Weston College's Futsal team has beaten two university teams in the FA Female Futsal Cup.

Futsal is a format of football usually played indoors with a smaller ball which has 30% reduced bounce. It is a ‘5 a side game’ but with very different rules to the traditional ‘5 a side’. It is a sport all the greats grew up playing, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The FA Female Futsal Cup is a national tournament that is held once a year by The Football Association.

Weston's Academy of Sport entered a team which had to get past two university teams in the regional qualifiers on Sat 20th January. They won the qualifiers by beating both Exeter University and Plymouth University, with Felicity Hind, Level 2 Sport student, and Desni Darch, Level 3 art and design student, both scoring.

Coach Sarah Adams said “Having won the FA cup previously as a player it was great to give the students the opportunity to experience the buzz of this tournament and fall in love with the sport. Opportunities for futsal are increasing year on year for females and these talented girls have really put Weston College on the map nationally in terms of female futsal.

"This is the first time the College has entered this competition, the students preformed incredibly well competing against experienced adult teams. We never imaged they would get as far as the last 16 and be so close to reaching the quarter finals."

Student Felicity Hind said: “This tournament gave me an insight into an elite competition level that I would have otherwise never had the opportunity to be a part of. It was great to challenge myself by playing against adults and quality, experienced players and I am really proud to have represented the college in the last 16 stages.

"It has made me much more confident, I now have better knowledge of a new sport and can't wait to play it again.”

Weston College students are set to wow family audiences with a pantomime performance of Aladdin this December.

Performing and Production Arts students will stage the classic tale at Weston’s Blakehay Theatre on December 5th and 6th.

Both shows start at 7pm and tickets, priced at £10, are available from Blakehay’s box office or online at www.blakehaytheatre.co.uk

The students will also be putting on separate performances for school children during the day and touring local schools the following week.

There’s fun for all the family in this traditional, family panto. It’s packed full of song, dance, mayhem and magic, as Aladdin tangles with evil Jafar and tries to save his love Princess Jasmine.

The students’ annual panto will be performed from an original script by College Performing Arts Technician Peter Tyler, with additional material provided by fellow staff members Andy Collyer and Keith and Ben Simmons.

Hello, I’m Sharna. I’m a Business Administration apprentice, in the Traineeship team at Weston College.

For National Apprenticeship Week, I am going to be telling you about my experience as an apprentice, here at Weston College.

I started my apprenticeship in March 2018 and it has been a really exciting journey. I was very anxious to start my new job as I had never worked in an office environment before and I wasn’t familiar with this sort of work. As soon as I started everyone was so nice to me, and always willing to help which allowed me to settle in quickly.

Being a part of the Weston College team has allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge within the business admin sector. I was very fortunate to be invited to attend the 2018 Business Awards, which gave me a chance to witness the hard work and dedication it takes to be a Weston College employee. I was also given the opportunity to work on social media throughout the night, which was a great experience.

Throughout my time working in the Training Solutions team, I have been given multiple opportunities to support the staff as well as the learners - providing administration and recruitment support. This is something which I have really enjoyed, as I have been able to influence learner outcomes and development.

I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is looking for experience and to try something new. It is the perfect way to get the work experience you need to kick off your career. I haven’t looked back since starting my apprenticeship, it was definitely the right route for me to take, and it has allowed me to get my foot in the door at Weston College.

For more information on apprenticeships, click here.