LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
There is always so much going on across our various campuses and courses.
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Are you a lover of languages, eager to gain a qualification in Spanish?
We have some good news!
We are extremely pleased to announce that Spanish A Level will soon be introduced into the curriculum at Weston College Sixth Form.
The new subject will offer students a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of Spanish.
You will develop confident and effective communication skills in Spanish and a thorough understanding of the social issues, trends and politics as well as artistic culture in the Spanish speaking world.
This course is part of our Sixth Form Career Excellence Hubs, which brings you closer to industry than ever before! You will hear from people within the industry, who will equip you with the latest skills, to enhance your future career opportunities.
What does the course involve?
Study subjects include understanding native speakers in spoken and written materials; developing your confidence in self-expression and essay writing and cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking society such as modern-day idols, Spanish regional identity and cultural heritage.
How will the course be assessed?
Exams in your second year.
What future study opportunities and careers are there?
The ability to speak more than one language is highly valued by many universities and employers and can be combined with a number of subjects, leading to careers such as business, tourism, international law, journalism, media or engineering.
More information to follow.
To find out more about our Careers Excellence Hubs (CEH), click here.
Alex Lipinski is a former Weston College student who has built a vast and impressive career from humble beginnings on the West Country club circuit, to huge audiences across the pond in New York. He recently paid us a visit to deliver a talk about his experiences in the music industry to our Music Performance and Production learners. Students also had the opportunity to interview the talented musician and watch him perform live.
Alex grew up in a musical family being influenced by 60s Rock and Roll music such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Kinks. Alex had a love for writing music and began his journey performing his songs in clubs, bars and for family occasions. The interest in his music has grown greatly, particularly after his recent successful shows at The Borderline. His track ‘Lonesome Train’ was also recently selected by BBC 6 presenter, Tom Robison, as one of his tracks of the week.
He advised to the students is to have their own identity as an artist, writing from the heart and not being too influenced by chart music. Alex expressed originality and creativity is key amongst such a competitive industry, stating:
“The main thing is honesty when writing music...being honest with yourself and thinking what do you want to write about? Who are you as a person or as an artist? What do you want to say? Often people see what’s number 1 in the charts and think ‘ok I’m going to write a song like that because that will be successful.’ It doesn’t really work like that; you can tell that doesn’t mean anything. Having your own identity as a writer and an artist is more valuable than anything.”
He also gave the students some tips on the best way to get their music out onto the scene and to not be disheartened or discouraged when they do not get the responses they expected right away.
Overall, the learners thoroughly enjoyed his visit and hearing from someone who was exactly in their position before going on to achieve success in the industry. Thank you, Alex, for inspiring the next generation of artists!
Find out more about our Music Performance and Production course here.
I was already a massive fan of the work that Wild Welfare does years before I started working for them. I’d never come across another charity doing anything like what they were doing, and particularly in the way they were doing it. The problem of poor animal welfare within captive animal facilities such as zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries is widespread and incredibly challenging. Instead of condemnation, Wild Welfare collaborates, working together to drive forward welfare improvements for animals in facilities across the globe. Providing training to animal care staff ensures they have the tools they need to better understand animal welfare and positively impact it through their care practices. The training we provide has proven very effective at achieving this outcome over the 11 years we have been active and being a part of the journey has been phenomenal.
A typical day for me involves a lot of desk work which was a significant change from the years I spent working as a zookeeper, but the impact I know I can have, and the animal welfare issues I am hugely aware of are my driving force. Typical days in the field, however, look very different. We might have meetings with project partners in Vietnam, give presentations at a conference in Indonesia, or conduct welfare audits and make recommendations on where improvements might be made in a facility in Japan. Of course, taking a moment to say hello to the animals is an essential part of the process. The animals make everything worth it but, surprisingly for me, they didn’t turn out to be the best part of my role. Instead it’s the people, and the changes we create within them. Meeting people who are so passionate about the animals under their care, and giving them opportunities to learn more about how to improve animal welfare is intensely gratifying. You can make friends for life, despite the language barriers.
In this line of work it’s not all about the qualifications. Particular personality traits also hold significance. Patience and level-headedness are two critically important attributes because the changes we are creating take time and the sights we sometimes see aren’t pleasant. Reacting in anger or impatience is a sure-fire way to destroy a collaborative relationship which might have taken years to build.
I recently journeyed to Weston College to give a lecture to the students about the differences between animal care and animal welfare, something I had struggled to comprehend myself when I was a keeper. It was fantastic to connect with the students and I hope what we discussed will help with their animal management practices in the future. It was also very encouraging to witness the fundraising efforts which Weston College had initiated. We are a charity after all and cannot create positive changes for animals without financial support so we were hugely grateful to everyone who chooses to get involved with our work via donations to its continuation.
