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Students travel 13,000 miles to renovate African school

City College Brighton and Hove could pick up a community award after eight of its students renovated a run-down school in a remote African town, writes Paul Offord.

Students and staff from City College Brighton and Hove will never forget the welcome they received after travelling more than 13,000 miles to help renovate a school in East Africa.

They were greeted in Wasso, a small town near the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Tanzania, by a procession of singing and dancing teachers, politicians, residents and children and handed gifts to thank them in advance for work they were about to do on the local primary school.

The eight students, who were all studying year-long pathways courses which combine numeracy and literacy with work-based training to prepare them for more advanced vocational courses, repaid their generosity with three days of hard labour.

“They built new wooden window frames, filled-in holes in the concrete floors and walls and painted the walls white.

The college has now been recognised for the project, which it called Trades4Aid and ran with local charity The Fonthill Foundation, through a nomination for a Community Star award which recognises the achievements of people and organisations in the Brighton area.

Lisa Beresford, a pathways teaching assistant who went on the trip in June, said: “It’s nice to be recognised for what was an incredible experience. The welcome we got from Wasso villagers was unbelievable and we were all incredibly moved by the gratitude and warmth we were shown.

“The students and staff welcomed us with open arms.

“They had written all our names on pieces of paper and sang a welcome song.”

The students who travelled to Tanzania were Zack Warren, aged 18, Zak Southwell and Jade Marsh, both 17, Steph Eldred, Brian Clarke, Jack Haworth and Theo Bishop, all 17, and Jake Welch, 16.

They were also accompanied by construction tutor Steve Wilkins and pathways teaching assistant Sharon Purves.

Jade, who has been nominated for an individual Community Star award for her hard work on the trip, said: “We did eight hours each day, but there was music playing and we were dancing and singing with the children as we worked, so it went really quickly.

“For me the highlight was meeting the children who were really lovely and affectionate. I was proud at the end to see the difference we had made at their school.”

The students worked as a team for three days, pulling out old window frames filled with broken glass and using carpentry skills they had learned on the pathways course to build replacements from old wooden furniture which had been broken up.

Jade said: “We must have pulled hundreds of nails from the wood before we could use it. We also filled holes in the walls and concrete floor before repainting.”

Many young students have to walk two hours to the school from the nearest Maasai village called Boma.

The college students walked to the village themselves the day after they finished their redecorating and renovation work.

The students also saw elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, monkeys, baboons and zebras during two days on spent two days on safari near the Ngorongoro Crater.

They raised more than £5,000 towards the cost of the trip through converting wooden delivery pallets into items, including a household storage trunk and a counter for a garden centre, that they sold.

The Community Stars Awards will be given out at the Theatre Royal Brighton on Saturday November 1.

Main pic: Wasso school boys watch college learner Jack Haworth sawing wood

Inset from left: Teaching assistant Lisa Beresford and Zack Warren (back row) with Wasso school children

Home of new HS2 college revealed

The home of the new National College for High Speed Rail has been revealed by the government.

It will be located Doncaster and Birmingham, with its HQ at the West Midlands site, providing specialist vocational training at level four and above for engineers working on the £50bn High Speed 2 (HS2) line that will link Birmingham and London by 2026.

As many as 2,000 apprenticeship opportunities are expected to be created by HS2, with around 25,000 people employed during construction.

It comes with Basildon-based charity Prospects Learning Foundation having been incorporated this summer to become the first new general FE college in more than 20 years, as exclusively predicted by FE Week in July last year.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The benefits of high-speed rail will not just be seen by those commuting between London and the North, but through the thousands of local jobs and apprenticeships created because of HS2.

“The opening of this National College will also ensure that we have a pool of locally-trained workers with the right skills to draw upon for future projects.”

When it was revealed in January that a new college would be created, a number of FE and skills figures questioned why an existing provider had not been chosen (see FE Week cartoon from the time, right).

FE Week cartoon from edition 89, dated Monday , January 20, 2014

Among them was Association of Teachers and Lecturers general secretary Dr Mary Bousted, who said: “It is worrying that existing colleges allegedly don’t have the capacity or expertise to train sufficient numbers of young adults and adults with the skills needed.”

However, before it opens in 2017, it will have identified a network of other providers who will also be part of the National College in a ‘hub and spoke’ model.

The governing board will be chaired by Terry Morgan, who is also the chair of Crossrail, and will include representatives from Birmingham and Doncaster, alongside HS2 Ltd and industry employers.

A second new industry college, for training nuclear power plant workers, is also being looked at by the government.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “The opening of this [HS2] college demonstrates that the UK is advancing as a global leader in rail manufacturing — in line with the government’s Industrial Strategy. This is the next step in building the highly-skilled specialist workforce needed to develop the biggest infrastructure project this country has ever seen, and to enable our rail industry to compete in future global markets.

