You can’t stand still in the world of further education.

The environment is constantly evolving, with cuts to funding, changes in priorities and the introduction of new qualifications keeping us constantly on our toes.

At Weston College, we take great pride in our ability to stay ahead of the curve and innovate – making sure our learners benefit from the most up-to-date, learning environment and resources.

The growth of our sixth-form is a prime example.

In recent years Weston College sixth form has grown significantly in student numbers and stature, but we’re not standing still.

We’re incorporating three ground-breaking developments into our sixth-form provision, to increase the student places we currently offer, and equip learners with the skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace.

Firstly, we’ve been selected alongside 53 other providers across the UK to pilot the new T Level qualification.

T Levels focus on preparing young people for the workplace, and include a 45-day industry placement. Weston College will deliver the Digital (software applications design and development) ‘programme’ from September 2020 – two years before the full roll-out.

T Levels have been described as the biggest overhaul in post-school education for 70 years and, for us to be at the forefront of this roll-out represents a tremendous opportunity for school leavers in Weston and beyond.

Secondly, we recently became one of 22 providers to be awarded Career College status.

Career Colleges enable school leavers to combine academic studies with practical learning, and focus on providing skills for industry that have found it difficult to recruit.

‘Weston Career College’ is due to open in September 2019 and will focus on engineering and digital ‘pathways’. Courses will be Level 3 (the equivalent to and A Level) and could include a combination of A Levels and technical qualifications.

The exciting developments will enable the College to provide an extra 1,000 places for 16 to 19-year-olds.

The third significant development is the £13 million Health and Active Living Skills Centre, which will be based alongside the existing sixth form at the Loxton Road Campus.

This flagship training facility, due to be completed in spring 2019, will bring together our health and social care, sports therapy and active living curricula into one bespoke facility. A state-of-the-art resource that our Sixth Form learners will also benefit from.

The above investment has been made possible by the College match-funding a successful bid for funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) through the Local Growth Fund, administered by the West of England Combined Authority.

Its superb facilities – including wet lab, dry lab and six-bed simulation ward – are tailor-made to provide workplace skills, as will the running external clinics, delivered with healthcare partners. It will also include a floodlit all-weather pitch, four-court multi-purpose sports hall and multi-gym, which will all be available to the community.

The College is already one of the most successful sixth forms in the UK, achieving a 99% A Level pass rate year after year, and providing the skills the young people need in the modern workplace. We offer learners a choice of over 30 A Levels subjects – from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths to Psychology, Philosophy and Photography – all taught by expert teachers at our lively and vibrant Loxton Campus.

The new developments will complement our existing high-quality sixth form provision and, we believe, will create one of the most sophisticated sixth form centres in the UK.

Weston College has been awarded a prestigious accreditation after a comprehensive evaluation of staff satisfaction.

‘Best Companies’, who compile ‘The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ lists gave the College a two-star accreditation after carrying out an exhaustive survey of staff.

The survey is a set of 70 academically designed questions based on eight ‘factors of workplace engagement’. The questions are confidential, so respondents are free to be completely honest.

When the survey’s complete, organisations receive a Best Companies Index (BCI) score – which is Best Companies’ unique measure of workplace engagement.

To earn its rating, the College had to show evidence of ‘outstanding’ commitment to workplace engagement. The accreditation tells clients, partners, investors and employees that the organisation understands the importance of workplace engagement and genuinely values its people.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Weston College’s Principal and CEO, said: “Best Companies are the experts in gauging the multitude of factors that separate good employers from the rest.

“To achieve the two-star accreditation is a significant achievement and speaks volumes of what our staff think about working for the College. We are one of the top-performing colleges in the UK and my staff are key to that success.

“It’s no secret that FE providers across the country are feeling the pinch from repeated and prolonged budget cuts. But, nonetheless, we're continually investing in our staff.

"We understand the importance of remunerating staff who perform well, and making them feel valued – or you run the risk of losing them, to the detriment of your learners.”

Alongside this accolade the College has also been awarded the Investors in People (IIP) Gold Standard, which is held by less than 2% of UK businesses and demonstrates commitment to invest in staff to improve performance. The College is also an Investors in People ‘Champion’ – a prestigious award given to IIP role models.

Art students at Weston College have produced a dazzling centrepiece for a local store’s Christmas marketing campaign.

All Level 2 Art and Design students were asked to design Proper Job’s Christmas ‘Shed of Wonder’, which is used to sell trees at the Devonshire Road hardware store.

This ‘real-life’ brief involved researching the store’s customer base and producing relevant designs for the shed.

A winning design – produced by Erin Popham – was then chosen, and students worked in shifts over two weeks to bring it to life, on-site at the Proper Job warehouse.

Art and Design Lecturer Ben Thomas-Taylor said: “Work experience, such as this, is a compulsory part of the Level 2 course. It provides many benefits for our students, giving them relevant skills and experience to help them stand out to potential employers, whilst helping them to choose the right sector to work in.

“For the past two years we’ve collaborated with Proper Job, designing and painting their 'Shed of Wonder', as part of their Christmas marketing campaign.

“Every student worked hard bringing to life the winning design and did a fantastic job. The company were very pleased and told us it would appeal perfectly to their customer base.”