Weston College has been named among the first 21 colleges to establish a maths centre of excellence.

The new centres were announced last year in response to Sir Adrian Smith’s review of post-16 maths education, which recommended improving basic maths for people over 16.

The chosen colleges, which will share £40 million of funding over five years, are spread across the country. Weston College is one of only two centres in the South West.

As well as improving the quality of basic maths provision for low-attaining young people over 16, the new centres will design new teaching approaches, develop high-quality resources, build teachers’ skills and spread best practice.

Weston College Principal and CEO, Dr Paul Phillips, said: "This is fantastic news – not just for Weston College and our learners, but also the wider community in North Somerset and beyond.

“Becoming a maths centre of excellence will allow us to revitalize our maths provision, and develop new resources for our learners.

“Being one of only 21 providers awarded the funding is a great honour and reinforces our national reputation for high-quality education.”

A college-wide organisational transformation programme to enhance the mental health, wellbeing and welfare of its learners, its staff and its community has received national recognition by winning an Association of Colleges Beacon Award.

Weston College picked up the award for developing sustainable community partnerships/peer networks to maximise engagement and minimise isolation, where staff and students have improved morale and wellbeing.

The judges were impressed by the colleges’ commitment to creating an ethos which puts mental health, wellbeing and welfare at the forefront of college investment -as an inclusive driver to achieve its mission of creating brighter futures for all its staff and students regardless of their starting point in life.

Now in its 24th year, the AoC Beacon Awards showcase best practice and innovation in colleges. It is designed to promote the interdependence of colleges, businesses and professional and voluntary organisations. The awards also highlight excellence and helps share best practice across the sector.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said; “This is a fantastic achievement for the College in such an important policy area, where we are delivering real impact for our students and staff. “

Judges also commented on the fantastic cross college holistic approach to mental health and well-being that was demonstrated by the College, which really set them apart from everyone else.

David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Each year the standard of entries is extremely high and this year is no exception. This makes choosing the winner so difficult, especially with so many worthy entrants.

“Colleges are inspirational places to learn because education and training is delivered by expert teaching staff in industry-standard facilities. Weston College should be proud of their award.”

For the first time, The AoC Beacon Awards and the TesFE Awards were presented alongside each other at the annual TES FE Awards ceremony in London on Friday 22 March 2019.

Weston College’s highly anticipated Creative Arts Summer Showcase opened in spectacular fashion on Tuesday 11th June at Loxton Campus.

Family, friends and members of the public attended an evening of celebration at Loxton Campus as learners from Weston College and University Centre Weston (UCW) showcased their incredible art forms.

The exhibition included diverse pieces of work by learners studying art and design, photography and graphic design courses; degrees and the College’s pre-degree UAL Foundation Diploma.

The opening night was electric. Every room hosted a variety of work which inspired conversations surrounding the themes and the learners’ abilities. Performances by music learners and an interactive photo booth also added to ambience.

Many of the displays were comprised of learners’ final course projects, which involved months of effort and contributed to their final grade. A section of the exhibition was also filled with impressive works of art created by learners who are studying College art courses whilst serving sentences in prison. Click here to read more about our Prison Education programme. 

Chair of the College Corporation, Andrew Leighton-Price, attended the opening night. He said: “The Summer Showcase was absolutely amazing. There were so many innovative works of art, with so many mediums used, from paint, sculpting, to digital, to on line film and gaming.

“The learners I met at the show gave me a fantastic insight and it was clear that there is a huge wealth of talent and passion that goes into the work here at Loxton Campus.

“It was clear that the learners and staff had collaborated to make this a truly memorable event, using the extensive resources available. I’d like to congratulate everyone that contributed to this impressive showcase”

John O’Connell, the College’s Head of Creative Arts, said: “It was a wonderful evening. It was very well attended and such a joy to see all the hard work of both our students and staff come together to produce a body of work with conceptual depth and visual appeal across a diverse range of subjects.”

The Summer Showcase is open to the public at our Loxton Campus on weekdays (10am – 4pm) and Saturday 15th June (10am – 2pm), until Thursday 20th June.

Summer Showcase forms part of the Creative Arts Summer Festival which provides our students with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents each year. As well as the recent production arts runway and film screening showcase, there is still a variety of shows still to come as part of the festival. Click here to see details of the other events taking place throughout June.

September is arguably one of the most exciting times of the year as we welcome an entire new group of young people into the Weston College family.

During the first few weeks of term, we’re offering students the chance to come together and contribute towards creating a piece of artwork that will make your first week at college a memorable one…

For those who get involved, we’ll be randomly selecting one lucky winner to receive a Love 2 Shop gift voucher valued at £100!

This can be spent online and in store at numerous shops such as Alton Towers, HMV, New Look, River Island, Top Shop and many more!

It's not always "the most wonderful time of the year". In a time full of festive joy, Christmas can be a difficult time for those dealing with mental health problems. In order to help and support those in need, we've compiled a useful list of articles and health services that can help over the Christmas holidays.

Weston College is officially a Further AND Higher Education establishment following a successful bid to the Government.

The move towards offering more degrees at the College ties in with North Somerset Council’s strategy for the regeneration of Weston-super-Mare and will lead to an eventual aim of having a ‘University Centre’ in the town.

