Weston College has a wide range of courses to suit all learning styles
Weston College is an award-winning college of further and higher education in Weston-super-Mare. It provides education and vocational training to nearly 30,000 learners across the country.
We put the learner first and are entrepreneurial in our approach and innovative in our thinking. As a college, we are ambitious and aspirational and are responsive to the needs of students, staff, businesses, and the community.
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Weston College catering learners have had the opportunity to pick the brains of one of the world’s top chefs.
Marco Pierre White visited the College’s Grove Restaurant and Kitchen this week for a question and answer session with learners.
Marco was interviewed by Matthew, a Commis Chef Apprentice, and Josh, currently studying the Professional Cookery Award. Among a series of searching questions, they asked what it was like be a world-renowned chef, about his industry experience and for some top tips.
Matthew also asked Marco to name the strangest combination of food he has tasted.
“I’m a classicalist – I don’t like strange combos,” answered Marco. “I like salt and vinegar, cheese and onion – who wants salmon with liquorish?!
“In my opinion the more you do to food the more you take away from the food. I believe that, as chefs progress, dishes become simpler because they start to have confidence in themselves. So, have confidence in yourself.”
Marco shared an inspirational story about leaving Allerton High School in Leeds without any qualifications. After deciding to train as a chef, he began working in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate, before moving to the Box Tree in Ilkley.
Arriving in London as an 19-year-old with “£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes”, Marco began his classical training as a commis chef under Albert Roux and Michel Roux at Le Gavroche – one of the UK’s top restaurants.
Aged just 24, he and a business partner opened their own restaurant – Harveys – and, nine years later, he became the first British chef and, at the time, the youngest chef be awarded three Michelin stars.
During these years, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and a host of now well-known chefs all benefitted from his tutelage. These include Bryn Williams, Matt Tebbutt, Robert Reid, Thierry Busset, Jason Atherton and James Stocks.
Josh asked if Marco had any advice for those coming to the end of their course.
Marco said: “Trust people around you, work as a team and stay focussed. Take advantage of opportunities that are presented to you.
“You may have to make personal sacrifices to achieve your dream so don’t look back and have regrets. The more you work the quicker you learn; the more you invest, the more you will take back.
“Knowledge is key, so find a chef who can teach and inspire you.”
Matthew, who hopes to open his own restaurant one day, appreciated the opportunity to attend the inspirational event.
He said: “It was great to speak with Marco. It was interesting to hear his thoughts about the creation of dishes and his honesty about how tough the job can be. “It’s great that the college have the contacts to give us this opportunity and the guest chef masterclasses we benefit from as part of our course.”
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An adult learner at Weston College has been recognised for the exemplary standard of his work on a HR management course.
Phil Davies, HR advisor, has now completed the Level 5 Intermediate Certificate in HR Management and won the CIPD Student of the Year Award 2019 (West of England Branch) at the CIPD People Management Awards. The awards celebrate and reward the outstanding achievements and contributions made by HR and Learning and Development professionals.
The 2019 winners were announced at a ceremony at the UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Diane Steer, a Lecturer in HR at Weston College, said: “Phil was nominated for the award because his work was consistently of an exemplary standard. He is an outstanding learner who always contributed to class discussions and debates and was able to relate theory to his own practice. He is a credit to the HR profession.”
The College’s Level 5 Intermediate Certificate in Human Resource Management is a one-year course that’s studied one evening a week. It covers a range of units including developing professional practice; business issues and the context of HR; using information in HR; employment law; resourcing and talent planning; reward management.
Phil said: “I’m proud to have achieved a formal qualification that recognises and validates my years of practical HR experience. Many thanks to my employer for supporting and encouraging me and to my lecturers at Weston College who skilfully guided me in my studies."
Helen George, the College’s Dean of Professional Studies, said: “This is the second time a College Level 5 CIPD learner has won a CIPD Student of the Year Award. This is a real credit to both the excellent learners and staff here at Weston College. We are very proud of Phil and this his achievements.”
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Update 20 November 2019
University Centre Weston (UCW) and Weston College graduate Henry Green has been named as the Association of Colleges (AoC) Higher Education Student of the Year runner-up. He was presented with a certificate to commemorate his success at the International Conference Centre, Birmingham, on Tuesday (19 November) evening.
A Weston College and University Centre Weston (UCW) graduate is in the running to win the prestigious Association of Colleges (AoC) Higher Education Student of the Year Award.
Henry Green has made the final three for the prize, and will find out if he wins when the winner is announced during the annual AoC conference in mid-November.
Henry, from Burnham-on-Sea, completed the Level 2 Extended Certificate and Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Travel and Tourism at Weston College before progressing to a Foundation Degree in Tourism Management and Top-up Degree in Business Management with Sustainability at UCW.
The 22-year-old graduated this summer with an upper second class (2:1) honours degree having impressed his lecturers throughout his time at Weston College and UCW.
As well as being a dedicated and popular student, Henry was nominated for the award in recognition of his achievements whilst having a diagnosis of autism.
He took every opportunity to make the most out of his studies, including attending trips to the United States and Belgium and working as a student ambassador at open days and other events.
He also discussed how to support students on the autism spectrum during staff development sessions, and even took the time to speak to students on UCW’s Inclusive Practice Degree about how they too could develop their professional practice.
Henry also undertook a number of work placements as part of his studies, including at Weston’s Helicopter Museum, and has written articles about autism for a number of publications.
He said: “Weston College provided me with a positive and encouraging environment, this helped me to achieve all of the things that I did. The most important thing about my time at Weston College is that it gave me self-belief, I mostly struggled to mix with my peers and lacked confidence in my own abilities.
“I have been very lucky to be surrounded by the right people who have helped me along the way, and I hope achieving my degree encourages other people with disabilities that they can too.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey, so being considered for an award at the end of it is a welcome surprise.” Dr Paul Phillips CBE, the Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, added: “Henry is a humble young man who does not appreciate how inspiring he is to those around him.
“He won a UCW Faculty Student of the Year award last year and we will all be keeping our fingers crossed that he wins this AoC prize as well.
“He is a wonderful example of someone who has met the challenges of life head on and would be a very worthy winner.”
Henry’s shortlisting is the latest in a number of successes for Weston College at the AoC Awards, with the organisation having recently won prizes for its dedication to improving learner mental health and wellbeing and to recognise its commitment to supporting students with learning difficulties and disabilities.
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CAREERS NOT COURSES
We know it’s not about the course you take, but the career you’ll start your journey towards. Your study programme is built from the ground up with your future in mind, focussing on employability and developing the skills you need to have a successful career within your chosen industry, making connections and gaining experiences through local and national employers we work with:
As a Weston College student, you will become part of one of our exciting new Career Excellence Hubs.
This means our courses aren't just courses... your study programme is built from the ground up with your future in mind, focussing on employability and developing the skills you need to have a successful career within your chosen industry...
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"The college organised lots of amazing experiences for us with specialist guest lectures on sepsis, home care, nutrition and bee therapy"
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Health and Social Care, Level 2 & 3