Sarah Bonser-Blake, Animal Welfare Field Manager, Wild Welfare
Level 1 and Level 2 Health and Social Care learners recently embarked on a project aimed at exploring creative and therapeutic activities suitable for service users. This initiative not only showcased outstanding teamwork and communication skills but also demonstrated the learners' resilience and problem-solving abilities.
Recognising the importance of incorporating creative and therapeutic activities into the lives of service users, the Health and Social Care learners joined forces with students studying construction courses to create bug and hedgehog houses. Through this project, they sought to provide a safe and nurturing environment that would promote the well-being and engagement of service users.
By pooling their talents and working cohesively, the learners created a supportive and inclusive atmosphere that encouraged the free exchange of ideas and creativity.
Great work!
To find out more about Health and Social Care at Weston College, click here.
To find out more about BACE at Weston College, click here.
For many students ready to embark on their futures, making the crucial decision of what to study post-16, Sport is forced to shift from a passion to a hobby, in the search for a more 'sensible’ or ‘stable’ prospective career.
The reality is that Sport is an excellent career pathway. In 2023, there are so many more opportunities and prospects than simply playing or competing professionally. In the UK alone, the Sport industry contributes over £39 million to economy – a figure that would be far lower without all the supporting roles within the field.
Football, Rugby, Netball. Sport is no longer all about the players.
To make the game safe we need physios, to make a match fair, we need referees and to enhance the skill of the game, we need coaches and Performance Analysts.
This brings us to one of our outstanding alumni, Harrison.
After studying Sport at Weston College from 2003—2005, Harrison has gone on to have the most vibrant and successful career in football.
From the Bluebirds (Cardiff City) to Liverpool FC, all the way to his current role as Director of Performance Analysis for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and contributing to the team’s recent success in the World Cup in Qatar, Harrison boasts an incredibly impressive portfolio of clientele and experience. Read the BBC Sport article about Harrison as the Englishman who helped to plot Morrocco's success here.
We recently caught up with Harrison, who told us all about his journey into the Performance Analysis industry. He says:
My career started whilst I was still a student at University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) now known as Cardiff Metropolitan University. My first step and knowledge of the Analysis industry came from a course module and task we were given. This led to an internship with Cardiff City's Youth & Reserve teams, and I combined this role with my undergraduate studies, taking specialist modules in Performance Analysis (now a course in its own right).
Beyond this I continued gaining as much experience as possible and continued my studies by starting a Masters in Performance Analysis (also at UWIC). In this time, I worked with various teams in different sports (Welsh Football Association, Welsh Rugby, University of Glamorgan) and in a variety of roles.
My next step was into full time employment with Tottenham Hotspur U18 as the Youth Team Analyst. From here I made the move into the 1st team football environment with Burnley FC (Head of Analysis/1st Team Analyst) and then onto Liverpool FC (Head of Post Match Analysis). I was really able to take something and learn from each experience.
My current role is Director of Performance Analysis for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, it is a wide-ranging role covering many aspects including creating and managing an Analysis Department to provide analysis support for all our national teams (across all age groups/categories).
I enjoy all aspects of the role as I get to do a mixture of everything. Of course, a huge highlight was working with the National team for the recent World Cup in Qatar, privileged and proud to play my small part of an incredible story.
In layman's terms I get to watch football for a living and, whilst it is a bit more intricate and complex than that, it is still a joy to combine a passion of mine (and many others I'm sure) and call it work. As well as this, the job has definitely offered me some of the best seats in world football at some of the best games in recent history.
Sport is a fantastic topic to study, often it is a passion and one that therefore needs little motivation to learn and improve your understanding of. It's a fantastic tool for development and of course the competitive drive often associated with it is something that really pushes people on.
My advice for new students starting out on this path is to get as much experience outside of your studies as possible. You probably don't realise how much 'free' time you have at this stage of your life, so get out there, test and challenge yourself to apply the theory you are learning, and don't always look immediately to the big names and clubs (in time it will come, if you want to arrive there). You often get a fuller, more rounded experience of the role and jobs it entails at a lower level, plus the pressure here is less so it's a good place to experiment, make mistakes, and learn.
My time at Weston college was the perfect steppingstone for further education, providing and adding to the foundation knowledge I had in sport and particularly in the Sports Science discipline. It was the ideal place for me to continue my studies and combine this with a continued education in football. I learned and developed many key skills from my time at Weston College, gaining coaching qualifications also.
Huge thanks to Harrison for such incredible insight into exciting pathways and opportunities within the wider Sports industry.
To read more about our Sport programmes, click here.
Just before the Easter holidays, our Travel and Tourism learners were treated to a guest lecture from the Economic Development Officer at North Somerset Council, Charlie Orr.
Learners found out all about the visitor economy of Weston-super-Mare, which attracts around 750,000 visitors each year.
