A Weston College student is through to the WorldSkills final in China after winning gold in the UK event.

Thomas Griffin and fellow Weston College student Jacob Skyrme made it to the UK final where they competed against six others in the web design event.

The three-day competition took place in Birmingham and assessed students’ practical skills, knowledge and employability attributes in timed conditions. More than 3,000 students started out in all categories of the UK competition, with 500 selected for the national finals.

In a first for the College, Thomas Griffin won Gold, which earns him a place in the UK squad for the international WordSkills final in Shanghai in 2021.

A delighted Thomas said: “Getting the opportunity to compete at WorldSkills is something which I am really grateful for.

“There was some tough competition but I was determined to come out on top, and showcase my web development skills.

“In managing to get a medal in my second year proves that, with enough effort and persistence, I can achieve anything.

“I could not have got this far without the support of my friends, family, and my lecturer, Jason Hill, who has been with me every step of the way.

“I am also excited about potentially representing the UK in China, which isn’t something many people can say!”

Jason Hill, HE Curriculum Co-Ordinator Applied Computing, added: “I am delighted for Thomas, and so proud of both Thomas and Jacob who did an amazing job to reach the UK final.

“They worked very hard, and proved that they are capable of work to the highest standard. We are all excited to see the next steps on their journey towards the international finals in Shanghai.”

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Have you wondered what it’s like to be a computing student? Meet Connor, an applied computing student.

Connor joined Weston College when he enrolled on the IT Practitioners Diploma, Level 3 course. This course improves your knowledge and practical skills in a range of IT areas including, IT systems, social media in business, data modelling, information management and website development. You find out how computer systems work and learn to utilise different applications. The assignments are based on workplace situations, so you get a real insight to the careers available in IT and what it is like to work in the industry.

He then moved to UCW to study applied computing. This popular foundation degree emphasises the practical application of computing principles and on development of IT skills.

The course also provides the core knowledge in software design, systems analysis and web technologies required to either progress to further study or gain employment in an IT role. It covers:

• Computing applications
• Software design and development
• System analysis and databases
• Web technologies and platforms
• Computing project management
• Digital devices implementation and usability
• Object-orientated software design and development
• Service support tools and techniques
• Work experience.

As part of the work experience module, Connor was briefed with creating a new website for Aequus– a housing/property developer owned by the local council.

Connor said: “Working on this project was a great experience. I had monthly meetings with the client as I found this was an easier way to get the information I required than calling or waiting for something to be emailed across. Web design is also quite creative so it’s sometime difficult to explain how you are visualising something over email or the phone.

“Weston College and UCW have provided me with lots of employer contacts through projects such as this one. I have enjoyed learning about CSS language and above all they have given me the confidence in my work.” Connor is hoping to progress to the top-up year with UCW and then a Master’s at UWE. He also had this advice for future students: “Make friends, work hard, and take part in the trips, as this is where I have made life-long friends. We were lucky enough to go to Florida and tour Universal Studios where we learnt about special effects, animation, edit movies and 3D printers. I’d recommend anyone coming to Weston College and UCW, as the lecturers are fantastic and always there to help.”

Connor has since graduated from UCW with a First-Class Honours Degree, and is now specialising in Cyber Security at the University West of England.

"I have been studying Penetration Testing, Ethical Hacking and Network Security. Thanks to my Extended Diploma at Weston College and my Bachelor’s Degree at UCW, I had already gained important experience with programming languages such as C++ which have been very useful in advancing in Cyber Security.

"Also, thanks to my studies of Website Development at UCW, I have a great understanding of how websites and databases work and therefore how to secure them, this included important experience with SQL and PHP. Thanks to the courses, I have a great understanding of what secure code looks like and how to implement security measures. This has been a huge advantage while progressing into the Cyber Security field.

"My next goal is to advance into the Cyber Security field further. After graduating from my Masters, I hope to progress into a career in Penetration Testing." 

See Connor’s website - https://www.aequusdevelopments.co.uk/
See all computing course, starting this September - https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/computing-and-it