Thirty first year students from the Foundation Degree in Uniformed and Public Services at Weston College have returned from an eight-day trip to The Gambia.

The students, who were accompanied by teaching staff from the College, experienced the culture of the West African country, and gained knowledge about public services provision.

This was the seventh year that students from various courses at Weston College have visited this school, and during a visit to Ayr Luton Primary School they discovered the impact of support provided by students from the College over the years.

James Hazzard, Higher Education Quality Manager, who has visited The Gambia on previous trips involving students from the College, said: “It was fantastic to see how much of an impact our visits have had on what was a destitute and impoverished school.

“The school is now full of resources our students have donated through fundraising activities.  It was an overwhelming, emotional, yet rewarding experience for all involved.”

During the trip, the students also visited a fishing village, and met with tribe leaders to witness living conditions.  

The students were also able to gain exposure to the public services provision including the fire brigade and police, where they received tours, got the chance to use equipment and received lectures on the challenges faced by the public services in a third world country. 

The trip was self-funded by the students, with additional funds generously provided by the College to go towards providing stationary and books for Ayr Luton School.

Mark Harvey, Programme Co-ordinator for the FdA in Uniformed and Public Services, which is run in partnership with the University of the West of England, said: “These experiences enhance life skills and contribute towards successful completion of the course and into employment.

“Last year over 30% of the class gained a 1st, which is well above the national average.” 

A Royal Marine who lost his leg helping a crashed motorist on the M3 visited Weston College to give an inspirational speech to sports and public services students.

Lee Spencer, 47, came across the car accident and began helping the injured driver and passengers using first aid training he had learned during his 24 years in the army.

Suddenly, another car crashed into the vehicle, sending the car’s engine and gearbox flying across the motorway lanes towards him. The impact severed his right leg and dislocated his left.

He used the training he learned as a Royal Marine to instruct a bystander to tie a tourniquet around his wounded leg and got the bystander’s daughter to stop the bleeding by standing on his femoral artery.

He told the students about the impact the accident had on his life, and how he was inspired to help change other people’s lives by raising money through a variety of sponsored walks, marathons and even rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

He gained a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being part of the first disabled crew to sail the Atlantic raising awareness for Row2Recovery.

Rebecca Ranson, Weston College Section Area Manager for Sports and Public Services, said: “This was a fantastic and inspiring opportunity for the students to find out about life in the army, how to act in an emergency situation, and how the training they're undertaking can help in real-life scenarios.”

Are you interested in filmmaking but don’t know where to start? To save you searching online through pages and pages of guidance we’ve boiled it all down into five key pieces of advice for filmmaking novices…

Get out and shoot something

This is a fundamental part of our film courses, and crucial for anyone who wants to learn the art of filmmaking. Shooting as much as you can means you’ll learn about your equipment, but it doesn’t matter what you record with - you’ll still be learning what works and does not work when capturing a scene. We encourage our students to go out and film as much as possible, they make an average of 12 films over two years.

Learn to edit... it’s more accessible than ever before

Most computers and laptops these days come with basic video editing software as standard, and even on phones there are apps which can be utilised to edit recordings. At Weston College, our students have access to Adobe Premiere CC, Final Cut Pro and a huge range of supporting software. We have expert in-house tutor support on hand to guide our students through the editing process.

Upload your footage and test audience reaction

This means you’ll get valuable feedback on your work which you could use to improve your filmmaking. Our students regularly present their films to peers and tutors for feedback. You could upload your films to YouTube, Facebook or your own website, and when you’re confident enough submit them to film or art festivals. Our students’ films have screened at local cinemas including the Odeon, Watershed, Arnolfini and the Cube in recent years.

Watch everything you can

We encourage our students to watch a lot of films. The more you watch, the more you will be inspired to create. You can also pick up on other filmmakers’ techniques by watching their films, and recreate them to enhance your creations. At Weston College most of the tutors are working filmmakers themselves, and are able to give our students further insight into the filmmaking process.

Don’t give up. Keep creating, learning and refining

Every filmmaker has things that go wrong or wishes they could reshoot certain films, and even the best directors have flops. The more attempts you make, the more you will learn about filmmaking and the greater your chance at success.

We offer our students every opportunity to hone their skills; working on their own, with their peers and on industry based projects throughout their time with us. This intensive exposure to filmmaking is the best way of preparing you for your footsteps in the industry, in whichever direction they may go.

Want to find out more? Our film and media courses cover the basics of filmmaking and more!