Last month, Health and Social Care students took part in Health and Social Care Future Skills Week, a week-long project focused on developing important skills for their future careers. Each day gave students the chance to learn something new, work with professionals, and explore different areas of the health and social care sector. 

The week started with a wellbeing day, where students worked with the Student Engagement Team, taking part in activities designed to help them look after their own wellbeing, including art therapy, a gym induction, and an afternoon of sports. This gave students time to focus on their own health and welfare and learn ways to stay healthy in the future. 

On Tuesday, students met with guest speakers from different areas of Health and Social Care. Nick Mallett from University Hospitals Bristol and Weston shared his experience in nursing, as well as Jenny Gamlin, a community midwife and health visitor, Michelle Clarke, a respiratory specialist, and Clare Waggett, an occupational therapist, also discussed their roles and what they entail. These sessions provided our learners with a better understanding of the various career options available in the sector. 

Wednesday was all about learning key workplace skills. Students took part in training for manual handling, first aid, and learned about National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) and Sepsis 6. These are essential skills that are required for students who wish to begin working in the health and social care sector. 

On Thursday, students took part in the ‘100 New Ideas’ project where they worked in teams with students from different levels to come up with creative ideas to support older people’s health and wellbeing. Their ideas were part of a campaign by the St Monica Trust, and the best ones were chosen by a panel of judges. The winning teams received prizes, and their ideas were shared with St Monica Trust. 

The winning idea from our students was to facilitate a bus service between their care villages in Bristol and North Somerset. This would allow residents to participate in events across the organisation, visit people they may know and meet new people. Students also came up with ideas to support dental care, a dating service to build friendships and relationships, and creating more spaces for a variety of worship.

Health and Social Care Future Skills Week provided our students with opportunities to experience different career pathways with industry professionals. It was an excellent way to network and build connections, but also prepare them for a variety of sectors with invaluable information from hands-on workshops and informative guest lectures. 

Thank you to the industry professionals who took the time to visit our Health and Social Care students and share your first-hand experience. 

If you are interested in applying to one of our Health and Social Care courses, click here.

Last month, Guthrie Kennard, an American singer-songwriter from Texas, visited our Music Performance and Production learners, offering invaluable insight into the world of songwriting and performance. With over 60 years of experience in Old Blues and Southern country music, Guthrie brought not only his talent but also his wisdom, sharing stories from a lifetime dedicated to music. 

Guthrie has played bass for six decades and performed alongside legendary musicians like Larry Graham, Buddy Miles, Rocky Hill, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. From playing gigs in small intimate settings to massive crowds of 50,000 people during the peak of the blues movement, Guthrie had many amazing stories to share with our learners about his journey. 

His passion for music has never faltered, “I have more stories than I do money,” he admitted, and even at 74, he continues to play because it brings him joy and fulfilment. 

During his visit, Guthrie shared insights into the songwriting process. He emphasised the importance of originality in lyrics, advising students to avoid repetition and make every line unique. His songwriting process is also largely organic—he starts with chords and a melody, often relying on drum patterns to guide the rhythm.  

While he doesn’t always plan albums in advance, he claims that he has a clear sense of the sound he wants to achieve. “I usually have a feeling of what an album will sound like, and I will write a song and decide that I need to keep it in that genre,” he explained. 

Guthrie finds inspiration for his songs originates from the world around him. “I listen to stories, so if I hear a line that inspires me, I will use it as a lyric,” he shared. However, he also admitted to struggling with writer’s block, encouraging the students to keep writing, whether it’s serious songs or silly and fun, every bit of creativity is progress. 

The students were captivated when Guthrie performed in our Michael Eavis music Suite at Loxton Campus. Many of our learners aspire for a lifetime career in music in the future, giving them a lot of encouragement and insight into their chosen industry.  

Guthrie acknowledges that his age has slowed him down a bit and discussed the challenges he has faced over time, but his love for music has always outweighed the negatives and he doesn’t want to stop playing. “I love doing it, and it keeps me going. It’s something I’ve done since I was a kid. Even though it’s been hard, it’s also kept me alive.” 

