A runner who had never taken part in a competitive race before competing in regional trials will represent the East Midlands at the British Colleges of Sport national championships.
Michael McDonald, aged 19, a public services student at Central College Nottingham, qualified by finishing second in the trials, after completing the 8.5km race at Brooksby College in 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
He said: “I often run for a long time, but don’t measure the distance. Winning or losing isn’t as important as just running, which is something I enjoy and keeps me happy.”
John Widdowson, the college’s sport academy manager, said: “Staff at the college had recognised the potential Michael had from the timed runs completed as part of his course.”
The British Colleges Sport national championships will take place at Bath University in April.
NHS boss Jeremy Hunt gave Farnham Sixth Form College a clean bill of health after being shown around the site.
The Health Secretary, who is also South West Surrey’s Tory MP, met principal Mike Potter and college director Jonathan Stewart during his visit.
Mr Hunt was full of praise for the college after being shown around its new music technology studio, which cost £125,000 to build and opened in October
last year. He was also shown around the biology and chemistry labs.
Mr Hunt said: “Speaking to Mike Potter about his aspirations, it is clear that at the heart of his vision lies his determination for every student to reach their potential.”
Cap: Rear, from left: Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and head of biology Jason Rynn with science students Daisy Middleton, Rachael Speed, and Meghan Glue, all aged 17
Teenager McAyla Johnston could not move a muscle when she woke up from a ten-day coma.
She had suffered severe head injuries after being hit by a car while crossing a road in Worcester in 2008.
Five years later and the 16-year-old excels at the javelin, shotput and discus to the extent that she harbours hopes of competing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
“Competing in the Paralympics really would be a dream come true,” she told FE Week.
McAyla, who is studying a level two diploma in sports at Worcester College of Technology, had to relearn how to eat, drink, read, write and walk after her terrible injuries.
And the lifelong sports fanatic noticed strength was returning faster to her upper body than legs, so decided to try out disabled athletics in 2009.
She won gold in all three events in the under-16 cerebral palsy Sport National Championships four years later. McAyla was allowed to compete in the competition as her walking difficulties are similar to those suffered by people with cerebral palsy.
She has now been selected for an elite training session at Loughborough University next month. It is organised by government agency Girls 4 Gold Disability Athletics, which aims to fast-track female athletes for Rio.
McAyla said: “I probably wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told me I would be in the running to go the Paralympics after I woke up from the coma. When I first came round, I was aware of what was going on around me but couldn’t talk or move.
“It took two months before I took my first step. I started getting use back of my upper body at around the same time and it turned out my arms were stronger than my legs.
“My arms have also been strengthened by things like pushing the wheels of my wheelchair around. I have always been a confident person and that hasn’t changed since the accident. I think that has helped me push myself with my recovery.”
McAyla could compete in the F37 Paralympics category, for athletes who can stand but have mobility problems, and her events all involve throwing from a standing position.
McAyla Johnston throwing the javelin
She credits mum Teresa, aged 43, dad David, 45, and sister Cortni, 10, with giving her the confidence to compete.
She also credits sports lecturer Stewart Colmer for advising her to apply to Girls 4 Gold Disability Athletics. During the training session at Loughborough University on February 1, McAyla will be put through a series of fitness tests and training sessions.
McAyla would not be worried about the national attention likely to come her way if she made it to the Paralympics, having already appeared on national television when she was presented the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Teenager of Courage award in 2011 by David Beckham.
She was also chosen to carry the Olympic torch through Worcester ahead of the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. She said: “That was a pretty amazing experience. It gave me a little bit of a taste of what it could be like in Rio, although I know there will be a lot more people at the Paralympics and being cheered on while competing for my country would be a million times better.”
Cap for main pic: McAyla Johnston outside Worcester College of Technology
A group of students from Central Sussex College visited the swiss HQ of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research — home of the Large Hadron Collider.
BTec science, geography, biology, chemistry, physics and maths students learned about particle physics and electromagnetism at the centre, in Geneva, which is often referred to as the “largest physics lab in the world”.
Student Alice Sayers, aged 19, said: “We were impressed by the Universe of Particles — an exhibition [at the site] within a spherical building, built from recycled materials. Everything inside was spherical, and the pod-like chairs had speakers inside that explained particle physics.”
The learners also visited the nearby United Nations offices and took a boat trip on Lake Geneva.
