Twisted Web, a leading website design agency, recently collaborated with our digital course learners as part of the Digital Career Excellence Hub at the College. This innovative partnership provided a unique opportunity for students to engage in real-world projects tailored by Twisted Web, drawing inspiration from the agency's recent accomplishments. Through collaborative group work, learners tackled live project briefs that enhanced their skills.

Learners worked in groups to complete live project briefs, which were created by Twisted Web, and based on projects that they had completed recently.

Alan Burnell, Adult Curriculum Coordinator for Computing and Digital Technologies at Weston College, said: “It was great to welcome Twisted Web to the college, to work closely with our computing and digital learners.

"Working with Twisted Web is a game-changer for our students. They tackled real-world tasks brilliantly, growing in knowledge, skills, and confidence. This collaboration between education and industry is really important at Weston College, and we look forward to working closely with them in the future.”

Ross Gudge from Twisted Web, added: “It’s been our pleasure to work with the Weston College computing faculty and being able to engage with the students on their various courses.

“The response from all learners was really positive, and we were impressed with their work as well as their attitude, and ability to take on board constructive feedback and identify opportunities to improve - it is a good sign for the future.

“We saw real talent across each of the different groups that we worked with, and we are confident that they will have successful careers after they have completed their course.”

The College is committed to fostering connections between industry and education, and proudly hosts fourteen sector-specific Career Excellence Hubs. This initiative underscores our dedication to supporting both employers and learners in achieving their future goals. By seamlessly integrating practical experiences into the academic journey, we empower learners to acquire essential skills, knowledge, and professional networks, positioning them for success in their chosen fields.

A big thank you to Twisted Web for supporting our learners!

If you would like to find out more about our Digital courses, please 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.

Weston College has teamed up with Weston-super-Mare AFC to continue providing players aged under sixteen to under nineteen with a joint Academic and Football Pathway within North Somerset and the South West. 

Weston College will monitor and support players through their Academic Pathway to ensure they have the skills and qualifications necessary, providing a solid foundation for any player within this programme. 

Head of Sport and Health, Heidi Oliver said: “The partnership with Weston AFC is really exciting! As partners, we're aligned on key values around valuing people and the communities they're a part of.  

“By collaborating with such a key club in the local community we're able to add real authenticity to our football pathway; learners are inspired through involvement with the club and the impact of being directly engaged in community action is huge. This partnership is a wonderful addition to our network and our overall aim of Creating Brighter Futures for our learners.”  

Weston College and University Centre Weston, are hosting a Trial Day for all players aged U16s to U18s in partnership with Weston-super-Mare AFC. 

This offers players the opportunity to join a Semi-Professional environment, in the National League South, combined with a fantastic Academic Foundation to build on their journey for a future role in sport.  

The programme is led by Weston-super-Mare AFC’s Head of Senior Phase and Head of Coaching, Mark McKeever. 

The Club's philosophy is to develop players within their academy and nurture them into 1st Team regulars, whilst providing them with a first-rate education. 

A Weston-super-Mare AFC spokesperson said: "Players are closely monitored and supported during the season to ensure they are developing and improving along our Footballing Pathway, with Mark taking a prominent, hands-on role in this." 

The club added: "We have representation in the AoC South West League, National League U19s Alliance, ESFA U18s Elite Schools', Colleges' Cup and ECFA U19s Cup. Entering these competitions allows our players exposure to some of the best teams in the country to help enhance their development." 

Engaging with employers forms part of the Sport Careers Excellence Hub. Weston College's Career Excellence Hubs are designed to be the launching pad for our learners' careers. In a world where connections and relevant skills matter more than ever, these hubs offer a holistic approach that prepares learners to thrive in their chosen industries. With the support of these hubs, our learners are well-equipped to make a significant impact in their professional journeys.

The Trial Day will be held on Tuesday, February 13 at The Optima Stadium between 9:30am -and 2pm. 

All players should register their attendance here.

To find out more about our sport 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.

Weston College recently celebrated the success of a secondary school athletics tournament held at the Hutton Moor Leisure Centre. The event, organised in collaboration with the North Somerset Schools Partnership for Educational Athletics (NSSPEA), brought together 12 secondary schools from North Somerset, involving over 250 students on the day.

