The 2016/17 academic year was an exciting and ambitious year for the Weston College Group, which saw record success rates and the creation of sector-leading facilities. These successes were appraised at the College's annual Business Breakfast, which broght together hundreds of businesspeople from across the South West. Here is a summary of what the College did between September 2016 and August 2017...

We’ve received national recognition for our teaching

The Association of Colleges was so impressed with our teaching that they awarded us two out of the 11 Beacon Awards presented this year. Judges recognised our work towards creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment for our students with special educational needs and disabilities and our offender learners.

We’ve invested £25 million in our facilities

The money has gone towards refurbishing classrooms, installing the latest technology, and creating some of the most high-tech learning environments in the country. Most impressively, the successful refurbishment of the Winter Gardens has secured the building’s future as a community asset. We plan to invest a further £20 million in the current academic year to create specialist facilities for health, sport and construction.

Our success rates are at an all-time high

Our 16-18 achievement rates grew by 4% to 86.5%, and 90.7% of our adult learners successfully completed their courses. The overwhelming majority of our apprentices were taken on by their employers at the end of their course. Our 90% student satisfaction rate places us 18th on the FE Choices survey of colleges across the country.

We’ve been working with businesses to create apprenticeships

We work with over 1,400 businesses to deliver apprenticeships, and our new relationships with employers such as the Bristol Port Company, the Ministry of Defence and Rolls Royce means that we are bringing more and more apprenticeship opportunities to young people and adults across the South West.

We’ve put on free courses for the community

2017 saw us announce our first free adult leisure courses to great success. The courses helped hundreds of adults reengage with education, as well as teaching them some useful skills such as car mechanics, cooking, dancing and bricklaying.

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Weston College business student Bella Febry went out of her way to apply to complete her internship with international oil and gas company ‘OiLSERV’ in Dubai. 

James Foster, Executive Vice President at OiLSERV, said: “We tried our best to challenge her, and give her experience of what it is like working in a fast paced service industry – where we deliver operations 24/7, 365 days a year across multiple countries and time zones. The intent of the program was to help her understand how all elements of the organisation have to work together to be successful. 

“She worked exceptionally hard, learnt quickly, and integrated into all of the culturally diverse teams she worked with. Our teams enjoyed working with her, it was a pleasure for us to have her here.” 

At the end of her placement Bella was asked to do a presentation on her time with OiLSERV to the various teams she had worked with. Following this she received a glowing letter of recommendation from the company, which they say she ‘fully deserved’.

Bella is in the first year of her BTEC Extended Diploma in Business Studies here at Weston College. By completing this invaluable work experience she has gained skills in HR, finance, IT, supply chain, law, marketing, sales, and project delivery. 

When reflecting on her time with OiLSERV, Bella told us: “It was an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity. I was really pleased when I read the feedback. It’ll definitely help my CV and future career prospects. I think it will make me stand out.” 

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.”