News and events

On 11th and 12th of November 2021, Level 3 Computing learner Mircea Ionescu will be competing in the grand finals of the prestigious WorldSkills national competition!

WorldSkills UK is a biannual ‘skills olympics’ that supports young people by testing their ability to achieve world-class standards. This national event normally takes place in the Birmingham NEC, however this year the 64 different competition areas are being hosted separately at across the country.

Mircea is one of nine students across the country to have made it to the finals in Web Design, which will be hosted by Weston College at The Winter Gardens Pavilion in Weston-super-Mare.

We caught up with the Nailsea School alumni who added:

"I first heard about World Skills from my Website Development Lecturer in my first year, who encouraged me to take part in it.

"In order to get selected for the World Skills finals, I had to design a professional looking website during the qualification stage of the competition. Then during the semi-finals I had to complete the full front-end development of a website testing my skills in HTML and CSS production.

"I am very excited to have been chosen to compete in the World Skills finals, I also feel a great deal of pride in the recognition of the hard work of both my lecturers and I.  

"Weston College has played a very important role in my journey to the World Skills finals, all the skills I have learnt during my time here are being tested during this competition. My tutor, Jason Hill, has helped me to get ready for this with great coaching and competition preparation.

"I have learnt so much already during my time with the World Skills contest. I understand how to work under the pressure of time constraints better than ever and I have vastly expanded my knowledge of development languages such as PHP and Javascript."

This exciting news is just one of the fantastic career enhancing opportunities available at the college, through the newly launched Career Excellence Hubs. 

At the College each subject area forms its own specific Career Excellence Hub, endorsed by relevant sector employers which help to create a study programme with lots of career boosting benefits, WorldSkills competing opportunities is one of these.

Mircea will also be joined in the finals by University Centre Weston (UCW) student Jack Kimmins.

After finishing his Level 3 course, Mircea plans on staying with the team at Weston to study the BSc Applied Computing degree course at UCW.

The winners of all WorkdSkills competitions will be crowned at a ceremony hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern from her Packed Lunch studio on Friday 26 November.

We'd like to wish Mircea the very best of luck! 

Click here to learn more about our Computing courses and Career Excellence hubs

On the morning of Friday 15th October, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP visited GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bristol to see first-hand how GKN Aerospace is shaping a more sustainable future of flight.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss MP, officially opened the £32M centre, which was jointly funded by GKN Aerospace and the Aerospace Technology Centre (ATI). The Cabinet Ministers saw the break-through technologies being developed, from advanced and lightweight composites today, to the use of precision robotics for the manufacture of next generation wings. The Weston College Group work in partnership with GKN Aerospace as a training provider and as part of this visit the Prime Minister spent time discussing the skills required by the workforce of the future with the Weston College Group’s Principal and Chief Executive Dr Paul Phillips CBE, and Degree Apprentices from GKN and Airbus.

Conversations revolved around Zero Carbon Emissions for aerospace for the future and the necessary development of new fuel and energy systems. With each campus committed to reaching Net Zero by 2030, Weston College partners with high standard organisations such as GKN that help to create brighter and greener futures. 

The Prime Minister also saw how apprentices had access to the latest technology being developed for the manufacture of tomorrows aircraft and the group discussed the use of composites, robotics and augmented reality with demonstrations from GKN engineers.

The apprentices were also able to share their degree apprenticeship journey and how they saw the experience benefiting them from being able to study for their degree whilst having the exciting experience of working on the next generation of aircraft as GKN Aerospace and Airbus apprentices. Dr Phillips commented: “I felt honoured to be able to outline to the Prime Minister the exciting partnership that has been established with the GKN Global Technology Centre and the inspiration apprentices are taking from studying in the Weston College, West of England’s Institute of Technology dedicated on-site training facilities. I was also very proud to see our degree apprentices voicing their knowledge and experience, it was a thoroughly insightful and enjoyable morning.”

Image: The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Liz Truss visit GKN Aerospace in Bristol. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited Weston-super-Mare today (22nd October) to formally open the refurbishment of the iconic Winter Gardens and the brand-new University Centre Weston (UCW) facilities which also houses the Law and Professional Services Academy.

Back in 2015, North Somerset Council approached the Weston College Group with the proposition of transferring the building to the College’s ownership in order to secure its future by restoring the historic 1920s portion of the building for community use and redeveloping the little-used 1980s conference facilities into an educational centre for UCW.

In 2017, the Winter Gardens Pavilion reopened to the public after the extensive renovation and refurbishment, which saw £15 million spent on improving the building’s public facilities and creating an educational centre for Higher Education.

During the visit today, The Princess Royal met key members of the College leadership team including Dr Paul Phillips CBE, the College’s Principal and Chief Executive, as well as local dignitaries including the High Sherriff, Thomas Sheppard, Chairman of North Somerset Council, Cllr Richard Westwood, Chief Inspector Avon and Somerset Police, Steve Kendall and the Mayor and Town Chairman, Cllr James Clayton.

Her Royal Highness took a tour of the UCW facilities, and met students and staff working with VR technology and Hi-fidelity interactive manikins for health and social care, climate monitoring and Smart Home connectivity solutions for the digital sector, and then in the Winter Garden’s iconic ballroom The Princess Royal witnessed Musical Theatre students rehearsing for their upcoming Broadway show with the composer and lyricist in New York, along with the director in London streaming into the lesson to critique. The visit culminated with The Princess Royal unveiling a commemorative plaque.

Commenting on the visit Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “I am very proud to see where the Weston College Group is today, and how we have contributed to the regeneration of Weston-super-Mare through the creation of inspiring facilities for both leaners and the community.

Since 2001 under Dr Phillips leadership the College Group has grown exponentially where aside from the College and University Centre students, it also leads on prisoner education in 19 prisons across the country involving 11,000 learners, with a positive impact on re-offending with those involved.

The College has also been recognised for its transformational approach to creating outstanding progression results for students with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and creating an ethos which celebrates inclusive practice which has driven the College’s mission, strategic plan and ambitions for all its students, regardless of their starting point in life.

Dr Phillips added; “I feel both honoured and privileged to welcome and share this impressive redevelopment with The Princess Royal; this is her third visit to the College, The Princess Royal opened Loxton Campus in 2008 and then South West Skills Campus in 2018.”

Cllr Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for placemaking and economy, said: “The redevelopment of the Winter Gardens and the extremely important partnership we have with Weston College Group has played a key role in the wider regeneration of Weston town centre. Education is an important part of the mix in a vibrant and successful town centre economy."