Stress affects everyone, particularly in the build up to exams, job interviews and when pressure mounts at work.

At Weston College, our expert Welfare Team is on hand to help you if you are worried about your stress levels or other mental health issues.

Here are some of the top tips our Welfare Team give to combat stress…

Start a diary

Writing about your day will help you to identify things that make you feel stressed. You’ll probably be surprised to find that a pattern soon emerges; and this may be linked to time pressure, personality clashes, inappropriate demands or simply trying to do too many things at once. Keeping a diary will help you to blow off steam in a productive way.

Talk to someone

Talk through your diary with a good friend or someone at College - even the act of discussing things often makes you feel better. The College’s Welfare Team is on hand to help our students and offers impartial advice to ease the problems that you’ve discovered.

Learn how to relax

Practise deep-breathing techniques. Breathe in while counting to five; hold your breath for five seconds then breathe out slowly. Repeat this 10 times when feeling stressed, concentrating on nothing but your breathing. You can relax your neck muscles by keeping your shoulders level and trying to touch each shoulder with your ear.

Take time out

For five minutes every hour try to chill out and think of nothing but your perfect situation. This could be a dream holiday, ideal partner or simply thinking about doing nothing at all. You will be surprised at how effectively this can lower stress levels.

Exercise regularly

You do not have to be a gym freak to get the stress-beating benefits of exercise. Even 20 minutes of brisk walking three times a week will help to reduce stress as well as promoting restful sleep.

Plan breaks in your day

The aim here is to allow time for the unexpected. Get up 15 minutes earlier than you think you need to and prepare for the day without rushing. Even better, get things ready the night before. Try to have 20 minutes in which you can do whatever you want, even if it is simply sitting doing nothing.

Things to avoid

Smoking and drinking alcohol may appear to help you deal with the effects of stress in the short term, but in the long run they both lead to more tension and anxiety, and can easily lead to dependence. When smokers say that smoking helps them relax, it is because it alleviates the effects of their smoking addiction.

Weston College is a quarter of the way through its ambitious 200 in 100 campaign, which seeks to promote apprenticeships to both businesses and potential apprentices.

After just 25 days the College has managed to attract 72 pledges meaning that it is well on track to achieve its target of 200 apprenticeship pledges in just 100 days. Among the businesses who have pledged are Alliance Homes Group, Restor8, Thatchers, Sidcot School and the NHS.

Another company who has pledged to take on apprentices is SACO, which has hired two Team Leading Level 3 apprentices.

Di Gwinnel, HR Business Partner for SACO said: “It is exciting to get involved with the 200 in 100 campaign and show our support for developing aspirational talented individuals. We have taken on two apprentices and the whole business is looking forward to helping them develop.

“Weston College has been extremely helpful and I would highly recommend getting in contact with them to support you with the whole apprenticeship process.”

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “Apprenticeships play an important role in developing highly skilled workforces for organisations and it is fantastic to see how many businesses are making use of our Training Solutions team to help develop young people and adults across the South West.

“We have seen more apprenticeship opportunities open up for our students across a range of sectors, which is very exciting for the College and our learners.”

You can keep an eye on the campaign’s progress across social media, with #200in100 being used on Twitter.

For more information and to pledge go to: www.weston.ac.uk/200in100. You can also email the apprenticeship team at enquiries@weston.ac.uk or call on 01934 411 594.    

Plumbers are sometimes stereotyped as people that just work on toilets and taps, however this isn't the case...

Plumbing can often be an exciting and varied job, where you meet a lot of people, work on a range of projects, and get a sense of satisfaction when you figure out how to fix the thing you've been tasked with mending.

It also takes plenty of creativity and ingenuity when it comes to designing and installing plumbing systems, and you can take pride in your work as you use your skills to solve problems and come up with solutions.

Read on to find out some more reasons why you should consider becoming a plumber...