Charlie covered the strategic objectives for the Council, Explore North Somerset, as well the importance of partnerships, and how they work with key tourism organisations such as Visit West, Visit Somerset and Visit Weston-super-Mare.
As well as an exciting current job, Charlie previously worked for Insight Japan which allowed him to travel and gain a variety of experiences, which he shared with learners, who were particularly interested. Learners also found out about the career opportunities within the industry, which was highly inspiring, as well top tips and advice on how to gain employment within travel and tourism.
A big thank you to Charlie for coming in, and we look forward to working closely together over the coming months with some of Explore North Somerset’s events.
Rhombus Studio is an exciting design studio and creative agency joining our collection of employers as part of our Career Excellence Hubs (CEH).
The multidisciplinary studio that specialises in branding, is passionate about creating brands with meaning and purpose, underpinned by brand strategy. Founded in 2018 and now equipped with a team of 12 creative experts, Rhombus Studio pride themselves on being able to create everything that a brand needs to market themselves to their audience, including websites and animation.
Rhombus studio decided to team up with Weston College after its creative director, James - who studied our UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, felt it was beneficial to not only give back to the place that started his creative journey, but also to gain fresh ideas from the next generation of creatives. Their expertise and experience will certainly help learners with an array of industry aspects, such as client management and organisation, alongside addressing the creative processes they have built over the years.
This partnership will hopefully provide lots of benefits for our creative students, who will have access to lectures on specific subjects such as creative process, strategy, research, and client management.
They are also excited to support students by critiquing and providing feedback on their work. The studio will also be more offering two of our students mentorships, which is a rare and exciting opportunity for learners to experience first-hand what it’s like to work in the creative design industry.
Joining Weston College in 2023 is a brilliant time to be part of one of our Career Excellence Hubs that are always expanding and gaining more and more professional industry support.
By studying with us, and gaining access to CEH, we are dedicated to helping you reach your ultimate goals, focusing on your future employability, and developing skills needed to have a successful career. We are always grateful for the businesses who are willing to support us on this mission. Huge thanks to Rhombus Studio, we’re so excited to be working with you!
Find out more about our Career Excellence Hubs here.
Find out more about or UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design here.
Weston College recently took part in the 2023 Planet Earth Games, an Association of Colleges (AoC) competition which uses games and challenges to engage colleges and students in climate action.
The AoC and Planet Earth Games describe this as a “Global Movement”, and have co-produced a project aimed at educating, promoting and advocating for colleges in climate action, and sustainable consumption this academic year.
The College had many activities taking place across the week, particularly in the Engineering and Inclusive Practice departments.
The Faculty of Inclusive Practice (FIP) launched the ‘Wheels to Work’ campaign, where a number of staff cycled from Yatton and Clevedon through to Weston. Alongside this, free bike checks, services and cleans were offered to learners and staff.
Extension studies and Engineering also took part in a Beach Clean across Weston Seafront, to improve the beach experience for the community and help preserve the coastline.
Live salads and 100 tree saplings were planted at Butcombe farm by the learners, to assist with the environment and carbon emissions.
The engineering learners also collected reusable plastics, and moulded them into various items. The learners from FIP then sold them in their pop-up shop.
Jo Philpott, Vice Principal – Curriculum Delivery & Technical Innovation, commented on the success: “We are incredibly proud of the dedication our learners had towards the Planet Earth Games initiative and the impact this has had since. We believe it is incredibly important to do our part when it comes to sustainability, and AoC’s Planet Earth Games is the ideal way to get learners engaged. I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone involved!”
Weston College hosted its first ever ‘Reverse Careers Fair’ at the beginning of this month, as part of My Future Month, for the learners with SEND within the Faculty of Inclusive Practice (FIP).
Each student created poster boards showcasing themselves, their accolades and their skills, for employers from across the South West to review and find potential new members of their workforce.
We caught up with Nina Sinclair, the Lead Employment Navigator for Autism, who co-ordinated the event. She told us about the success and process of the reverse careers fair:
“We knew this was an important event to arrange for the leaners within the faculty. In my experience of attending the ‘normal’ job fairs, it’s really apparent that it’s not accessible. Yes, it’s physically accessible to some degree, but when you take into account the sensory and social demands, the layout and navigating, and the confidence it takes to put yourself in front of an employer in that manner, you realise that someone who is neurodivergent could find that incredibly difficult, particularly when they are trying to put their best self forward. Because of the impact that this can have, it almost feels as though they are competing with people who don’t have those barriers, and it struck me as being extremely unfair.
We heard about reverse career fairs previously and had wanted to implement something similar for learners with SEND during My Future Month, to support their progression of careers and employability. The idea of creating the poster boards seemed ideal, as the learners are still able to showcase their talents to employers, without needing to talk directly to them, or even be in the room if it felt too demanding on the day.
