated at the College is great for the students, especially aspiring sports students. The students have the opportunity to watch and observe cricket at a higher level and learn from these world class professionals at close proximity.

Newbury College celebrated creative writing skills at an awards ceremony recently where winners of the 2013 Creative Writing Competition were awarded their certificates and prizes.

Over the autumn term students from Newbury College were given the opportunity to take part in the writing competition. Entrants were able to submit work in three different categories: poetry, short story and review. The competition has become a regular event at the College with over 60 students taking part this year from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.

Newbury College Library Assistant Hector MacEachen, helped organise the event and said, "I am thrilled with the number of students who took part in this competition and impressed with the standard of writing submitted. Choosing the winners from such a wide range of entries was not an easy task".

The celebration event was attended by all those who took part along with their family and friends who were able to celebrate their achievements. Principal of Newbury College, Dr Anne Murdoch OBE presented certificates to all the learners who took part in the challenge as well as prizes to the overall winners of each category.

The pieces of writing were judged on originality, content and style. The poetry category was won by Lee Bowsher, the short story category by Michael Suppo and the winner of the review category was Kieran Bremner. An additional eight awards were given out to students who were best on their course: The winners from participating courses were: Jacqueline Stobbart, Jackie Porter, Alicja Ogonek, Izabella Zalewska, Viktoria Halmi, Carla Alves and Ludmilla Cummings.