Cornish pasties have provided students from Weston College with an insight into waste management.

Students on the Foundation Degree in Public and Environmental Health recently went on a field trip to Cornwall where they visited the Ginsters production site in Callington and discovered how waste generated from making 140,000,000 pasties and other pastry products each year is managed.

The students met with Mark Bartlett, the Environment Manager for Ginsters, and found out that while the site has huge potential to generate waste this is mitigated by a number of projects on site to minimise waste.

“What is most remarkable about this site is it is a Zero to Land Fill site,” said David Lown, Course Coordinator, Public and Environmental Health, at Weston College.

“There are many stories in the media about food waste so it is particularly beneficial for students to see such a good example of best practice in reducing waste and protecting the environment.”

Ginsters recycle 300 tonnes of cardboard and 100 tonnes of plastic each year, and the students were given a tour of the recycling plant and water treatment plant.

They were also shown the water treatment plant, and heard how each tonne of food product manufactured at Ginsters requires up to -four tonnes of water, making the water treatment plant an important cost effective facility.

The students heard that, despite the various methods on site to reduce food waste, Ginsters still generates 21,000 tonnes of food waste each year.

However, this is not wasted as it is used in an Anaerobic Digester where bacteria convert it into renewable electricity and fertilizer. The remaining 487 tonnes of waste that cannot be reused, recycled or bio-digested are sent to the Energy from Waste Plant in Avonmouth, Bristol, to generate yet more energy.

This was the fifth visit by Public and Environmental Health students at Weston College to the Ginsters site.

The field trip also included visits to the Eden Project to look at on-site health and safety, and to the National Trust property of Lanhydrock where they considered fire safety in a Victorian Country House.

They also looked at the environmental impacts from Wainwrights quarry near Frome, and undertook some field work monitoring water quality on Wembury beach in Devon.

A new recruitment agency to help companies interested in employing apprentices has been launched by Weston College.

Brighter Futures Recruitment will enable employers to enjoy the benefits of recruiting new workers through apprenticeship schemes without having to worry about bureaucracy or long-term commitments.

The agency will provide two new apprenticeship models designed to suit the needs of every business, as well as the traditional apprenticeship model.

The traditional model is where the apprentice is employed directly by the business, and the training provider is Weston College, which was rated ‘Outstanding’ at its last Ofsted inspection.

However, for companies that require greater flexibility, Brighter Futures Recruitment offers a new service whereby the agency acts as the employer on behalf of the business and deals with all paperwork and legalities.

This option has two models. One is the Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA) Probation Model, in which the apprentice is employed by the agency for an agreed amount of time and the prospective employer can observe them in their work environment before offering direct employment.

The other is the ATA model, which involves the apprentice being employed by the agency for the duration of their apprenticeship.

Helen Booker, Contracts Manager at Brighter Futures Recruitment, explained: “This is a unique recruitment agency, which aims to place apprentices in employment and to support companies interested in employing an apprentice, but concerned about the demands involved in taking on more staff.

“We appreciate that every business is different so we offer various models of apprenticeships for employers.

"We can support them in finding and hiring the perfect candidate and then act as the employer for an agreed amount of time.”

Brighter Futures Recruitment is based within the Business Enterprise Centre at the Weston College South West Skills Campus.

Dr Paul Phillips OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “We are delighted to be delivering the new ATA models in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Service to help businesses of any size to discover the value of having an apprentice.”

For further information on Brighter Futures Recruitment, go to www.brighterfuturesrecruitment.co.uk or call 01934 411 594.

Personal Statement Basics

The personal statement is the most important part of your application. If you are applying for a course that does not require an interview, the admissions team will be making a decision mostly based on your statement. If you are applying for a course that does have an interview, then the admissions team will decide whether to put you through to interview based on the statement, so either way it is really important. But don’t see it as a threat – it’s a great chance for you to let the university know why you are so motivated to study that subject and how you have developed that interest.

The maximum length is 4000 characters including spaces, which is around 500-700 words depending on how long your words are. Make sure you aren’t over the character count as UCAS will cut you off once it reaches 4000. If you’re struggling to keep within the character count, ask ASPECT to take a look and try and cut it down for you. It should be in paragraphs and have a clear introduction and conclusion; it should be written as an essay rather than a letter. 75% of your statement should be about your motivation to study the subject and how you have developed this interest and your relevant skills through college and work experience, and then 25% is about your extra activities.

What goes in the personal statement?

Make sure you keep your statement content really relevant to the subject you are applying for. You should write about your current course and any other courses you have done that are relevant, and mention your work experience. If you have done extra reading around the subject you are applying for or have attended lectures that have added to your interest, the university would love to know how these have inspired you.

Remember not to just explain what you did, but also make it clear to the university what knowledge and skills you have gained from each experience. Which modules on your course have been really good preparation for the degree you’re applying for? Did you get so inspired by a lesson you then researched into the subject in your own time? How have you developed your teamwork and leadership skills in your part time job? Really let the university know how these experiences have prepared you for university study.

Using the ABC Method will help you check that you are expanding enough on the points you are making.

A – Activity (e.g. module on your course, work experience, Duke Edinburgh award)
B – Benefit (e.g. the skills or knowledge you gained from the experience)
C – Course (e.g. how has this prepared you for the degree you’re applying for?)

C is the really important part for the university, so make sure you always relate back to the degree you’re applying for.

Top Tips

Here are some top tips for writing your personal statement that will hopefully help refine your statement:

Write a plan first – do a mind map with different sections for each paragraph and then use the ABC method to expand your points
Read examples, but don’t copy – there are loads of example personal statement on the internet which can be great for ideas, but don’t copy as UCAS have a plagiarism filter
Use the documents on SharePoint to help you – there are guides and presentations on SharePoint to help you with your statement so make sure you are making the most of them
You don’t need to write it in order – if you’re struggling with the introduction write another paragraph first and come back to the introduction later
Be specific – rather than listing every single thing you’ve done, it’s more important to let the university know what skills and knowledge you have gained from your experience
Be positive – the universities want to know you are passionate about the subject you’re applying for, so use positive words and show how much you love this subject!
Ask for help if you’re struggling – remember that the ASPECT team are here to help