Students, staff and visitors attending the Weston College and University Centre Weston (UCW) Creative Arts Summer Show experienced the surprise of their lives when a special VIP guest, festival legend Michael Eavis arrived on the Friday evening to open the musical performances section of the event.

Owner of the famous Worthy Farm, Michael Eavis created the world-renown Glastonbury Festival in 1970, which is now attended by 200,000 people from all around of the world each year. As well as underground artists of every genre, the festival is well known for its high-profile headliners over the years which have included the likes of Oasis, Coldplay and Beyonce, to name a few.

Despite Glastonbury not running for a second year in a row, Michael was in high spirits as he visited the College’s Loxton Campus in Weston-super-Mare to open the unique socially distanced musical performances on the Friday evening.

The Creative Arts Summer Show is the College’s annual festival which celebrates creative talents by showcasing the learner’s exceptional work. Music and Performing Arts learners took to the stage with live music and theatre performances in a festival tent as well as an indoor exhibition which hosted the impressive artwork and final projects from learners of all levels. This featured work from those studying extended diplomas and degree courses in Art and Design, Media Production, Graphic Design, Game and Animation, Fashion and Photography.

Upon arrival, Michael was given a tour of the incredible exhibition, taking in all of the phenomenal art that the artists of Weston College and UCW - had worked so hard to produce this year. Michael was then treated to a joint performance from music students Charlie Kelly and Daisy Dennett who significantly impressed the famous festival organiser with their perfect harmonies. The crowd applauded in raptures as Michael Eavis then took to the stage in the festival tent, donned “Westonbury”, in his honour to open the evening of music in front of a socially distanced crowd of proud parents and visitors who came along to witness the event.

Michael commented: “I think it’s been absolutely amazing, the artwork has been absolutely amazing, it’s quite exceptional. The students are really talented. “Sometimes when you walk into a place, there’s a really good feel about it, and this place feels really good.”

Students and staff alike were inspired to see someone of such experience within the creative arts industry watching their performances and praising their talents and hard work that they had put into the show. For those progressing on to higher education or into careers this year, this was an extremely heart-warming way to finish their time at Weston College or University Centre Weston.

Chair of the Corporation for the Weston College Group, Andrew Leighton-Price, attended the Show alongside Michael Eavis. He said: “The Summer Show was absolutely amazing. There were so many innovative works of art, with so many mediums used, from paint and sculpting to digital, film and gaming. “It’s clear that there is a huge wealth of talent and passion that goes into creative subjects and the benefit that has on the community should never be underestimated.

The College’s Principal Dr Paul Phillips CBE added: “We really are a Career Centre for Excellence now for students in creative arts e.g. media/film, art and design; musical theatre/performance/dance & production; graphics, photography and games animation – even to degree level and I’d like to congratulate everyone that contributed to this impressive showcase. More importantly, I would like to pass on a huge thank you to Michael Eavis and his team for taking the time to visit Loxton Campus and help to open the show and inspire our learners – who were absolutely thrilled to see the legend that is Michael Eavis appear before their very eyes.”

To learn more about all the creative courses on offer at the college and university, click subject areas below

As part of the investment from the Department for Education, Weston College has opened a £650k brand-new facility, dedicated to welding, at their South West Skills Campus. The funding has been made available through the College being the lead partner on the West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT).

The development of the new welding facility has been in response to the growing demand from employers both locally and regionally for apprentices to train in welding and fabrication; as well as local adults wanting to upskill in an area that has seen an increased demand in the local region.

As part of its commitment to sustainability and cost reduction, the centre also includes a ‘virtual welder’ simulation which allows students to learn basic techniques without wasting gases or metals as part of the initial training, reducing costs and waste.

There are a real range of courses and apprenticeships available in the new building, from introductory short courses for adults, from Level 1, 2 and 3 courses for people entering the industry and expanding their knowledge and skills.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, said: “This new centre shows our commitment to local employers, by creating a training facility that meets the demand of industry.

“It is a really exciting facility, as we will offering training not only for the traditional 16-19 year old courses, but also an offer for adults through evening courses and also from September on a Saturday, to support the retraining and upskilling of the local community.

“We also work with engineering and aerospace companies across the region, to provide them with apprentices, and this new facility offers apprentices the opportunity to complete welding training across each of the key welding processes of MIG, TIG and MMA welding.”

If you’re aged 16-19, you can find Weston College’s engineering courses, here.

If you’re an adult and want to upskill or retrain, you can find the Welding Skills Introduction course, here.

Weston College is launching its Career Excellence Hubs as a unique mechanism to align its curriculum to the ethos of the White Paper Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth.

Following months of strategic work on the ground, an innovative ten-point Career Excellence Hub Charter (click here to view the Charter) ensuring that each faculty is committed to aligning its curriculum to the needs of employers, (there are fourteen collective sector hubs all signed up to the Charter), it also offers the very best support in well-being, inclusive practice/SEND and digital with an ambitious vison linking to WorldSkills UK - to raise aspirations of learners regardless of their starting point in life.

Weston College Principal and Chief Executive Dr Paul Phillips CBE commented:

“We are really proud of our Careers Excellence Hub model which is designed to elevate our already established ethos of ‘real world learning’. The work represents a holistic approach, that has been very much done in consultation with employers.

“I am determined to raise career aspirations post pandemic for all our learners, and the challenge for all Colleges in relation to the White Paper, is to ensure consistency of approach across all their provision and at all levels. We feel that our Careers Excellence Hub Charter will not only cement our vision with employers, it will also cement our inclusive values for our learners - making aspirational careers a reality for all our learners regardless of their starting point in life.”

The Charter represents a ten-point plan that is designed to bring all Weston College staff together on an ambitious journey for global teaching excellence.

It has been designed to connect all of the College’s values, including those as one of three National Centres for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), plus impressive progress to create an education based mental health support model. The Charter also embeds the College’s digital innovation as a Microsoft Showcase College and links to their aspirational work as the West of England Institute of Technology (IoT) lead, in bridging the higher skills technical skills gaps to the region. The ethos of the Charter will also transcend across the College’s work as a lead prison educator.

Dr Phillips commented further:

“We believe our Careers Excellence Hub model offers significant progress against the White Paper and offers a chance to seamlessly link with the AoC Career Hub resources developed in partnership with the Careers & Enterprise Company - providing a strong College/Community ‘anchor’ model that all Colleges can aspire to in terms of linking into localised Career Hubs and driving careers best practice across the UK.”

Andrew Webster Education Sector Manager at the Careers & Enterprise Company added:

“It has been inspiring to work with the team at Weston College – they are at the forefront of innovation in career education, advice and guidance. The development of their Careers Excellence Hubs is just one shining example of how they are supporting their students to take their best next step out of education and into the wider world.

“The team at Weston College don’t just work on one off projects about careers and the world of work, they work strategically, embedding information and examples about careers into so much of what they do. All of this means their young people are as well prepared as possible to take on the future.”

To view the launch video click here.