News and events

Weston College has been described as a ‘true beacon’ for colleges nationwide when it was presented two awards from the Association of Colleges (AoC).

The College has been handed two national Beacon Awards by the AoC; the UCAS Progress Award for Careers Education and Guidance and the Council for Learning Resources in Colleges Award for the Effective Integration of Libraries/Learning Resources Centres in Curriculum Delivery.

The awards recognise the hard work of the College’s ASPECT (Advice, School, Progression, Employability, Careers, Transition) team and its LibraryPlus team.

The AoC Beacon Award Local Presentation Ceremony was held at the College’s Conference and Events Centre, in Knightstone Road, on Tuesday 4th May.

The ceremony formally announced the two achievements and consisted of networking and a lunch followed by presentations and prize-giving.

Local businesses and dignitaries, including Weston-super-Mare’s Mayor Cllr Raymond Armstrong and Mayoress Joan Dunne, attended the ceremony. 

Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, Dr Paul Phillips OBE, said: “It’s tremendous, the work which goes on at Weston College. These two teams have shown a real entrepreneurial flair and have ensured the learner has come first.

“Thank you to all of the guests who attended the ceremony, your support demonstrates the importance of collaboration and partnership in a true sense – we are all working together to ensure learners succeed.”

Ian Monroe, South West Regional Director of the AoC and Jon Graystone, representing the AoC’s steering group which judged the awards, attended the ceremony to present the two awards.

Mr Graystone said: “I am delighted to recognise and celebrate these achievements. We received 140 nominations and the quality of the two from Weston College was clear and the reason that they won.

“The judging process is rigorous, it involves all nomination being made anonymous, and so judges are unaware which colleges they come from.

“Weston College is a true beacon for Colleges in the UK.” 

Changes to Advanced Learner Loans mean adult and part-time education at Weston College is more accessible and affordable than ever.

For people who want to get new qualifications or retrain, but are worried about the cost, the Advanced Learner Loan is the answer.

These loans have previously only been available for people aged 24 or over but from the 2016-17 academic year they will be available to learners aged 19 or over.

Ceri Forsdike took out a loan to pay for a Level 3 Hairdressing course at Weston College, and now runs her own mobile hairdressing business.

She said: “I would not have been able to progress onto my Level 3 course without having an Advanced Learner Loan – it allowed me to complete my learning to the best possible level.

“This has given me the confidence to set up my own business, which I wouldn’t have been able to do without my qualifications.”

The loan covers tuition and exam fees and does not have to be paid back until a person is earning more than £21,000 per year. Even then repayments are automatically deducted from a person’s salary at a rate of 9%, so if someone earns £22,000 their monthly repayment is just £7.50.

If you take out an Advanced Learner Loan for an Access to Higher Education course and then go on to complete a Higher Education course the loan is written off completely and you will never have to pay a penny back.

The provision has also been expanded to not only cover Level 3 and 4 courses, but also some Level 5 and 6 courses.

James Moodhoo was a self-employed builder who wanted to retrain to become a fully-qualified electrician.

He said: “Funding was my biggest issue when I was considering furthering my studies.

“I was a new father, and we didn’t have a lot of money. Self-funding the course just wasn’t an option.

“Weston College provided fantastic advice and the Advanced Learner Loan has really opened doors for me.”

A new short film has been produced about the Advanced Learner Loan scheme; it can be viewed via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PJQTvnhZes

There is also a dedicated section, with some helpful FAQs, here: www.weston.ac.uk/supporting-you/financial-support/advanced-learner-loans

POLITICIANS from Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset visited Weston College to help students to understand how immigration affects modern politics.

Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, John Penrose, and UKIP politician Ian Kealey, who stood as UKIP’s parliamentary candidate for North Somerset in the 2015 General Election, visited the College on Friday 6th May.

The two politicians visited students on the social science diploma of the Access to Higher Education course, a course which provides adults with the qualifications and academic skills to progress to university.

The visit tied in with the students’ last assignment, contemporary political issues, where they are required to take part in a debate on immigration.

The two-hour debate covered a range of topics relating to immigration, including the economy, healthcare, cultural values, refugees, freedom of movement, border controls and more.

Mr Penrose said: “I was impressed by the depth of understanding on an extremely difficult and emotionally-charged issue and by the good natured style of the debate – perhaps a few MPs in Westminster could learn a bit if they were with me today.”

Sarah Rees, a qualified lawyer who lectures in Law and Social Policy at the College, said: “This was a great opportunity for students studying politics to hear first-hand from active members of parliament about a subject close to many people’s hearts.

“We are grateful to Mr Penrose and Mr Kealey for their contribution.”

Mr Kealey said: “I thought the students seemed well-informed about the topic and the issue of immigration, its economic impacts and how it affects services.”