“This process has demonstrated a real commitment from all parts of the country to the development of a cutting edge training facility and a rail workforce which is the best in the world.”

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “We have brilliant engineers in this country, but there are not enough of them. With the creation of a National College we can make sure we give young people the skills they need to build HS2 and other projects right across the country.”

The sites were selected following a consultation process which, according to a government spokesperson, attracted a number of very strong proposals from across the country. All bids were assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers already operating in the sector.

Making waves with beach clean-up

Animal management tutors and former students from Lancashire-based St Helens College cleared litter from nearby West Kirby beach.

They joined local residents for the clean-up event organised by the Marine Conservation Society and Wirral Parks and Countryside Rangers.

The staff and students picked up 10 green sacks of rubbish between them.

Mike Smillie, animal care lecturer, said: “The beach clean-up was the perfect opportunity to give back to the environment while discovering local wildlife on our doorstep.

“The college hopes to support the event next year too.”

Pic from left: Lecturer Lyndsey Cooper, former students Rachel Fraser, aged 24, and Joanne Price, 23, lecturer Katie Owens, former student Natasha Peters, 24, and lecturer Mike Smillie

Jobcentre Plus to advise young people from age of 15, pledges IDS

Jobcentre Plus will provide careers advice to learners as young as 15, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has announced.

He revealed plans for Jobcentre staff to work with schools for the first time during his speech to the Conservative Party conference today.

He said the changes would mean that, for the first time, 15 to 21-year-olds would have “a single package of help” to stop them falling into unemployment.

It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to remove benefits from young people aged 18 to 21 who failed to find a job within six months of becoming unemployed, with the money saved used to fund a million new apprenticeships.

And today Mr Duncan Smith announced the policy would go further as he unveiled plans to force 18 to 21-year-olds who do not find work into apprenticeships, traineeships or community work, for which they would be paid an allowance.

He said: “Yesterday, we announced an ambitious package to end the fate of 18 to 21-year-olds languishing on unemployment benefits.

“Those who have not found a job within six months will be put onto an apprenticeship, a traineeship or community work – for which they will receive an allowance.

“This is a huge increase in our determination to set young people on the right path. And we want to go further still.

“Today, I can announce my intention for Jobcentre Plus coaches in my department to work with young people in schools across the country, for the first time, from as early as 15, targeting those most at risk of falling out of education, employment or training, working with them before them they end up with a terrible wage scar, as happened too often in the past.

“For the first time, 15 to 21-year-olds will have a single package of help, support and assistance that will radically improve the hope and aspirations of a generation that the last government left behind.”

Opening ceremony marks the start of Euro Skills 2014 – come on Team UK

At the start, last night’s opening ceremony for EuroSkills 2014 felt like quite a muted affair — the photographer, film crew and I met competitors from the Metro and after pictures and setting up for the ceremony team members were guided to their seats in the Zenith Arena.

But gradually, as more and more teams took their places, the buzz around the room started to grow, and the mumble of a few thousand people talking to each other began to swell until it reached deafening proportions.

The entire arena was engulfed in waves of chanting and whooping and various instruments — whistles from Team UK, a huge cowbell from the Swiss and a trumpet from the Belgians.

Team UK went from standing around looking uncertain to full-throated cheering — think of a football match but with 25 different teams being supported and you’re probably there.

In between the speeches from the WorldSkills officials, former EuroSkills competitors gave demonstrations, the most impressive of which was a restaurant service guy (whose name I couldn’t catch over the din), who poured out a row of rainbow coloured cocktails, all from the same cocktail shaker.

The host asked him how he’d found the EuroSkills experience. “Give it everything and don’t hold back,” he replied. “WorldSkills competitions completely changed my life.”

And even looking at the competitors on Team UK, waiting to start their first international level competition, you can see that change starting to happen.

Young people who, when I met them at competition just a few months ago were too shy to look me in the eye when being interviewed, were now happily chatting about their skills, their chances and the bizarre mixture of nervousness and confidence they all seemed to be feeling.

Lucy Jones, a 20-year-old restaurant service competitor, told me: “Being here is a bit bizarre, it seemed like it was so far ahead and now its here and that’s really scary.”

But she added: “I feel good, really good about my chances — better than I was expecting to.”

After all the training, the preparation and tension of finding out whether or not they’ve got through, you can see, despite the nerves of the coming competition, the team members starting to realise — “I can do this, I am good at this, I have something to show the world”.

And for any young person poised on the edge of a job market, in an uncertain economy and a society that doesn’t always know how to value their skills, how could that feeling not have a massive impact? How could it not change your life?
The prefect of the local French government, Jean-Francois Cordet, told the assembled crowd: “Its not just about the medals, just by being here tonight, you’re all winners.”

