A former Weston College student who struggled to live independently has won a top award from the Prince’s Trust.

Carly Williams, of Weston-super-Mare, won the Trust’s Samsung Young Achiever of The Year award, and was presented with it by Prince Charles at a glittering ceremony at the Odeon cinema in London’s Leicester Square.

Carly, 21, won the South West heat of the award in November last year and was put through to the final with three other nominees who all had overcome barriers and sustained work/ education.

Despite struggling with depression and low self-esteem , Carly came to Weston College and completed an Access to Higher Education course.  She is now studying social work at Sheffield Hallam University.

With her at the ceremony was Danielle Day, who supported her throughout her time on the Prince’s Trust programme and is now a Weston College staff member.

She said: “We always knew Carly was capable of going to university, but she lacked confidence in herself and she needed support.  As her confidence grew she found she could do the things she wanted and she’s fitted in really well at university.

“She has done amazingly well, and I was so proud of her when she went up to receive the award from Prince Charles. The cinema was packed full of celebrities, and Carly made Prince Charles laugh when she kicked off her shoes before walking up the steps to receive her award.”

Carly was placed in care from the age of five and her time as a looked-after child wasn’t easy. Her first placement was one of many to break down.

It wasn’t until she was placed at the age of 13 that she began to receive the support and stability she had always craved. However, when she turned 18, she decided to live independently.

“I loved my foster parents, but after 13 years in the system, I was encouraged to live on my own, only it wasn’t how I’d imagined,” she said. “I was lonely and everything got on top of me. It was like lots of the stuff that happened to me when I was young had come back to haunt me.”

Carly sank into a depression and needed medication and counselling to help her cope.  Her confidence was in tatters when she joined Team, a Prince’s Trust programme that gives unemployed young people the skills and confidence to f ind work.

Rising to different challenges on the programme, Carly became more patient, discovered she had talents for problem solving and organising others, and felt a real sense of worth on a community-based project.

The actress Joan Collins was among the celebrities (including Ant and Dec, Pixie Lott and Vernon Kay) who attended. She said: “It is an absolute honour to be celebrating these truly remarkable and inspiring young people. I would like to congratulate each and every one of them for turning their lives around and showing that with just a little support, you can go a long way.

“Too many young people are facing unemployment, homelessness and depression. I have been a Prince’s Trust Ambassador for a number of years and have seen first-hand how vital their work is.”

Weston College has teamed up with Weston-super-Mare Helicopter Museum to help renovate Weston Airfield’s dilapidated pilots’ block.

College students, their lecturer Steve Harris and curriculum manager Shaun Canniford volunteered to plaster the 1930s building that has laid in a derelict state since 1993.

“The Helicopter Museum approached us with this project and we were more than happy to help,” Shaun said.

“This development has enabled us to give our students the opportunity to take the skills that they have learned in the workshop and apply them in a commercial environment. Taking into account the significance of the building to the local community, it was important that the College contributed to this project.”

The project is being funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, who have earmarked £138,000 for the development, and the plaster was donated by CRS Building Suppliers, a local business that is based next to the museum in a building that was once part of the airfield complex.

Nick Burrough, Branch Manager at CRS Building Supplies, said: “This is a local project and the College and CRS both share the same vision of supporting the local community to help it grow, expand and develop.”

Alison Page, Project Manager of the redevelopment, said: “This regeneration will help Weston-super-Mare retain its links to a long history of aviation, and is about giving that history back to the local people.

“So much of our aviation history is already gone, and we want to bring it all back in to the room it started in.”

The development will finish in 2016 and open to the public as Weston Aviation Museum.

On Friday 4th December the Helicopter Museum will be holding a social event for anyone with a link to Weston-super-Mare’s aviation past.

For more information on the social event or to volunteer at the site, contact Alison on 07341 836097.

A Weston College sponsored racing driver, Roger Orgee Jr, has won a dramatic showdown in the final race of the 2016 Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship.

The race started well with Roger trailing rival Michael Moyers for the first lap until an accident caused a red flag race stoppage and the grid lined up for a restart. To win the championship, Roger needed to either win or finish just behind Michael.

At the restart the front row drivers both made poor starts and Roger was fourth and Michael directly behind in fifth.

Michael tried to pass Roger during the first lap, but misjudged his braking distance and crashed into the back of Roger’s car, spinning him round and damaging his own car so badly that he was out of the race.