Although Weston College already offers degrees, its new status means it will be able to expand its provision significantly, leading to many more new jobs for the town and surrounding area.

Welcoming the news, Dr Paul Phillips, Weston College Principal and Chief Executive, said the College’s new status tied in with the continuing development of its South West Skills Campus (SWSC) on Locking Road, extensions to Loxton Campus on Locking Road, the development of the North Somerset Enterprise and Technology College at Junction 21and improvements at its Knightstone Campus.

He said: “The time was right to go for this bid, particularly when the town of Weston-super-Mare will be seeing major regeneration in the very near future in the form of Junction 21 and the Dolphin Square development. I am jointly working through the Local Enterprise Partnership and North Somerset Council so that the idea of regeneration in Weston-super-Mare leans towards a ‘town centre urbanisation project’ with HE a major feature of this.”

Mike Jackson, Chief Executive of North Somerset Council, said: “This is excellent news for North Somerset, and Weston-super-Mare in particular. We work very closely with the College and I am delighted that their bid to Government has been successful. Weston College already plays an extremely important role in Weston-super-Mare’s economy. As we look to the future, Higher Education should play a significant role in delivering development and investment in the town centre, which is a priority for the council.”

HE provision at Weston College has grown rapidly, with around 800 students now on HE courses with partners Bath Spa University and the University of the West of England. It is hoped that a new centre may easily double this number in the next few years.

Weston College’s aspirations tie in with a speech made recently by Universities Minister David Willetts, who said that HE provision should focus on economic ‘cold spots’.

The minister said that he hoped the removal of controls on student numbers from next year would result in more campuses being set up. He added: “There are no barriers to setting up a higher education campus. If this is your town’s dream we want you to pursue it.”

Weston College student Chloe Edrich, 16, could be heading to Rio de Janeiro this summer after securing a place at the national time trials for the 2016 Olympics.

Chloe, who studies A Levels at the College and is a member of its Academy of Sport, posted a qualifying time in the 200m breast stroke and will attempt to make the required time in the 400m individual medley and 400m breaststroke.

Chloe said: “Studying at Weston College has enabled me to improve my swimming, but has also supported me in achieving my academic targets.”

Her mother, Kelly Edrich, said: “It was amazing to see her smash the time she needed.

“She’s done fantastically well so far and it would be brilliant if she could make it all the way.”

Paul Taylor, Sports Development and Performance Manager at the College, said: “Chloe has worked incredibly hard to get to this point.

“Combining an Elite Athletic and Academic programme is challenging and requires commitment and dedication, we are very proud of her achievements.”

The Weston College Academy of Sport offers aspiring sportsmen and women an opportunity to further develop their potential, providing them with outstanding coaching, training and support both individually and as a team.

It allows College students to combine their academic or vocational studies with participation in sporting activities at local, regional and national levels.

Last month we attended the opening ceremony of Essential Beauty and Aesthetics, a beauty salon run by former Weston College student Jessica Stagg in Weston-super-Mare.

Now, Jessica wants to pass on the things she’s learned to others in the hope that it will help them set up their very own salons.

Being a salon owner, I have learned that you need to give everyone a little piece of what you know to show the knowledge and passion of understanding the industry.

My first experience of the beauty industry was at Weston College, where I achieved my first beauty therapy qualifications and gained my first steps into the industry.

It’s hard work to get to where you want to be, but so rewarding and you learn so much along the way.

Here are my top tips for people who want to open their own salon...

Learning is key

Many salons and spas do things in different ways. Management styles are different, staff and clientele are different, but each successful salon has gone through a learning curve to enable it to sculpt itself into the format that works best for its particular needs.

The things you learn from other salons might not be right for your business, but there are always aspects you can take away and learn from.

Experience is everything

The more experience you can get the better. It took me five years working in salons before I had gained enough experience to ‘go it alone’.

Try working in both salon and spa environments to gain knowledge of a range of treatments and learn as much as possible about them. Visiting salons and spas to experience not only the treatment but the customer service and environment is also a crucial part of the process.

Experiment with products

Every salon has its own recommended brands and products, and they choose these through experimenting to find the products that best suit their needs.

When choosing your preferred products, think about value for money, the kind of results they achieve, but most importantly – the experience of your clients.

Organising is crucial

While it may be easy to get distracted by the aesthetics, the treatments and the products you use, don’t forget the business side of things.

A salon is just like any other shop, but the product you’re selling is a satisfied customer. You need to get the costs and organisation of the business right in order for your salon to be successful.

The customer comes first

Talk to the customers, learn what they like and don’t like, and tailor your treatments around this feedback – it’s the most important and valuable advice you can get.

Every customer needs an amazing experience throughout their contact with the salon, and not just during the treatment. Every interaction needs to be amazing, including marketing, the booking process, the treatment itself and ongoing care.

If you’re starting College next week and feeling a little bit nervous, we have some top tips to help settle the nerves and make sure you’re prepared to have the best experience!

It is very normal to have nerves before starting college, so don't worry about this. We wish you the best of luck with your course and hope you enjoy your time at Weston College.

Not sure what you’ll need to bring to college?

Here is a list of equipment that the think every learner should come to College prepared with. Please see below some more specific items you will need for certain courses