Cap: Central Sussex College students outside the Universe of Particles exhibition centre. Inset left: Students and college staff inside the European Organisation for Nuclear Research
A college lecturer has ‘shrubbed off’ the competition to land a role as one of the presenters of a television show which aims to inspire viewers to save Britain’s garden heritage.
Matt James, from Cornwall’s Duchy College Rosewarne, is the shrub specialist on BBC Two show the Great British Garden Revival.
The series will feature episodes on cottage gardens, wildflowers, fruit trees, roof gardens, and water features.
Matt was featured in an episode screened earlier this month, speaking about the history of shrubs and reasons for their decline in popularity.
He said: “Shrubs are vital to our gardens, yet in recent years their popularity has declined in-part due to the trend for naturalistic meadow-inspired planting. I hope this programme will highlight their importance.”
Cap: Matt James presenting The Great British Garden Revival Pic: BBC/Outline Productions
Proposals to make jobseekers take part in English, maths and IT training to qualify for benefits have been welcomed by FE sector leaders — but there were questions about how the training would be funded.
The idea was announced by Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves (pictured) during a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank in London on Monday (January 20).
She said she was unveiling plans for, “a new requirement for jobseekers to take training if they do not meet basic standards of maths, English and IT — training they will be required to take up alongside their job search, or lose their benefits.”
Ms Reeves said basic skills were “essential in today’s job market”, but that “shocking levels of English and maths among too many jobseekers” were “holding them back from getting work and trapping them in a vicious cycle between low paid work and benefits”.
“Research shows that nearly one in five of those who have made multiple claims for unemployment benefits have problems with reading or numeracy,” she said, adding that schools had a “critical role to play”, but that FE was also important for those lacking basic skills.
Her emphasis on FE was welcomed by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the Association of Colleges (AoC), but concerns have been raised about an apparent lack of detail on funding.
Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: “It is good to hear that the Labour Party is making a commitment to provide jobseekers with training in English, maths and IT.
“However, where will the funding come from to deliver the training and to develop and run the tests to ascertain who needs training? And where will the training take place following the recent cuts in funding for FE colleges which may mean that, by the time this policy is implemented, there aren’t enough college places or FE colleges to provide the training?”
She added: “We would like to see a greater commitment from companies to training their staff at the beginning and throughout their career.”
Michele Sutton, AoC president, said: “Colleges already have an excellent track record of working well with Jobcentre Plus and they are experts at getting people into employment. Our members currently work with 230,000 unemployed people a year and 97 per cent of colleges work with Jobcentre Plus.”
She added: “The work colleges already do with the unemployed is succeeding, but they are working with more people than they are funded for. If Labour wants colleges to work with more benefit claimants, they will need to ensure sufficient funding is available to make it a reality.”
Ms Reeves’ comments came two months after IPPR report No More Neets, the last of its three reports late last year, called for a ‘youth allowance’ to replace existing out of work benefits for 18 to 24-year-olds.
The report also called for a ‘youth guarantee’ to be established, offering access to FE or vocational training plus intensive support to find work. For those not learning or earning after six months, mandatory paid work experience and traineeships should be provided, it said.
Business Secretary Vince Cable is this week expected to be grilled by MPs about the failed apprenticeship FE loans system.
Adrian Bailey, chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee, said he planned to question Dr Cable on 24+ advanced learning loans during a session starting around 10.15am on Wednesday. The session is to focus more widely on the BIS annual report.
Mr Bailey told FE Week that he also planned to ask Dr Cable about government figures, published in December, that showed in the 2012/13 academic year there were 10,400 fewer apprenticeship starts than in 2011/12 — a fall of 2 per cent.
Mr Bailey said: “I can’t go into detail about the exact nature of my questions ahead of the session, but Dr Cable will be questioned about his department’s annual report and one of the things we will be asking him is about the problems with FE loans. We will certainly be looking at the decision to cancel 24+ apprenticeship loans.
“I am also concerned about the fall in apprenticeship starts and the effect that could have on social mobility and will question him about that.”
It comes after Dr Cable exclusively confirmed to FE Week before Christmas that the government was “dropping” the troubled 24+ advanced learning loans system for apprenticeships.
With just 404 applications in around seven months up to December, he “accepted” the system had failed, but said non-apprentice FE loans would remain.