Roger dived into the pits to have a damage check, the car was running but looked unsafe to continue when it was confirmed that Michael was out and Roger was champion.

Next year Roger is hoping to move up to racing sports cars, already having had the opportunity to test a works Porsche Carrera and a Ginetta GT4.

Weston College’s motorsport study programme provides students with the opportunity to work with Formula Ford race mechanics in the College workshops and trackside, and helps to get them involved with the local racing circuit.

In 2015, Roger Orgee Racing’s second car, a Van Diemen RF02, was repaired at the College’s South West Skills Campus following a collision at Silverstone race course.

Roger Orgee Racing can also offer our learners unique opportunities to attend racing events and meet industry professionals.

Weston College is working with GKN Aerospace in Filton to develop a new course which prepares young people to become work ready.

The free course, titled ‘Movement into Work’, is a traineeship which lasts 10 weeks and is aimed at people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are (or are at risk of becoming) unemployed and not in education.

It includes a mix of on-the-job work experience in the GKN engineering workshops and employability skills development, and will help young people to gain the skills they need to progress onto an apprenticeship, further training, and the workplace, particularly in the Engineering industry.

The trainees will be based at the GKN Filton site for the full ten week programme, attending five days a week, with training provided by both GKN staff and Weston College tutors.

Gary Durant, Weston College’s Traineeship Coordinator, said: “This traineeship is a fantastic opportunity which could unlock career and apprenticeship opportunities for many young people.

“GKN has always traditionally recruited the highest performing young people onto its Weston College-delivered apprenticeships, and these traineeships will allow them to diversify their intake as well as providing young people with training and experience that will improve their chances of employment.”

The traineeship starts on the 15th of May 2017. If you would like to find out more, contact Weston College’s Business Enterprise Centre by calling 01934 411 594 or emailing apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk.

With the harsh weather conditions expected to get worse as the weekend approaches, we'd like to share with you some top tips on driving in snow or ice...

The most important thing to do before you set off is to check that the College is open - on rare occasions we have to close due to adverse weather, so each day we update this page with the situation at the College.

If the College's is open, the roads might still be icy. Here are some handy things that will help make your journey to College or your apprenticeship placement safer...

Wear safe shoes

The shoes you wear to drive should be comfortable - don't try to drive in unfamiliar shoes like wellies or walking boots. Bringing a change of shoes is a good idea as you might have to walk through snow or ice to get to your destination.

Take it slow

Don't rush the journey - set off earlier so that you have more time to make it to your destination. Accelerate gently and try to get into a higher gear as this helps to stop wheel spin. You might even want to try setting off in 2nd gear to help you get off to a smooth start.

Beware of hills

If you encounter hills on your journey, stick to a low gear when going downhill and try to avoid unnecessary breaking. Going uphill, maintain a constant speed. In both cases, keep a safe distance between you and the car in front.

Remain calm

If you skid on ice or snow, don't panic. Don't slam on the breaks - take your foot off the accelerator and let the car slow down naturally. Don't take your hands off the steering wheel. If the car is sliding, turn the steering wheel to the direction you want to go - don't overcompensate for the skid.

Plan ahead

Think about the roads you'll be driving on - which parts of your route could be dangerous? Is there a flatter route you could take? The roads around Weston, particularly country lanes and areas like Cheddar Gorge and Burrington Combe are potential hazards you might want to avoid.

For more information on driving in adverse weather conditions, click here to read an in depth article by the RAC.

Starting at a big college after spending years in a school environment might seem like a massive step...

If you're not sure what you'll need to bring on your first day, the list below should point you in the right direction.

The Weston College Staff Mentoring Programme is a new initiative that aims to help new staff settle into their job roles. Recently, 31 members of staff representing faculties and departments across the College completed the course and are now ready to mentor new curriculum, assessing and business support staff alike.

The new academic year will welcome a wide array of new lecturers and support staff, many of whom were recruited via our Industry into Education initiative, where the College recognised the need for industry experienced candidates within the education sector.

Andrea Greer, Vice Principal for Human Resources, Offender Learning & College Reputation, said: “This is a brand new internal CPD course for the College and it was a natural progression from this year’s “Industry into Education” theme, which has seen unprecedented levels of College growth and numbers of new staff from industry joining us.

