Weston College’s student progression team, now rebranded as ASPECT, is extending their offer of careers information, advice and guidance to prospective learners across North Somerset and beyond as the new term gets underway.

The team is now in place to boost the Weston College brand and provide local schoolchildren with information about College courses and facilities.

In addition, ASPECT will work with current College students aged 14-18 to support them through their time at Weston and to assist with their aspirations for post-College employment or higher education.

Ben Cocks, Progression and IAG coordinator, said: “Over the summer we decided to rebrand for a variety of reasons, not least because we are now more visible around the College and more accessible as a service.”

“We will be building on our outreach work as well as organising careers fairs, helping students with their UCAS applications and supporting the tutorials that form part of the learner’s study programmes.”

POLITICIANS from Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset visited Weston College to help students to understand how immigration affects modern politics.

Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, John Penrose, and UKIP politician Ian Kealey, who stood as UKIP’s parliamentary candidate for North Somerset in the 2015 General Election, visited the College on Friday 6th May.

The two politicians visited students on the social science diploma of the Access to Higher Education course, a course which provides adults with the qualifications and academic skills to progress to university.

The visit tied in with the students’ last assignment, contemporary political issues, where they are required to take part in a debate on immigration.

The two-hour debate covered a range of topics relating to immigration, including the economy, healthcare, cultural values, refugees, freedom of movement, border controls and more.

Mr Penrose said: “I was impressed by the depth of understanding on an extremely difficult and emotionally-charged issue and by the good natured style of the debate – perhaps a few MPs in Westminster could learn a bit if they were with me today.”

Sarah Rees, a qualified lawyer who lectures in Law and Social Policy at the College, said: “This was a great opportunity for students studying politics to hear first-hand from active members of parliament about a subject close to many people’s hearts.

“We are grateful to Mr Penrose and Mr Kealey for their contribution.”

Mr Kealey said: “I thought the students seemed well-informed about the topic and the issue of immigration, its economic impacts and how it affects services.”

This week is New Year New You week, and our team is on hand at all campuses to give free help and guidance towards your health and wellbeing goals for the new year. Click here to find out about the fun and free sessions we're holding, and read on to discover our top tips for a healthy mind...

Eat healthily

The things you consume have a big effect on your mental happiness. Eating a balanced diet will keep your energy levels up throughout the day and make you feel a lot healthier.

Watch what you drink

Drinking water and cutting back on alcohol and caffeine can also improve your mental health, as well as stopping smoking. Drinking water helps your body flush out toxins and is key to healthy skin, preventing spots, making your eyes look brighter and makes you more alert.

Be more active

Exercising every day has both physical and mental benefits. Exercise makes your body release endorphins which can greatly improve your mood. Walking or cycling (instead of driving), dancing, and even doing housework are all easy ways to get the blood pumping. Combine this with eating healthy and you’ll start to look and feel better.

Get a good night’s sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is also essential to relaxing your brain. Get into a good sleep routine and try not to watch television or browse the internet before sleeping - this could disrupt your body's natural sleep process through intrusive blue light.

Talk to others

Feeling connected with other people is an important part of what makes us human and neglecting this part of life can have detrimental effects on your mental health. Many mental health problems can be helped or even prevented by keeping in touch with others and maintaining strong relationships. If you are having difficulties then some of the best help can be given by friends or family, so talk to them about how you feel as well as listening to their thoughts and emotions.

Do something new

This one’s easy – all you have to do is something you’ve never done before, even something as simple as visiting a new place, starting a new hobby or reading a book by an author you’ve never heard of. New experiences challenge your brain to process and store new information and keep it active.

Remember that help is available

It might seem easy to start these changes, but sticking to them is going to challenge you. Our health care assistants are on hand to help you achieve your healthy living goals.