Central to the success of this event were the Level 3 Sports Coaching & Physical Education, students at Weston College, who played a fundamental role in the planning, coordination, and execution of the athletics competition. Partnering with NSSPEA, the learners ensured that the experience would be seamless and enjoyable for all participants, showcasing their commitment to community engagement and practical application of coaching skills.

The event enabled our learners to take on significant responsibilities. From thorough planning to coordinating with participating schools, organising specific events, and managing the critical aspects of scoring and timekeeping, the Level 3 coaching students demonstrated exceptional professionalism and organisational skills.

The event received positive feedback from participating schools, highlighting the good organisation and professionalism of Weston College's coaching students. The collaboration with NSSPEA and the engagement of over 250 students highlighted the college's commitment to promoting athletics and healthy competition within the local community.

This event formed part of the Sport and Fitness Careers Excellence Hub; Weston College is committed to preparing learners for success in a rapidly evolving job market which is reflected in our offer via our bespoke Career Excellence Hubs, which form an integral part of all college programmes. In a world where professional networks and industry-specific skills are integral to landing employment, these hubs provide a unique solution to bridge the gap between education and industry demands. 

For further information about our Sport and Fitness courses, please 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.

As the year draws to a close, we’re taking a look back on a year filled with exciting trips for our students! Our Career Excellence Hubs are designed to be the launching pad for our learners' careers. In a world where connections and relevant skills matter more than ever, these hubs offer a holistic approach that prepares learners to thrive in their chosen industries. With the support of these hubs, our learners are well-equipped to make a significant impact in their professional journeys. As part of this we are able to offer incredible opportunities like the trips below... 

Our level 2 and level 3 Public Services learners had the amazing opportunity to visit HMS Raleigh, a Royal Navy training establishment in Torpoint near Plymouth, compromising of  

Our incredible Level 3 Performing Arts students showed off their talents at the Wintertainment Showcase!

The Wintertainment Showcase is a variety show, allowing Performing Arts learners from all three pathways of Dance, Musical Theatre and Acting to put all the hard work they have done on display. Learners have been practicing and preparing for the Wintertainment Showcase for weeks, fine tuning their performances and honing their skills to be the best they can be.  

Direction and choreography were in the hands of our fantastic lecturers; Joe, Fiona, Lisa and Marjory. Some students went one step further however, choreographing their own impressive performances. 

Our Dance students wowed audiences, demonstrating a wide range of styles. These were swing, jazz, contemporary and commercial. The clear favourite, however, was a dazzling performance of "Backstage Romance" from Moulin Rouge the musical. Acting students were also on top form, performing monologues from a variety of plays as well as a group piece from a play called "Metamorphosis". Musical theatre students rounded out the variety perfectly, with a blend of solo songs and monologues. The highlight of the Musical Theatre performers however were the excerpts from "Fame", "Come From Away" and "Need A Little Christmas". 

All of the effort and hard work clearly paid off for the learners as the feedback they received was outstanding. Friends and family watched with pride and congratulated the learners on an excellent show. Lecturers were also incredibly impressed with lecturer Joe saying this: “The Level 3 Performing Arts Wintertainment Showcase was a huge success, showing our incredibly talented students in this wonderful variety show. They have progressed and developed their skills in confidence, professionalism and skills which has prepared them for our end of year full scale musical and play at the end of the academic year. I am extremely proud of each and every one of them!” 

The performance had a strong impact, teaching learners about how a professional show is put together. Learners were able to boost their own vital industry skills including working with headset microphones, understanding lighting cues and learning to work together as a large cast of performers for a live audience. 

This incredible showcase forms part of the Creative Arts Careers Excellence Hub. The College has fourteen sector-specific Career Excellence Hubs, which evidence our dedication to supporting both employers and learners in achieving their future goals. By creating a seamless connection between industry and education, we enable learners to acquire not only the essential skills and knowledge but also the professional networks necessary to excel in their chosen fields. 

Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic show!  

To find out more about our performing arts courses, click here!

