Culinary education has never tasted so good for young chefs in Dorset, after the world’s leading chefs recognized their college’s catering department as among the best in the world.

Bournemouth and Poole College is the first FE college and only the third college in Europe to receive the Recognition of Quality award from a global network of top cooks, the World Association of Chefs Societies.

The college currently has students on placements at some of London’s top kitchens, including 12 at The Ritz, four at Claridges and three at Buckingham Palace.

Bournemouth and Poole college head of hospitality Adrian Martin said: “Our catering department has long been considered one of the best in the country and has won multiple awards and acclaim over the years. However this award is very different.

“We are all buzzing here. It is due to a huge amount of hard work on the staff’s part but also to the work students have put in.”

Dulux workers brushed up on their knowledge and put their products into action with an intensive course in painting and decorating.

The 11 Dulux sales representatives and managers learned how to do it themselves on the five-day course delivered by Walsall College, enabling them to offer better customer advice.

Dulux regional sales manager Steve Guice said: “I’ve picked up some great tips on the course and now have a better understanding of our products and how they are used in real situations.

“I really enjoyed the course as it was a mixture of classroom lessons and applying this new knowledge on practical tasks.”

The course covered surface preparation, wallpaper and paint application techniques and choosing the right tools and products for the job, and resulted in a City & Guilds level one qualification.

It may have other benefits, as Mr Guice added: “I’ve also been inspired to do some DIY projects in my own home that I’ve been putting off.”

Intrepid travel students from the West Midlands are jetting off to Goa to study the area’s tourist industry and provide food and care for orphans.

The level three travel and tourism students from Sandwell College, near Birmingham, will stay in the Indian resort for a week, and will spend a day at the Mango Tree orphanage, preparing food parcels to give out in poverty-stricken areas.

Travel lecturer Julie Greenway said: “The students will do the tourist thing to see how the industry works in practice, but then they will be experiencing another side to the resort when they help those less fortunate than themselves, which may be quite a culture shock.”

They will also take 25kg backpacks full of stationary and toiletries, donated by college staff and students, to give to children starting school as part of the Mango Tree’s Bags4School project.

Thomas Cook airlines has allowed the extra luggage to be transported for free.

The learners will get to experience some of Goa’s attractions, including elephant rides, visiting markets and beaches and cruising down the river.

A night of live music, fashion and food organised by travel and tourism management students raised a £364 for armed forces men and women.

Dearne Valley College students organised the event as part of their assessment and donated the proceeds to Help for Heroes, which supports British armed forces personnel.

One of the students, Kaydie Gwiazda, said: “We chose the charity because it is close to many people’s hearts, and we were pleased to not only reach our target of £300, but to exceed it.”

The students encountered a number of setbacks and last minute cancellations, but with some hasty planning managed to fill the empty slots.

“The event ran smoothly on the night and really demonstrated the advantages of working together as a team and having the communication in place to provide a successful event,” added Kaydie.

Tutor Lisa Bramley said: “The evening went really well and the students worked brilliantly together.

“It was a successful night of fun showcasing a whole host of local talents and enterprises, while raising a good sum of money.”

A group of brave young artists found out ghostly inspiration is no dead end when they took a historical walk through Rochdale’s spooky past.

The Hopwood Hall College students were guided through Rochdale town centre by local actor Colin Meredith, who recounted spine-tingling tales of the ghostly Baum Rabbit, a 13th Century boggart — a shape-shifting creature — and houses haunted by a woman begging for her life.

They were looking for inspiration of the supernatural kind for a project investigating myths and legends for their foundation studies in art and design course.

Katie Lennon, 18 and from Milnrow, said: “I know these tales are urban myths but the detailed descriptions Colin gave us really brought the stories to life. I was starting to believe some of them.

“It’s been great for my project and I’m looking forward to using some of the ghostly inspiration in my work.”

Katie and her classmates have all applied to art and design courses at university and are creating work for their portfolios, which their tutors hope will be displayed at a local art gallery.

Young performers made their own kind of stage magic with their production of Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom.

The performing arts BTec students at South Cheshire College used contemporary music, voice, rhythm and dance to bring their first full length production to life.

College staff, students and members of the public were invited to watch the students’ interpretation of this dark play which uses the death and destruction of the 17th Century Salem witch trials to explore fear, hatred and persecution in our own society.

Performing arts lecturer Caroline Fox said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their skills in front of a wider audience at college.

“This was the first full length assessed production for students on their course and they all enjoyed taking part.”

Creative media students showed off their own talent by filming and editing a hit music video with stars from TV show Britain’s Got Talent.

The video, featuring former contestants on the show DJ Talent (Anthony Ghosh) and Stavros Flatley, attracted nearly 8,000 YouTube views in its first three days online.

Uxbridge College student Tim Mizon released the video under his Dry Line Productions label, after enlisting his classmates to help him and contacting Ghosh through Facebook.

Tim said: “I offered DJ Talent a fee-free opportunity to cut a media video, which would give me some experience. I had already dabbled in music videos and showed him examples of my work to date.

“Not only did he positively respond to my invitation, but he also invited Stavros Flatley to do a cameo.”

The video for DJ Talent’s track ‘Tweet Me’ was filmed in Uxbridge town centre, West London, attracting curious looks from shoppers.

Garth Twa, media lecturer, said: ‘Tim and the entire cohort of media students have produced work that has been astounding.

“They have bright futures ahead of them, and have really done Uxbridge College proud.”

Equine students in Somerset are champing at the bit to help their lecturer go for gold in an international competition.

Norton Radstock College lecturer Dawn Watkins is managing Britain’s tentpegging world cup team and has enlisted her students to stage a training event at the HorseWorld horse sanctuary in Bristol as part of their assessment.

Tentpegging involves galloping in a straight line with a sword or lance to hit wooden tent pegs on the floor.

Dawn said: “In their first week the students managed to get sponsorship from leading equestrian brand Mark Todd Clothing and have other companies expressing an interest.

“It is a discipline which none of them are familiar with so it is letting them learn about another sphere within the equine industry.

“They are going to have to organise the whole event including providing information for the riders, health and safety at the yard and will be doing all the ground work. They have been working really hard and have real enthusiasm.”

In last year’s world cup, the British team won silver, and Dawn is hoping this year, with her students’ help, they will carry away a gold.

Performance and production students from Cheshire are sharing the spotlight with one of the county’s finest stately homes as they transform it into a theatre.

More than 60 young people from Priestley College will produce contemporary dance and live music in different rooms of Arley Hall, near Northwich, on Thursday, February 14.

Audience members will be able to choose what they see as they wander between the rooms of the house, with performances taking place in the library, dining hall and up the ornate staircase.

Student Jess Collins, 17, said: “It is an amazing set in itself. We’re hoping to bring it to life with some great music and performances.”

The dances have been specially-choreographed for the event by performing arts students and production students have taken responsibility for managing and marketing the event.

Garry Fortune, general manager of the hall, which is owned by Lord and Lady Ashbrook, said: “We’ve not seen anything like this at Arley before and it will be a unique way to for people to see the hall.”