We knew that there were already many natural mentors within the organisation, and we wanted to capitalise on this and create a more structured approach to mentoring that would provide an ongoing framework of support for new employees from the start of the next academic year.

Most importantly, this course is focused on further developing our staff and ensuring that in the end, everything we do is to ultimately benefit our learners”.

Offsite Solutions, the UK’s leading bathroom pod manufacturer, in partnership with Weston College has launched an apprenticeship scheme to attract new talent into offsite manufacturing.

Offsite Solutions is an important employer in the South West and recently won the Manufacturer of the Year Award at the Business Leader Awards. The company was also a finalist in the Made in the UK Awards in the Manufacturer of the Year category.

Working with its training partner Weston College, the company is looking to employ up to six apprentices who will train to be plumbers, electricians and bathroom fitters at its bathroom pod factory in Highbridge, Somerset.

The company will also be giving up to 10 existing production staff the opportunity to join a new apprenticeship scheme for team leadership and to train as electricians and plumbers. This will give them additional skills and valuable career progression.

Commenting on the new scheme, Steve Dancer, Factory Manager at Offsite Solutions, said, “Apprentices are constantly learning new techniques and bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm into a business which they pass onto their colleagues. This approach fits really well into our commitment to encouraging innovation through offsite manufacturing, to help reinforce our position as the UK’s market leader in factory-built bathrooms.”

“Our aim is for the apprenticeship scheme to provide us with a pool of talented individuals who will benefit from first-hand experience within our manufacturing operations and gain relevant qualifications to help their personal development and maximise their potential. The quality of our workforce is fundamental to the long-term success of our business and our trainees will play a vital role in ensuring we continue to achieve our ambitious plans for growth.”

Ian Porter, Associate Business Development Officer at Weston College, said, “Apprenticeships deliver for businesses, individuals and the economy. They enable young people to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and for businesses, this is a productive and effective way for them to grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.”

Vacancies are coming soon! Sign up to our Apprenticeship Vacancy Mailing list here, to be the first to hear on available vacancies. 

The manager of a coffee shop and café run as a joint venture between Weston College and Leyhill Prison has won a surprise award.

Leyhill Grounds Coffee Shop is based next to the Gloucestershire prison, and is open to the public.

It employs people who are in custody as part of a Weston College social enterprise which has been created to provide opportunities for those in custody.

Kaye Thomas received the special award in recognition of her work with the prison ‘residents’ and the quality service the shop provides.

It was presented by Charles Martell, the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, who visits the shop on his regular visits to Leyhill.

“It was a wonderful surprise,” said Kaye.

“Ray Johnson, the prison governor, called me into a room to, apparently, talk about buying some new blinds for the shop.

“I was then presented with the award by Charles Martell. The High Sheriff of Somerset and the future High Sheriff of Gloucestershire had come as well. There were a few tears in my eyes I don’t mind admitting.”

The award recognises Kaye’s efforts in developing the social, communication and employability skills of the employees, who are all residents of the prison.

“It’s a very rewarding job,” said Kaye.

“As well as barista and catering training, we provide work experience and help residents develop the broader skills they’ll need to secure jobs on release.

“Everyone who works in the shop has to hand in a CV and is interviewed – just like any job.

“It’s great when former employees get back in touch to say how well they’re doing and how we helped them.”

The shop is run in partnership with HMP Leyhill by Releasing New Potential – a Community Interest Company operated by Weston College – which helps people lead crime-free lives.

Gerry Shattock, Releasing New Potential’s Social Enterprise Manager, said: “Leyhill Grounds Coffee Shop is a commercial venture. That means everything has to be up to a very high standard –the quality of food, drink and service – or customers won’t come back.

“This not only provides residents with the practical knowledge they need in order to work in a hospitality environment, but also broader operational skills that can be applied in many other sectors.”

Leyhill Grounds Coffee Shop is clearly proving a big hit with customers. It’s currently the top-ranked coffee and tea shop in the Gloucester area on Trip Advisor, and second in the list of ‘places to eat’.

As well as running Releasing New Potential, Weston College provides education in prisons across the South West of England, including Leyhill. Curricula are designed to engage offenders in learning and help them find employment when they are released. The Weston College team delivers a wide range of courses in the prisons, including catering, English, maths, customer service, art, plastering, carpentry, and bricklaying.