Fluffy, the creature that has helped inspire ambitions of further and higher education among numerous school pupils who have visited Weston College, has been in action at a new location this year.

The furry purple visual aid, complete with a black mortar board, has been at North Somerset Enterprise and Technology College (NSETC) to greet around 400 local Year 5 and Year 6 pupils visiting the specialist Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) school.

Ben Cocks, Progression and IAG Coordinator at Weston College said that this is the ninth year in which the College has used Professor Fluffy to engage with pupils, but the first time the project has been located at NSETC, which is part of the Weston College Group.

“It has been a really successful programme that children enjoy and we now see secondary students and some current Weston College students who remember their Professor Fluffy visit,” he said.

“This is the second year we have run Professor Fluffy in collaboration with EDF Energy and this partnership continues to be a great way to push the STEM agenda to young people in North Somerset.

“This year we decided to facilitate Professor Fluffy at the NSETC, which forms part of the Weston College Group, as it offers the students first-hand experience of a STEM school and the facilities are jaw dropping.”

During their visits to NSETC, pupils explored career opportunities and educational opportunities and were supported by student mentors and current learners.

They also toured the NSETC, interviewed current college students, and built a prototype ‘green’ car for the future using recycled materials in a project designed by EDF Energy.

At their end of their visits, the pupils ‘graduated’ in caps and gowns with certificates – and with Professor Fluffy in attendance.

Ben Cocks added:  “It’s been really great to work again with Weston Excellence on this project, and yet again we have seen the students create some amazing things as part of their visit and they are all a credit to their individual schools. With the support of Weston College’s Student Mentors and Care and Early Years students this year has again been a real success.”

Professor Fluffy was originally created under the Government’s national Aim Higer initiative, but funding was stopped in 2009.

However, Dr Paul Phillips, the principal of Weston College, which was rated ‘outstanding’ at its latest Ofsted inspection, decided it was important to keep Professor Fluffy and has found sponsorship to ensure the engagement work with local schools continues.

As the scaffolding goes up at the Winter Gardens site, we take a look at the real impact that Weston College’s refurbishment and redevelopment of the historic seafront pavilion will have on Weston-super-Mare.

The initial investment in creating new facilities and refurbishing the existing ballroom will see £11 million injected into the local economy, with Bristol-based contractors Midas Group employing people from the local area, and using supplies from local traders and merchants.

The people employed on site will spend their working days in Weston, spending money in the town centre on a daily basis. Whether it’s food, drink, clothes, or other goods or services they’re buying in the town, over the course of the development this figure will add up to a substantial sum of money.

After the University Centre is opened, 250 new higher education students, 35 new university lecturers and a handful of other jobs will be brought into the building, and they too will be spending their working days in Weston.

The average spending power of university students is £11,000 per year. Despite university tuition fees rising, the total spending power of students in the UK has increased by over £655 million over the last decade.

Bringing 250 new Higher Education students into the heart of Weston-super-Mare has the potential to inject an extra £2.75 million per year into the local economy.

This extra cash flow promotes job growth, fuels investment, and could potentially lead to a much-needed increase in variety in the town centre, as it has done in many other university towns across the country.

The Winter Gardens is in need of a serious amount of investment in order to bring the building up to date, carry out repairs and transform it into a more manageable venue that meets the needs of the community and is realistic about the range of events it can hold.

The College is committed to the Winter Gardens’ continued community use, with a large portion of the building being made available to the public including the ballroom, a restaurant/bar and a café.

Art, fashion and textiles, and photography students at Weston College held a successful art show at the College's Sixth Form Centre on Loxton Road.

The show displayed work from second year A Level students, all of which contributes to their final projects, and gave visitors from outside the college a chance to see what they have been working on and discuss this with the students.

Several awards were also given out on the evening, including Head of Faculty’s award, won by Caitlin Hartman, and awards for art, photography and textiles won by Caitlin Dawkes, Matt Szymankiewicz and Neve Lynch respectively.

Ryan Aves, Team Leader for Creative and Maths, said: “We are extremely proud of the work presented by our students in the 2017 Sixth Form Art, Fashion and Photography show. They have all been very imaginative with their ideas and the results of this professional approach will yield excellent A level outcomes in the summer.

“The opening night was attended by many family and friends of the students, and since then local artists as well as teachers and pupils from local schools have been to look at the varied nature of the work.

“The excellent work will surely ensure visitors consider Weston Sixth Form as a great place to study art, photography and textiles.”

A selection of first year art work was also included in the show, which stretched across the entirety of the first floor of the Sixth Form.