A design student showed off her talent at London Fashion Week as part of a charity project to help young people into the fashion industry.

Barking & Dagenham College student Olivia Till, aged 17, took part in a workshop organised by the charity Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD) and was handpicked by an industry panel to go forward to the 2013 FAD Junior Awards.

Olivia said: “To be able to have my work in a catwalk show at London Fashion Week is a dream come true.”

Olivia’s designs were inspired by colours she’d seen in recycled packaging.

She added: “I didn’t even show my garments to any of my family and friends before the night — I wanted it to be surprise.”

The Newport Gwent Dragons rugby team roared to a 23-16 victory against South Wales rivals the Scarlets with the help of some college-created artwork.

The team was presented with a metalwork sculpture of a dragon created by fabrication and welding and vehicle body repair students from Coleg Gwent at half-time.

They constructed the decorative beast from stainless steel, copper and brass and finished it in bright red. Fabrication and welding lecturer Darren Brooks said: “The finished sculpture was a credit to students’ hard work and dedication.”

The dragon was commissioned by the Dragons outfit after a club member saw students’ work on a visit to the campus. It took 12 weeks to complete.

South West students showed they were ship-shaped when they battled eight other colleges win the Naval Careers Service Challenge cup.

The 15 Royal Marine-sponsored Weston College public service students took on an assault course, tug-of-war and deck hockey on a naval ship.

They also tackled navigation, cross-country and mock grenade throwing over two days at the HMS Raleigh Piers Cellars Training Centre in Cornwall.

Senior public services lecturer Dave Beresford said: “The level two and three students were all under the age of 18 and really pulled together as a team.”

He added: “Weston College achieved fantastic results against well-motivated adversaries to win the competition out right. They did brilliantly.”

A former Manchester TV and radio production student cooked up a storm on his first job for a new ITV cooking show.

Guglielmo ‘Guli’ Soreca, aged 29, who is originally from Italy but studied at Hopwood Hall College, spent five weeks filming Gino’s Italian Escape with celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo.

Guli, who went on to Leeds University, said: “I learned so much at college and really appreciate my tutors and the opportunities the course gave me.

“When I arrived at university I had a real advantage over many of my peers in terms of both practical skills and organising a production.”

A long-lost mural from a legendary 1960s rhythm and blues venue has been brought back to life by a London art and design student.

The painting of a jazz band was once part of Twickenham’s Eel Pie Island Hotel, which hosted music icons like The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.

The hotel burned down in 1971, but Richmond upon Thames College student Sarah Blackwell, aged 18, recreated the mural using a black and white photo of the original for an exhibition on the island’s history.

Sarah said: “I’m really pleased with the end result and will be forever grateful that I’ve had my own personal taste of the magic of Eel Pie Island.”

A lecturer who taught the first ever digital marketing course in Northern Ireland has been named Digital Industries Person of the Year.

Kathryn Pyper received the award for her dedication to teaching at Belfast Metropolitan College and the success of her marketing campaigns for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board as part of the CultureTech Festival of digital technology, media, music and art.

Christin Watson, chair of the Charter Institute of Marketing Ireland and a former student of Kathryn, said: “Kathryn is a talented digital marketer. Her passion for the marketing profession is inspiring.”

Kathryn began teaching the digital marketing course in 2010 and since then has seen more than 60 students complete the qualification, with a 100 per cent pass rate this year.

Fashion students from Manchester have bagged themselves the chance to see their designs turned into reality and sold in Japan.

Higher education fashion and textile students at Walsall College were given a month to design a young person’s business bag by Brady Bags, a Walsall brand that is growing in Japan.

Rachael Stanford’s design was chosen as overall winner.

She said: “I was very excited when my design was picked and seeing it come off the production line was an amazing feeling.”

However, Krystal Vidal impressed the company so much she was chosen as a second winner.

She said: “It’s great to be rewarded for the hard work I put in.”

The sample bags are now being shown to Japanese distributors.

Doncaster College students have revealed a flag they designed in memory of miners who lost their lives at a nearby colliery.

The flag was raised in a special ceremony by Doncaster Central MP and former cabinet minister Rosie Winterton and former miner Dennis Knowles.

It will fly at the Miners’ Memorial Garden to honour the 89 miners who died at Markham Main pit between 1920 and 1996.

The ceremony was attended by many of the miners’ relatives.

Student Daniella Houghton, said “This was a really emotional experience and it showed just how much our work means to people.”

Mr Knowles asked first year level three diploma in creative media production students to design the flag, which was then created by college visual arts staff.

South Cheshire College said ‘Hola!’ to chilli, fajitas and amigo meatballs at a Mexican taster day staged for staff and students by the college’s catering outlets.

The catering team entered into the Mexican fiesta spirit by wearing somberos and ponchos and decorating the cafes with Mexican flags.

Linda Vickers, crescent café catering supervisor, said: “This was our first taster day of the new college year and the Mexican snacks and dishes went down a treat.”

The Mexican tasters on offer were provided by Abergavenny Fine Food Company

Its regional account manager Zak Workman, who came along to the event, said: “Hopefully, the taster day will encourage staff and students at the College to try and buy different foods in the future.”