Newbury College hosted the first training session for the South of England Junior Wheelchair Basketball team on Saturday 25 May at 10am-2pm. Newbury College is one of four Colleges' in the South East involved in supporting these sessions.
The team is getting ready for the, 'Sainsbury's UK School Games 2013', which will be taking place at the University of Sheffield in September. The Games will be held over four days and is designed to replicate the feel of a major event such as the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Kev Ogbourne, Head Coach of the British Wheelchair Basketball team who will be training the squad said, "The team was cut down to just 14 when we finish our training on the 25th, then we have a few more training sessions to get ready for the school games in Sheffield".
This will be the third successive year that Wheelchair Basketball has been chosen sports for the 2013 School Games. The event is held annually and is a multi-sport event for the UK's elite young athletes of school age.
Sara Taylor Team Manager, who organised the training sessions for the team said, "As Team Manager it was my responsibility to select training venues for the Wheelchair Basketball (South) Team, and I choose Newbury College for its location, enthusiasm of the staff, accessibility and its modern sports hall.
Alder Bridge School annually runs a creative event, pampering busy parents. Newbury College showed its support when Level 3 Art Students, currently in their second year at the College, held a fashion show for the finale of the event.
The College was approached by Alder Bridge School to put on a fashion show at the 'Ladies Indulgence Evening', an evening of demonstrations, pampering and alternative therapies. The art students had recently completed a fashion unit and showed a small selection of their garments together with a selection of fashions from across the eras from 1960s to today.
Jackie Heggs, Art lecturer at Newbury College said, "The Fashion Show at Alder Bridge School provides an opportunity for our students to contribute to the wider community whilst providing a showcase of their creative skills across the fashion and media industry. This type of event enhances vocational learning by giving a real experience of the responsibilities of work in the fashion media industry."
The College showed great enthusiasm with models made up of students from a variety of courses, and the makeup was provided by Level 2 Beauty Students. All of the fashion was provide by Level 3 Art and Design students, with a mixture designed and created pieces and purchased garments.
Motor Vehicle students from Newbury College took part in a visit to the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA). The visit was organised for the trainee mechanics to gain an insight into how the department of transport oversees the vehicle MOT system, and instigates road side inspections for cars and heavy vehicles.
Students took part in a discussion and presentation on the involvement of VOSA in their various rolls as administrators of the MOT test, vehicle inspections, roadside inspections and accident investigations before being shown around a current MOT test on a 7.5 ton commercial vehicle.
Newbury College Motor Vehicle Lecturer, Alistair Napier said, "It was a great honour to be the first College to visit the VOSA centre. The students all thoroughly enjoyed the day, and it gave them an insight into the importance of what the department oversees".
The students were all extremely positive after their visit to VOSA after learning more about an area of motor trade that they were yet to cover.
Newbury College was delighted to welcome Olympian and Commonwealth Gold Medallist, Julie Bradbury, to deliver a badminton coaching session recently which was attended by students and members of the local community.
Julie Bradbury is a sporting icon in Badminton having won Gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada and representing Great Britain at both the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Along with those sporting achievements she is only the second person to hold all five titles in all three disciplines of badminton (mixed, single, doubles) at the English Nationals.
Julie Bradbury spent the session giving coaching tips to those who attended and said, "It was great to present the badminton masterclass at Newbury College and hopefully inspire a few members of staff to encourage badminton to be played by students at the College".
The event was organised by Joe Pegg, Sports Maker at Newbury College who said, "To have a visit from Julie Bradbury is fantastic. Her combined experience of playing and coaching is outstanding and I am sure all aspiring Badminton players will have learnt a great deal from Julie during the Masterclass."