During his visit, Guthrie praised Weston College’s facilities and the warmth of the students and staff, admitting that he was actually a bit nervous to be there. 

Guthrie’s insights and experiences provided the students with an honest, unfiltered look at the realities of being a musician. From handling criticism to navigating the financial struggles of the industry, he offered an abundance of knowledge that will undoubtedly help shape the future generation of artists.  

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Guthrie Kennard for taking the time to visit us all the way from Texas and share his amazing journey and wisdom with our students. 

If you’re interested in applying to one of our Music and Production courses, click here. 

Business Enterprise Challenge is a fantastic competition ran every year for Business and Travel and Tourism students to give them a chance to work as a team and create a marketable product that they can sell to the public in order to raise money for Weston Hospicecare. This is the fourth year of the Business Enterprise Challenge and, so far, their efforts have raised over £22,500 for Weston Hospicecare in the last 4 years!  

There were 21 groups in total and each group start the challenge with a £50 investment from local employers to be used as the start up for their products. They then design and create an innovative business plan to sell and reinvest their profits to further develop their sales and grow their product and community impact.  

Every group taking part in this challenge are provided with a business mentor from a local employer in Weston-super-Mare. These mentors provide support and guidance throughout the whole process, offering the students with invaluable advice in areas such as networking, financial management, sales and much more. This provides the learners with essential transferrable skills for future entrepreneurs.  

All groups came up with unique and innovative products, however three groups in particular took the challenge in stride and exceeded all expectations, raising large sums of money and going above and beyond during the selling process. During this challenge, we offer Bronze, Silver and Gold awards as an incentive to work harder and win the title. The winners also got public recognition and a certificate to reward their efforts.  

Our Bronze winners created personalised lip gloss keychains which were loved by all ages. By keeping costs low and sales high, their product remains popular among students and staff. Their dedication, even outside of lessons, helped them raise an impressive £519.16. 

Our Silver winners showcased creativity and smart reinvestment, selling bespoke Halloween and Christmas candles at high-profit margins. They leveraged each other's strengths, worked closely with their mentors, and attended external events, raising an amazing £627.25. 

All teams worked extremely hard, but our Gold winners, Wax and Walkies, smashed the record, raising more money than any other group in the last four years with a fantastic £1,100. Selling wax melts, hot chocolate, and dog treats, they created a diverse range of products to maximise sales. With mentor Sarah’s guidance, they built one of the project’s strongest brands, earning them the top spot—complete with custom T-shirts to further promote their products!   

This challenge allows the students to think creatively and independently in order to develop and sell products for profit. By working with local employers and mentors, the students got to engage with the local community, whilst also learning more about the logistics behind setting up a business and the importance of financial management and much more. It gave them invaluable experience from a real-world setting and provided them with transferrable skills for the future.  

Kirsty Simmons, the Community Fundraising Manager at Weston Hospicecare, thanked our students for the amazing work they have done for them over the years, adding, “This fundraiser is amazing for Weston Hospicecare and Weston College because we’re getting the community together. Not only are we getting fundraising, but the students are learning from mentors that are out in the business world where they can make new relationships and connections which they can use going forward.  

This money will go to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their family members. It’s really crucial to know that we are not just here for the patients, but we are also here for their families.”  

We are incredibly proud of all the students who have taken part this year, raising a total that has surpassed all other years once again with a fantastic £7289.87 which has been donated directly to Weston Hospicecare.  

Thank you to the mentors and local employers that invested in our learners, got involved with the project and supported them through the process. This challenge would not be possible without your involvement.  

If you’re interested in applying to one of our Business or Travel and Tourism courses, click here.  

If you are passionate about education and are looking for an opportunity to join the staff team at a leading college, then look at the latest job vacancies available at Weston College here. You can find all the latest job opportunities that Weston College has to offer, with a commitment to providing quality education for learners and a focus on continuous professional development for staff, Weston College is an excellent place to work and grow in your career.