Newbury College held its annual Graduation Ceremony on Tuesday 13 December 2011 to celebrate the success of learners who achieved Higher Education qualifications at Level 4 and above. The College was delighted that, Neil Cater, Centre Manager at the new Parkway Shopping Centre in Newbury, was the guest speaker at the ceremony and presented the graduates with Newbury College graduating certificates.
The evening was attended by College staff and Governors as well as a host of VIPs, including the Deputy Mayor of Newbury, Chief Executive of West Berkshire Council and Newbury Colleges Chair of Corporation Nick Carter, Councilor Peter Argyle, Geoff Knappett and many more. Graduates from a variety of courses including Computing, Accounting, Engineering, Teacher Training, Marketing, Quality Assurance and Management will graduate in front of their family and friends. There were also Army Instructors from Dennison Barracks celebrating their graduation success at the ceremony, although they were wearing their Newbury College graduation gowns they were also proudly wearing their Army uniforms displaying their magnificent collection of badges on their chest.
Anne Murdoch, Newbury College Principal said The Newbury College Graduation is a wonderful celebration of the achievements of our hardworking students and staff. This year, the Graduation celebrates news of our outstanding higher education inspection report which is a great achievement for all those involved at the College. The Graduation event is an opportunity not only for family and friends to recognise the achievements of all the College Graduates but also for special awards to be given to recognise the outstanding achievements of some students who graduated this year. We are very grateful to Neil Carter, Parkway Centre Manager for presenting the certificates and awards.
Newbury College's Higher Education Department has been awarded this year with a result of Confidence' by the Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review. The result Confidence' is the highest level of rating that a Higher Education provider can be awarded with. Newbury College is very proud of their Higher Education department and the level of quality their Learners receive; this is also reflected in the Graduation Ceremony celebrations.
This year three students were presented with awards to recognise their exceptional commitment and achievement: the AWE award' for Most Improved Higher Mechanical Learner', the AWE Most Improved Higher Electronics Learner' and the Newbury College, Outstanding Learner Award'.
The Students dressed in academic robes, appropriate to their course and others will wore the Newbury College hood colours, which were designed for the College by the specialist gown company, Ede and Ravenscroft. After the Ceremony, graduates and guests enjoyed a celebration with a buffet and drinks reception. Neil Carter is the Centre Manager at the Parkway shopping centre, which is a new and exciting 475,000 sq ft shopping destination and residential scheme that has been built in the heart of Newbury town centre. Neil brings over 17 years of retail experience to the role, following four years as General Manager at County Mall Shopping Centre in Crawley and prior to this, Neil held a number of retail management positions at Debenhams and Marks & Spencer.
For further information about Newbury College's Higher Education and professional development courses please call Learner Services on 01635 845000 or visit www.newbury-college.ac.uk
Move over Gordon, step aside Jamie, the best young culinary talent in Berkshire is preparing to go head-to-head in the FutureChef 2011 local finals, due to take place at Newbury College on 13th December.
Young people from schools around Berkshire are taking part in the contest, which is the second stage of a nationwide culinary programme helping young people aged between 12-16 learn to cook, organised by Springboard UK. The College's excellent teaching kitchens have been selected as the setting for the Future Chef competition. Within the competition each contestant will receive mentoring, encouragement and assistance from a local well-known chef through the competition.
Annmarie Farr, Lecturer for Catering at Newbury College, says, The Future Chef competition is a great opportunity for young people to get a taste of life in the catering industry and receive specialist support from industry professionals. Many young people respect the likes of nearby restaurant owners Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White, but don't consider cooking as a career option. We hope this competition may inspire some participants to pursue cooking as a profession. We're proud to host the local finals at Newbury College to showcase the facilities that our vocational catering students enjoy whilst training here with us.
Participants will devise, prepare and cook a hot main course and a hot or cold dessert for two with a budget of just £6. They must also provide full costing detail for the meal and then face an expert judging panel. Teachers, parents and guests from participating schools are expected to attend the College to cheer on contestants.
More than 7000 competitors from 600 schools from across the country participated in FutureChef 2010 to find the cream of aspiring young chefs. The competition was introduced 11 years ago by Brian Turner CBE, Chairman of FutureChef, and has seen involvement from most of the country's leading chefs.
If you're interested in finding out more information please visit the FutureChef website www.springboard.net or telephone 020 7395 9482 for more details. For more information on the catering courses available at Newbury College or to find out more about any of our 100s of full or part time courses please visit www.newbury-college.ac.uk or call 01635 845000
Newbury College held its annual Further Education Awards Evening recently where full time, further education students received recognition for their hard work and achievements from the College and local businesses.
The evening, was attended by a number of local companies who sponsored awards, including; Apple Print, Buck & Hickman, M & B Hair, E J Business Consultants, Viatcress and Donnington Valley Vineyard.
Anne Murdoch, Newbury College Principal hosted the evening and was delighted that so many local employers continued to sponsor and join the awards programme this year said, The FE awards evening is a wonderful way for our Learners to celebrate their successes with family, friends and their teachers and it is always a great occasion. Our congratulations go out to everyone that received a prize. This year as in previous years we are particularly grateful to all the employers and local businesses that sponsored the individual awards. Their generosity this year really helped to make this an occasion for all the prize winners to remember.
The awards ceremony is a major showcase for the vital role that Newbury College plays in helping to provide individuals and businesses with the high-quality education, vocational and training opportunities that will help achieve growth and prosperity. By offering a diverse, accessible, local and affordable route to study the College remains a top choice for people of all ages across Newbury and beyond.
Newbury College delivers a range of full time and part time course with 100s to chose from. The courses cover many different career paths with different levels of study for all learners. There are also full and part time courses starting in January 2012 so it is still not too late to enrol! For a copy of our new Full Time prospectus log onto www.newbury-college.ac.uk or call us on 01635 845 000.
Motor Vehicle Students were invited to two days of Formula 1 (F1) fun with famous F1 racer Jérôme DAmbrosio at Quantel.
The events began with the delivery of a F1 racing simulator and an actual Marussia Virgin Racing Formula 1 car to Quantel. The car took pride of place in Quantel's newly refurbished factory alongside the simulator, which was hooked up to a large screen TV so all could watch each other's racing efforts. Over the two days an intense competition developed with all on the F1 simulator, with staff, customers and Newbury College students making a donation to Children in Need to get behind the wheel. Timings were posted on a Top Gear style leader board and the top three racers received Marussia Virgin Racing prizes from Jérôme himself.
Ray Cross CEO of Quantel said, We've had a great year as sponsors of the Marussia Virgin Racing team and it's fantastic to round it out with an event that brings Quantel and Marussia Virgin Racing together for a good cause.
Quantel is a technology company that internationally specialises in broadcast and post production. As an official partner of Marussia Virgin Racing, Quantel arranged the two days of Formula 1 fun for staff on 17th and 18th November to raise money for Children in Need with the only visitors to their event being Newbury College's students and Quantel customers.
Students and visitors had the chance to ask any questions to Jérôme on his F1 experiences that may help fuel their ambition within the motor vehicle industry. They also got to meet Jérôme, giving them a glimpse of where a career in the motor industry could perhaps take them one day. Overall the two day fundraiser at Quantel was a huge success raising over £1700 for BBC Children in Need.
Newbury College offers 100s of full and part time course from Motor Vehicle to Beauty. There is also a wide range of January Start courses, so it's still not too late to enrol! For more information please visit our website at www.newbury-college.ac.uk or call us on 01635 845000.