The College is celebrating the end of its first year teaching plumbing and gearing up for a 300 per cent increase in demand for places this September.

So far 12 men and one woman have gained plumbing qualifications at the Construction and Engineering Centre of Excellence (CECE) in Locking Road.

Plumbing lecturer Scott Austin said: “There’s been an enormous growth in demand for the course. Now we are set to put on a Level One course, two Level Twos and a Level Three.

“We’ve also set up school links for older secondary students who want to do more hands-on study. We are delighted with the response regionally.”

Plumber of the year was awarded to 17-year-old Jake Payne of Jubilee Street,  Burnham-on-Sea.

Runner up was awarded to Daniel Rihan, 35, Weston-super-Mare and third was Kieran Rigney, 17 of Weston-super-Mare.

Green technologies are at the forefront of a new £10 million building project at Weston College which is a leading National Skills Environmental Academy Hub.

They include a rainwater harvesting system, wood biomass boiler, solar thermal array, ground source heat pump and solar photovoltaic system.

Part of the programme will also see a £300,000 sustainable detached eco- house built for students and visitors to show how environmental and renewable technology can transform the construction industry.

In 2010, the CECE won a ‘National Training Award’ for the South West of England.

It delivers training in a wide range of construction occupations including, plumbing, electrical installation, carpentry, trowel trades, painting, decorating, plastering, property maintenance, renewable energy courses and apprenticeships.

The CECE holds specialist electrical workshops, bespoke brickwork and carpentry workshops and has a resource-based learning centre for online learning.

It is also a test centre for the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and health and safety card.

There is a 100 per cent success rate for Level 2 qualifications with around 70 per cent of CECE students finding work in industry while others enhance their DIY skills.

A moody seascape has earned a Weston College student two coveted awards in a national photographic competition.

Ed French, 16, entered the National Historic Ships Photography Competition with a picture he took by Marine Lake, Weston, and was presented with the awards at a ceremony on board HMS Belfast in London.

Ed, of Devonshire Road, Weston, scooped the First Prize in his category, ‘Young Photographer Historic Ship or Seascape’, and was overall winner of the competition’s ‘Young Photographer UK’ class.

He was handed his awards by BBC TV presenter Julia Bradbury following a celebration lunch aboard the historic warship.

Now studying a Level Three BTEC Extended Diploma in Photography at Weston College, Ed was a pupil of Broadoak School when the photo was taken. On the day he took it the rain had cleared, leaving a cloudy sky. Ed cycled down to the Marine Lake, by Knightstone Island, and took the picture with a compact digital camera.

He said: “I was very surprised and delighted to win the awards. Mine was the last category to be announced so it was a very tense wait.”

Ed won a £400 digital camera for Broadoak School and a group visit to the SS Great Britain ship in Bristol.

Weston College Photography lecturer Jamie Dormer-Durling said: “I am really pleased for Ed’s success. We like to encourage our students to enter photography competitions; it’s highly motivational and gives a great boost to their confidence. Ed is thinking of continuing to the FdA Photography Course at Weston College where I’m sure he will continue to flourish as a photographer.”

Peter Misson, 50, of Locking Road, was reluctant to come on the Changes course - aimed at those making the transition from Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance - because he suffers from dyslexia and hasn’t worked for a long time.

But after completing the course at the College’s Training Solutions in Locking Road, Peter has now gone on to a higher course and hopes either to enter employment or full-time education.

“I didn’t want to come on the course at all,” he said, “because I felt I wasn’t good around people and found it hard to engage. But after just two weeks I found my attitude had changed tremendously. I always thought I’d struggle in groups, but the others on the course, and the staff, were fantastic to be with.”

Peter, a former warehouse manager, said the Weston College staff had been ‘very understanding’, which had given him the confidence to think he could break out of the benefits cycle.

“They helped me to realise that I was capable of being around people and actually enjoy that,” he said. “I’ve now got my CV up together, plus a covering letter, and I’m thinking about a much brighter future.”

Changes is a four week course focusing on several areas including IT, Healthy Eating, Employability Skills and volunteering. The course culminates with an event the participants organise themselves.

Peter has now gone on to the College’s Aspire course, which teaches employability skills. “Weston College has changed my life,” he said. “I feel much more confident and I’ve really surprised myself.”

Laura Leadbetter, Peter’s Trainer Assessor on the Changes course, said his story was just one of a number of similar transformational stories resulting from the course.

“Some of the learners have been off work a long time, and have suffered from various illnesses which have kept them away from work. However, there has been a tremendous amount of positivity around Changes and because we treat people as individuals we find we get excellent results, as with Peter. He enjoyed the course so much he asked if he could do it again!

“We wish him all the best of luck for his future.”