It’s a sentiment that might sound a bit trite, but when you look at the competitors here you realise it is true – even if they don’t come home with a stack of medals, even if they don’t get through to Sao Paulo and next year’s WorldSkills, they have all achieved something massive, and more importantly they will all come away with something.

John Peerless, 22, who’s competing in mechatronics, summed up the general mood among the group, telling me: “I’m really excited to be here – but now I’m just eager to start.”

Send your message of support to Team UK using the comment section at the bottom of this article and by using #TeamUK on twitter.

Pictured top: Team UK entering the Zenith for the Opening Ceremony.

To view more pictures from the opening ceremony please view the World Skills UK FlickR account.

Blood pressure test for Home Secretary

Pulses were racing as Home Secretary Theresa May had her blood pressure taken by students from Berkshire College of Agriculture.

Reading-based private healthcare provider Solutions4Health donated wireless blood pressure monitors, weighing scales, finger pulse oximeters, wireless thermometers and blood glucose monitors for use in lessons at the beginning of this term.

The Home Secretary, who is MP for Maidenhead, allowed BTec level two and three health and social care students to check her blood pressure as she was shown the new equipment.

Principal Gillian May said: “It was really great to see our local MP at the college.

“She was amazing and really took an interest in the students and how they were using the new technology.

“Ms May saw how the college is working with local employers, giving our students access to equipment that they will have to embrace within their working lives.”

Pic from left: Home Secretary Theresa May with the blood pressure testing kit and level three health and social care student Kirsty Coleman, aged 19

Firefighters to rescue at ‘chemical spillage’

Firefighters came to the rescue when students from Mid Cheshire College took part in a chemical spillage simulation.

Around 70 uniformed services and health and safety students acted as victims contaminated by a mock-chemical spillage and gas cloud.

They were checked at a specially set up decontamination unit and tried on chemical resistant suits and gloves.

The students were graded for the roles they played in helping contain the mock-spillage. They all achieved passes which will count towards their overall course marks.

Principal Richard Hollywood said: “We work extensively with Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service which is always keen to provide first-hand experience for our students. The learners who took part in the chemical spillage exercise were a credit to the college.”

Pic: Learners dressed in chemical resistant suits are guided by firefighters

Top artist Grayson Perry awards talented students

Artist Grayson Perry awarded talented students who displayed work in an exhibition put on by the University of Arts London Awarding Body (UALAB).

Work by more than 100 students was displayed in the Triangle Gallery at Chelsea College of Art.

The UALAB chose a number of art and design students for best-in-show awards which were handed out by the cross-dressing artist, who is famous for his ceramic vases and art-based television shows.

The winners included Sarah Lawson, aged 34, from Leeds College of Art, Laura Head, 18, and Bethany Hill, 19, from Birmingham Metropolitan College, Rebecca Graham, 19, from Carlisle College, and Ryan Christy, 19, from South Essex College.

Andy Sylvester, faculty director for art and design at Birmingham Metropolitan College, said: “To be presented with awards by a leading British artist was an amazing experience for our students.”

South Essex College principal Angela O’Donoghue said: “Everyone was delighted Ryan won this prestigious award for his fantastic work.

“It was exciting for everyone involved that Grayson Perry was at the event to hand out the awards and inspire the next generation of artists.”

Danielle Knight, communications and qualifications officer at UALAB, said: “We were overwhelmed with the quality of submissions from the colleges we work with, as was Grayson Perry.”

Main pic from left: Grayson Perry with South Essex College student Ryan Christy.

Inset pic from left: Birmingham Metropolitan College student Laura Head with Mr Perry

Hands-on work experience at high-profile cycle events

City College Norwich students provided sports massage to hundreds of competitors in high-profile cycle races.

The level three and four sports massage therapy, personal training, and sport health and exercise learners gained hands-on work experience at Brands Hatch race track, in Kent, where they tended to riders in the Cyclothon UK 12-hour endurance event.

After attending the post-race dinner, where they were given a round of applause by more than 400 competitors, they travelled to Bangor-on-Dee, in Wales, to provide sports massages over two days for Etape Cymru cycle road race competitors.

Sports therapy student Katie Stratton said: “When you go to events like these it helps a lot. You get experience of massaging people with different body types, including actual athletes, and of dealing with different injuries. Talking to so many clients also helps with your communication skills. It was quite tiring but it was also fun.”

Sports lecturer Phil Sayers said: “The students rose to the challenge and provided a fantastic service to competitors at both events. It was a gruelling schedule of travel and work.

“However, all of the students showed they have the skills, professionalism and determination to provide top quality support for endurance athletes under any circumstances.”

Main pic: City College Norwich students Katie Stratton, aged 17, and Charlotte Steven, 18, during a break from massaging

Inset from left: Students Tom Edwards, aged 20, Fabio Cravo, 18, and Dainnah Liebermanm, 19, massage competitors in the Etape Cymru cycle road race