Weston College recently hosted a ‘Careers in Law’ event, as part of the Career Excellence Hub, for students at Loxton Campus. The College’s legal courses continue to see growth with a large number of A Level Law students at its Sixth Form and Paralegal Apprenticeships providing routes into legal careers. 

The College has exciting plans to offer a brand new Legal Services T Level course for school leavers from September 2024, the first Legal T Level in the region.

The legal and professional services sector, employs over 65,000 people in the region according to research by the West of England Combined Authority. Recognising the breadth of careers in the sector for learners and the College’s ‘careers not courses’ ethos, the event provided an opportunity to collaborate with employers to showcase careers to learners. Employers including Burges Salmon, Simmons and Simmons, CMS, Foot Anstey, Womble Bond Dickinson, RPC, Irwin Mitchell and VWV attended, meeting students during the event.

Dave Crew, Head of Business Growth & Employer Partnerships at Weston College said “Thank you to our employer partners for supporting our ‘careers not courses’ ethos. Our region has a large legal sector which is evolving at pace through its use of technology and various pathways for learners to join the sector. This creates exciting career opportunities on our doorstep for learners. It was fantastic to see our students engaging with potential future employers and discovering the breadth of careers available. We’re look forward to collaborating with employers as we create our new Legal Services T Level launching in September 2024.”

Employers commented on the enthusiastic engagement from College students.

Lauren Gardener, Early Talent Executive at RPC said “We thoroughly enjoyed connecting with students from Weston College, it was great to meet so many engaged individuals with a genuine passion about working in a law firm. We hope that after sharing our Legal and Claims Handling apprenticeship opportunities, we have inspired the students to continue their pursuit in a career within law."

Keith Mitchelhill, Early Talent Recruitment Advisor at Womble Bond Dickinson said “It was a pleasure to speak with the students of Weston College, they all came incredibly well prepared and we had some very insightful conversations regarding how to best display their experience and the different routes into law.”

Harry Keaveney, Legal Apprentice at Burges Salmon said “The enthusiasm and curiosity displayed by the students was remarkable. This reflects the excellent work that the college is doing to prepare them for their future careers. It’s clear that Weston College is dedicated to creating valuable opportunities for students and we look forward to working with them in the future."

If you would like to find out more about Weston College's A Level courses, please click here. 

Employers looking to upskill staff through the College’s legal courses or access future talent can contact employers@weston.ac.uk

Weston College’s Sports students organised and executed a multi-sport event organised as part of a comprehensive project contributing to their qualification. The students displayed exceptional organisational skills and leadership capabilities during a practice run, where they hosted a multi-skills event for local Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools.

The Level 2 students took on the challenge of coordinating this practice event as a practice before the main event, demonstrating their commitment to practical learning and community engagement. The multi-skills event aimed to provide an inclusive and enjoyable experience for students from local SEN schools while allowing Weston College learners to apply their theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting.

In preparation for the event, the students undertook various responsibilities, including contacting staff, ensuring they were abiding by health and safety measures, carefully planning the activities, and successfully running the event on the designated day. The feedback received from the participating schools and the Education Learning Alliance Network (ELAN) was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the students' exceptional confidence and organisational expertise.

Dan Lomax, Curriculum Coordinator of Sport and Health at Weston College, expressed admiration for the students' dedication and success, stating, "We are immensely proud of our Level 2 students who not only embraced the challenge of organising and running a multi-skills event but also received positive feedback for their confidence and impeccable organisational skills. This project not only contributes to their academic progress but also provides a sense of responsibility and community engagement."

Encouraged by the success of the practice event, the Level 2 students are now gearing up for the main event, collaborating with local SEN schools and partnering with Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS) to ensure a larger and even more impactful experience. This collaboration reflects Weston College's commitment to fostering partnerships with the community and creating opportunities for students to apply their skills beyond the classroom.

The main event, planned in conjunction with VANS, is expected to further showcase the students' ability to organise inclusive and engaging activities for the local SEN community.