Furthermore, we felt flipping around the ‘traditional’ layout of a careers event would allow the employers to feel more approachable and human to the learners, and encourage those meaningful conversations that can lead to brilliant outcomes.
We knew we had to take the leap and arrange this inspiring event to take place following the constant learner feedback that we receive, including struggling to access community and college wide events, as well as virtual ones.
As a college, we’ve been offering Inclusive Employer workshops, to educate and improve employer’s understanding of inclusivity towards becoming more neurodivergence within their business, and potential employees too. We took this chance to self-reflect and practice what we preach within the college, to improve upon what we deliver to learners with SEND.
When considering which employers to invite to this event, we wanted to ensure it was bespoken to the learners showcasing themselves. To achieve this, we found out from the learners which area and industry they would like to work in, and then asked the Business Growth Team to reach out to employers which fit the description and invite them along. We then knew which employer to direct to which learner or poster board, to encourage conversations with meaningful outcomes for both participants.
As well as the employers which attended, we also had some representatives from the college’s Apprenticeships Team to present to the learners that they also have that option, but also to present to the apprenticeship team that even though our learners may require extra support in some areas, they are strong candidates for apprenticeships.
Something we desperately wanted to avoid was the idea that this would be ‘segregating’ the learners with SEND from the other learners. In order to combat this, we purposely planned this event for a week after Careers Fest, a more ‘traditional’ careers fair held by the college. If the learners attended Careers Fest but felt overwhelmed, they knew they had the Reverse Careers Fair which would be better suited to their needs, but still allow the opportunity to talk to employers and put themselves out there.
The highlight of the event for us was before the event had even happened, walking through the classrooms of the different courses within the faculty, and seeing the learners working on their boards, seeing their excitement, and the conversations that were taking place about their employability opportunities. It was fantastic to see.
Since the event took place, we’ve had some great feedback from employers, the apprenticeship team, and learners.
One employer said: “I was able to talk to several students about career progression, job opportunities and also aspirations and all came across really positive and enthusiastic. Thank you for the invitation, and I hopefully look forward to working with your team and group in the future.”
Chloe from the Apprenticeships Team, said: “This was one of the best events we have attended to date; it gave us a chance to meet a variety of neurodiverse learners in a safe space and have meaningful conversations about how they can take their next steps to getting an apprenticeship!”
As well as this, we have employers coming back to run CV and money management workshops, and the apprenticeship team want to work closer with the faculty – we know we’re going to have strong outcomes for the learners.
We wanted to take the Weston College career strategy and adapt it to fit the needs of the learners with SEND and that’s exactly what we’ve achieved; we cannot wait for the next one! This model of best practice in SEND will be shared locally and nationally through our Centre for Excellence in SEND”
Click to find out more about the Faculty of Inclusive Practice, or how you and your business can get involved.
Marketing and Communications
The marketing department is responsible for promoting Weston College to the public, by promoting the Colleges courses, achievements and events.
Our aims are to attract learners to study within the Weston College Group, build and grow the College’s brand and highlight its reputation, and promote the College Group’s success, student progression and outstanding support for our learners.
The marketing department manages the College’s websites and official social media accounts, runs advertising campaigns, creates press releases, and manages many of the College Group’s events, such as Graduation, the Celebration of Success and the Business Awards.
We produce a wide range of publications including our full-time, Higher Education and part-time prospectuses, course leaflets and posters, and other documents such as the College’s annual report, magazines and newsletters, course brochures and the student handbook.
Weston College is committed to providing accurate and timely information for local, regional and national media, and the general public.
The marketing team is available between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Fridays. You can get in touch with us by emailing marketing@weston.ac.uk.
All of our press releases are uploaded to the news section of our websites. News from the academies we sponsor, including the North Somerset Enterprise and Technology College, can be found on the news section of the Inspirational Futures Trust’s website. News pertaining to our Higher Education Provision can be found on www.ucw.ac.uk.
The marketing department produces most imagery and film in house, and keeps an extensive archive of the photographs it takes. If you would like a copy of an image featuring you or a member of your family, please contact us at photography@weston.ac.uk.
Our photos of graduation and many other events can be found on the College’s Facebook page. High quality images can be found on the College’s Flickr account.
Weston College is able to accommodate many requests to provide locations for film and photography. The College has a range of attractive, modern and adaptable facilities which can be viewed on our youtube channel.
We also are able to provide heritage facilities such as the Victorian Hans Price designed Conference Centre and, from September 2017, the 1927 Winter Gardens Pavilion.
For booking details, contact marketing@weston.ac.uk.
For enquiries about sponsoring key events such as Celebration of Success, Business Breakfast, Business Awards and Graduation, please contact the marketing team by email at marketing@weston.ac.uk.
