In September we hosted our second Great Big Green Week and built on from the success of the first one in 2022. This year we developed a range of events and activities for all members of our Weston College Community, not only to raise awareness and promote our Sustainability and Social Action Agenda, but also to ensure we are ALL contributing to aiding the environmental challenges that lie ahead. Key activities included our Engineering and Automotive Sustainability Learner Conference, with learners completing a ‘real-world’ challenge with judges from our key employers. Our annual Beach Clean in partnership with Weston Pier and other activities such as ‘Green Your Campus’, as we seek to achieve Net Zero.

Here's a short film celebrating all we did in that week:

Weston College’s Sports students organised and executed a multi-sport event organised as part of a comprehensive project contributing to their qualification. The students displayed exceptional organisational skills and leadership capabilities during a practice run, where they hosted a multi-skills event for local Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools.

The Level 2 students took on the challenge of coordinating this practice event as a practice before the main event, demonstrating their commitment to practical learning and community engagement. The multi-skills event aimed to provide an inclusive and enjoyable experience for students from local SEN schools while allowing Weston College learners to apply their theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting.

In preparation for the event, the students undertook various responsibilities, including contacting staff, ensuring they were abiding by health and safety measures, carefully planning the activities, and successfully running the event on the designated day. The feedback received from the participating schools and the Education Learning Alliance Network (ELAN) was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the students' exceptional confidence and organisational expertise.

Dan Lomax, Curriculum Coordinator of Sport and Health at Weston College, expressed admiration for the students' dedication and success, stating, "We are immensely proud of our Level 2 students who not only embraced the challenge of organising and running a multi-skills event but also received positive feedback for their confidence and impeccable organisational skills. This project not only contributes to their academic progress but also provides a sense of responsibility and community engagement."

Encouraged by the success of the practice event, the Level 2 students are now gearing up for the main event, collaborating with local SEN schools and partnering with Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS) to ensure a larger and even more impactful experience. This collaboration reflects Weston College's commitment to fostering partnerships with the community and creating opportunities for students to apply their skills beyond the classroom.

The main event, planned in conjunction with VANS, is expected to further showcase the students' ability to organise inclusive and engaging activities for the local SEN community.

This event forms part of the Sports and Fitness Careers Excellence Hub. Weston College's Career Excellence Hubs are designed to be the launching pad for our learners' careers. In a world where connections and relevant skills matter more than ever, these hubs offer a holistic approach that prepares learners to thrive in their chosen industries. With the support of these hubs, our learners are well-equipped to make a significant impact in their professional journeys. 

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The Business Enterprise Project is an exciting endeavour taken on by our Business and Travel students every year, and this project has been no exception!  

The yearly Business Enterprise Project started when Weston Hospicecare approached the Weston College business team with funding opportunities. The Business department came up with a plan to run an enterprise project where learners create and sell products for charity.  

As part of the Careers Excellence Hub, learners have the opportunity to make connections with twenty-one local employers who mentor them and provide advice and guidance regarding the learner’s plans for what they are selling and how they are going to promote it. This feedback is crucial for the development of our learners and allows our learners to prove themselves in a different environment. In addition to being mentored by employers, some of our T-Level Management learners kindly give up their time to act as coaches to the learners. 

A key part of the project is getting used to handling real money, with these same local employers kindly donating £50 to each group of learners which they then must reinvest into products to sell for a profit. A huge thanks must be given to these employers as they are crucial to the project.  

To help foster a healthy competitive spirit, the project is run as a competition, with high performing groups recognised with awards at the end of the project! The overall winner is the group who have made the most profit.  

This project has a fantastic impact on learners. The project is an incredible opportunity to learn a huge range of business skills including finance, marketing, sales, and customer service. This project allows them to take ownership of this learning and put into practice the knowledge and skills they have developed in the classroom. It’s not just business skills developed either, with confidence being built by interacting with employers, the public, and presenting information to judges at the end of the project. This provides fantastic personal development for future interviews and employment. 

Subject Area Manager for Business Ben Melhuish said “Running the enterprise project is my favourite part of the academic year. Putting learners out of their comfort zone, developing their skills and all whilst raising huge sums of money for a local charity is the kind of thing that inspires staff and learners." 

Ben is right about learners raising large amounts of money for charity. Last year’s Business Enterprise Project raised £5,500 for Weston Hospice care! Better still, this year's learners are hoping to beat that benchmark. 

Learners sold their products to the public at a wonderful Christmas Market at the Weston-super-Mare rugby club and have also been selling products this week in the Sovereign Centre to boost their sales and get hands on experience selling to the public.  

This project forms part of the Business Careers Excellence Hub; Weston College is committed to preparing learners for success in a rapidly evolving job market which is reflected in our offer via our bespoke Career Excellence Hubs, which form an integral part of all college programmes. In a world where professional networks and industry-specific skills are integral to landing employment, these hubs provide a unique solution to bridge the gap between education and industry demands. 

Well done to all the learners for everything they have done so far, and good luck to them for the rest of the project! A huge thanks to the employers for giving up their time and donating money to the learners to kickstart the project in the best way.