Newbury College Catering students have been selected to represent Berkshire in a prestigious event to mark The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
On Monday 25 June 2012, approximately 4,000 guests will join Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh for a summer garden party, hosted by the Lords Lieutenant of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
Commencing with a river pageant to mark the role and impact of the River Thames on the Thames Valley region for more than 1,000 years, the event is part of HM The Queen's UK-wide Diamond Jubilee tour.
The Hon. Mrs Bayliss, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, said: 'We are deeply honoured that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a garden party that will be a celebration of life in the three counties, and the part Her Majesty has played over the last 60 years.'
Catering Tutor, Sue Wright, will join two other specially selected chefs from Buckingham and Oxfordshire to meet HM The Queen and create the centrepiece for the event, a large cake in the shape of the three counties with each cake displaying three edible plaques. 'We wanted the plaques to represent the history of Berkshire and our royal connections. They will feature Berkshire Pigs, Newbury Races and of course Windsor Castle.'
HM The Queen will cut each section of the cake as part the celebration that forms part of a major Jubilee fund raising appeal for the four Thames Valley Community Foundation charities (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Milton Keynes), which exist to strengthen communities and enrich local life by inspiring and supporting charitable giving.
Uniformed Public Service students took part in a three day expedition as part of their course in The Forest of Dean between the 28th and 30th May 2012.
This was our third year of using Rushmere Farm campsite at Coleford and the weather was nice and sunny this year and so plenty of sun cream was needed by students and staff alike.
The first day consisted of travelling to the site, setting up the site, some sports and planning the walk for Day Two.
The 12 mile walk went well with all students completing the walk with only a few blisters. All of the groups experienced getting lost at least once which added a few miles on to the walk, but all found their way in the end. They all practiced their navigation skills and leadership and team working skills and also learnt a lot about themselves especially when confronted by a few steep hills.
Following the walk everyone enjoyed a BBQ at the campsite before an early start to Day Three when the students went to Wyedean Activity Centre to take part in a raft building exercise. Students had to complete a competition on the River Wye with some spending more time in the water than on it.
Course Leader, Neil Metcalfe said: "All in all it was an enjoyable few days for both staff and students and enabled the classroom learning of various subjects to be put into practice."
Newbury College offers Public Service courses at Levels 1 to 3. Enrol now for September or click here to find out more.
Published just ahead of Adult Learners' Week (12-18 May), the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) released headline findings from their 2012 Participation Survey on Friday 11 May 2012 revealing that 3 in 5 adults (62%) have not participated in learning in the last 3 years and over one-third (36%) have not participated at all since they left full-time education.
Speaking to Tony Blackburn on BBC Radio Berkshire, Newbury College Principal Dr Anne Murdoch explained that "one of the difficulties for adults is a lack of time" and also attributed cost as an obstacle to many adults continuing in education.
As the largest provider of adult education in West Berkshire, Newbury College is helping adults to return to education with cost effective Bite Size courses in many popular subjects that offer new skills in short three-hour sessions.
Whist 3 in 5 adults are not participating at the present time, Dr Murdoch said that it is important to note that "2 in 5 adults are engaged in education with 115,000 over 60s currently enjoying being students".
Adult education is "a very good way to make new friends" and in the current economic climate, new skills are a valuable investment for career progression and opening new opportunities in business.
Business students received a visit from guest speaker Anthony Fleming on 17th April 2012.
Mr Fleming, from Thatcham based coaching mentoring company Passion 4Life, believes that it is "a pleasure to share experience with young minds. They have so much potential and in reality they could accomplish so much if they just believe in themselves."