This event forms part of the Sports and Fitness Careers Excellence Hub. Weston College's Career Excellence Hubs are designed to be the launching pad for our learners' careers. In a world where connections and relevant skills matter more than ever, these hubs offer a holistic approach that prepares learners to thrive in their chosen industries. With the support of these hubs, our learners are well-equipped to make a significant impact in their professional journeys. 

For further information about Weston College courses, please click here.

The Business Enterprise Project is an exciting endeavour taken on by our Business and Travel students every year, and this project has been no exception!  

The yearly Business Enterprise Project started when Weston Hospicecare approached the Weston College business team with funding opportunities. The Business department came up with a plan to run an enterprise project where learners create and sell products for charity.  

As part of the Careers Excellence Hub, learners have the opportunity to make connections with twenty-one local employers who mentor them and provide advice and guidance regarding the learner’s plans for what they are selling and how they are going to promote it. This feedback is crucial for the development of our learners and allows our learners to prove themselves in a different environment. In addition to being mentored by employers, some of our T-Level Management learners kindly give up their time to act as coaches to the learners. 

A key part of the project is getting used to handling real money, with these same local employers kindly donating £50 to each group of learners which they then must reinvest into products to sell for a profit. A huge thanks must be given to these employers as they are crucial to the project.  

To help foster a healthy competitive spirit, the project is run as a competition, with high performing groups recognised with awards at the end of the project! The overall winner is the group who have made the most profit.  

This project has a fantastic impact on learners. The project is an incredible opportunity to learn a huge range of business skills including finance, marketing, sales, and customer service. This project allows them to take ownership of this learning and put into practice the knowledge and skills they have developed in the classroom. It’s not just business skills developed either, with confidence being built by interacting with employers, the public, and presenting information to judges at the end of the project. This provides fantastic personal development for future interviews and employment. 

Subject Area Manager for Business Ben Melhuish said “Running the enterprise project is my favourite part of the academic year. Putting learners out of their comfort zone, developing their skills and all whilst raising huge sums of money for a local charity is the kind of thing that inspires staff and learners." 

Ben is right about learners raising large amounts of money for charity. Last year’s Business Enterprise Project raised £5,500 for Weston Hospice care! Better still, this year's learners are hoping to beat that benchmark. 

Learners sold their products to the public at a wonderful Christmas Market at the Weston-super-Mare rugby club and have also been selling products this week in the Sovereign Centre to boost their sales and get hands on experience selling to the public.  

This project forms part of the Business Careers Excellence Hub; Weston College is committed to preparing learners for success in a rapidly evolving job market which is reflected in our offer via our bespoke Career Excellence Hubs, which form an integral part of all college programmes. In a world where professional networks and industry-specific skills are integral to landing employment, these hubs provide a unique solution to bridge the gap between education and industry demands. 

Well done to all the learners for everything they have done so far, and good luck to them for the rest of the project! A huge thanks to the employers for giving up their time and donating money to the learners to kickstart the project in the best way. 

Learners studying A Level Fashion went on a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum, in Knightsbridge, London last Friday. 

44 learners in total went on the trip, where they had the opportunity to visit an array of exhibitions, including DIVA, which is running until April 2024.

DIVA celebrates the power and creativity of iconic performers, exploring and redefining the role of 'diva' and how this has been subverted or embraced over time across opera, stage, popular music, and film.

There was a spectacular collection of costumers which were worn by icons including Maria Callas, CHER, Rihanna, Elton John and Marilyn Monroe.

Lecturer in Textiles, Nicola Stent, who ran the trip, said: “At Weston College we are passionate about giving our learners the opportunity to broaden their horizons, which is a critical part of our Career Excellence Hubs.

“This trip allowed learners to not only expand their knowledge, but also cultivate the skills and maturity necessary for their future endeavours.

“Witnessing the passion and enthusiasm of our learners, I was deeply impressed by their attitude towards learning. Many exhibited a keen attention to detail, thoroughly engaging with the exhibits and displaying a remarkable level of maturity within the museum setting.

“The magic of Knightsbridge became a backdrop to the growth and enrichment of our students, and it was truly a pleasure to be part of this transformative journey."

If you would like to find out more about our A Level Fashion courses, please click here.