Newbury College hosted the National Boxing Semi-Finals on Sunday 24 November. This historic event is the first rung on the ladder for many boxing greats with previous champions of this competition including Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Frank Bruno.
Ambition UK have been working in partnership with the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) to hold an Annual Boxing Championships for young men aged 15-19 years old.
Sports Maker Joe Pegg said, "It is a great opportunity to host the southern semi-final boxing event. It is important for Newbury College to showcase the Sports Hall and host events that will bring new people onto site. It is a prestigious event and highlights the boxing talent in the area".
Ambition is the UK's leading youth club charity. With the pressures young people are under today, Ambition helps youth clubs, community groups and projects support young people to develop confidence, skills and resilience for the future. Ambition UK has been working with the Amateur Boxing Association of England Ltd (ABAE), the national body for boxing, enabling for them to hold annual boxing championship for young men.
The College welcomed the Thames Valley Student Police Officers to the College recently as they worked with Public Services Students on role play activities.
Trainee Police Officers require a safe environment in which to practice dealing with scenarios that they have learnt at Police Training College. The event allowed for officers to have contact with the public in a learning environment whilst public services students were able to discover more about the Police and the work and training that is involved.
Mark Baggott of the Community Liaison Team for Thames Valley Police (TVP) who coordinated the visit with Course Leader for Public Services Neil Metcalfe said, "Newbury College is a great venue for us to use when training our student officers. The staff and students were so helpful and the Public Services students made excellent role actors. The opportunity this offers for engagement with young people is fantastic and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We would like to thank both Newbury College and Neil Metcalfe and wish their students all the best in their future careers."
Neil Metcalfe, Course Leader for Public Services said, "This has been a fantastic opportunity for both Thames Valley Police and all students at Newbury College. The Public Service students have helped play a small part within the training of the Thames Valley Officers, some of whom will soon be on patrol in the local area. Newbury College wishes those officers well in their future careers".
The students all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Talking of the activity, Poppy Johnson from the Extended Diploma in Public Services said, "This was fantastic and has really inspired me. The officers were great to work with and grateful for our help".
Xtrac, whose Apprenticeship scheme is supported by Newbury College, were the big winners recently after attending the Insider - Made in the South East awards in Guildford where they were awarded winners of two categories; Apprenticeship scheme and the top award of Manufacturing Company of the Year (over £25m turnover).
The highly commended entries and winners were announced at a high profile awards ceremony which was held at G Live on Thursday 10 October 2013. These awards show great team effort between Xtrac and its staff, and Newbury College in the employment of young people.
Martin Russell, Senior Business Executive at Newbury College said, "We are delighted to have played a part in helping to develop this quality Apprenticeship scheme for young people in West Berkshire. It is good to see a company investing in its apprentices and developing the talent of its workforce. Everyone at Newbury College wishes Xtrac luck in the UK Awards in Liverpool in 2014.
The awards which were compered by BBC journalist Justin Webb, heard from keynote speakers Alan Foster, operations director at McLaren Automotive, and Insider Media's managing director Marien Roberts. The winners will now go through to the Insider Made in the UK Awards, to be held in Liverpool in 2014.
Warren Page, Apprentice Co-ordinator at Xtrac commented "Through these awards it shows recognition for a great team effort between Xtrac and its staff, and Newbury College in the employment of young people. To invest in Apprenticeships, in conjunction with Newbury College is the future of our company. Our Apprenticeships will give these young people the knowledge and skills they need to progress in their careers as skilled machinists, assemblers, production engineers, trackside support and Team Leaders".
Established in 1984, Xtrac has become recognised as the worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of transmission systems supporting a wide client base covering top level motorsport, transportation, defence and marine. A privately owned company with a passion for winning and dedicated to continuous improvement, which is supported by personal development plans for key staff members and a well-funded capital expenditure programme.
Newbury College helped more people climb to success with a record number of people attending the recent open evening which showcased the variety of courses the College has to offer.
The open evening was more interactive than ever with curriculum areas demonstrating what their courses entailed by putting on fantastic displays and have a go activities including a climbing wall, manicures, hair demo, flower arranging, bricklaying and many more. Current students were on hand to talk to prospective students and their parents and show them around while talking about their College experience.
Newbury College Principal Dr Anne Murdoch said, "The evening was a great success. We are delighted with the number of visitors that came along to our open evening and pleased that so many people are interested in our courses".
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 to see the many courses on offer. The College's business students helped to organise the activities and attended the event on the welcome desk, giving guided tours and chatting to prospective leaners.
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.