Middlesbrough College students were part of a head-to-head cook-off between their lecturer and a former student.

The level three professional cookery students were split into teams working for tutor Steve Donnison and Matty Beadnall, now a sous chef at Rockliffe Hall.

More than 30 diners at the college’s training restaurant chose between a menu prepared by Matty’s team and one prepared by Steve’s.

Matty said it was a pleasure to work alongside his old tutor again. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it — and the students stepped up,” he said.

Diners were asked to award points out of 10 for the meal’s flavour and presentation without knowing who had cooked it — and Steve’s team just managed to win.

He said Matty had inspired students to realise that they too could achieve their ambitions.

“We are looking at the possibility of Matty returning to Middlesbrough and delivering skills workshops to the students,” he added.

Featured image caption: Chef lecturer Steve Donnison and former student Matty Beadnall

An apprentice from Yorkshire is jetting off to Greece after landing her dream job for a global travel organisation.

Brittany Stubbs, 20, was struggling to find work before she enrolled on an administration apprenticeship programme at Doncaster College, which involved a mixture of level two technical business and administration qualifications, and level one ICT, maths and English, as well as work experience.

She was selected from hundreds of applicants to work on the island of Rhodes as an administrator for TUI, which owns travel company Thomson and operates in more than 180 countries.

Brittany, from Warmsworth, said: “It’s my dream job to work abroad, I never lost hope of doing something I wanted to do and the qualifications gave me confidence not to
give up.”

Brittany planned to fly out to her new job over the weekend.

Featured image caption: Brittany Stubbs, 20, who is jetting off to her dream job in Rhodes, Greece

Dreams came true for a group of young people London when they staged a spectacular production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a West End theatre.

More than 200 youngsters, led by learners from Havering College of Further and Higher Education, took part in the one-night-only performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

The show was a community project involving schools and learning organisations from Havering and other London boroughs, including cast members as young as six and some with learning or physical challenges.

The production, directed by college music lecturer Peter Dayson, took a year of planning and rehearsals.

Featured image caption: Adam Wheeler, 17, who studies A-levels alongside a BTec in performing arts, leading a 200-strong cast as Joseph

Apprentices in Derbyshire swept the board in a ‘super-merchant sweep’ challenge to win equipment from a local building supplies merchant.

The six Derby College apprentices had 60 seconds each to dash around a branch of Travis Perkins in Ilkeston, Derby, filling a wheelbarrow with equipment worth £250.

Carpentry and joinery apprentice Zack Haslam, 17, was crowned the winner as his haul was the nearest the £250 target.

Derby College construction team manager Lee Pratt said: “It’s wonderful that Travis Perkins is supporting the builders of the future — we were keen to give learners the opportunity to ensure that as many young people as possible could benefit from the tools and materials that were on offer.

“Everything that the apprentices collected will be put to good use in supporting the vocational training of full, part-time and apprentice learners at Derby College.”

Featured image caption: Zack Haslam, 17, who won £250 of supplies in the super merchant sweep

Young animators in London have won a national competition with their one-minute film about a frustrated penguin.

BTec animation students at The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London submitted the film, Flightless Birdie, to an under-18s award at the Animated Exeter Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the UK.

Student Melda Mahmutoglu, 18, said: “Entering competitions is a great way to get experience. It’s a great platform — and really enjoyable too.”

The animation was shown alongside work by professional animators such as the British visual effects company, Double Negative, whose film work includes Skyfall.

Vice principal for curriculum and learner experience Jane O’Neill said: “We’re very proud of our animation students. They’re extremely talented and when talent is combined with hard work, these are the kind of results you get.”

Featured image caption: Two members of the award winning team, From left: Victoria Ardamatskaja, and Melda Mahmutoglu, both 18.

Picture courtesy of Haringey Advertiser

Finance skills were on the menu when MP Nicky Morgan saw how Leicestershire students were learning to manage money.

Ms Morgan, Cons, Loughborough, joined learners at Loughborough College in ‘The taste of money’, a challenge that introduced them to dining on a budget.

Chef team leader Stuart Finn produced a range of dishes for very different costs, and asked more than 600 student diners to ‘taste the difference’ between the cheaper and more expensive options.

Ms Morgan said: “I loved the idea behind ‘The Taste of Money’.

“It is a great concept to show students how simple spending changes, in terms of making a wise choice at mealtimes, offers really helpful practice in the art of careful budgeting.”

An interactive survey showed that more than half the students preferred the cheaper dish.

Featured image caption: Nicky Morgan MP and Loughborough College student Kunal Singala sample The Taste of Money

A music review by a student in Somerset has attracted attention from the Glastonbury festival organisers.

Strode College A-level student and aspiring music journalist Rhys Buchanan, 17, from Street, reviewed the festival’s emerging talent competition for a local magazine.

Glastonbury organisers saw a link to his review on Strode’s Twitter account, and re-tweeted it to their 300,000 followers, resulting in 650 visitors to Rhys’ blog, Charming man music.

Rhys said: “It was one of the biggest moments of my life.

“To have my work shared by that many people, by something as iconic as Glastonbury festival, is the kind of thing that drives me to do more.  It gives me an incredible buzz.”

Rhys has also been accepted for a week’s work experience at music magazine NME and is thinking about going on to a specialist course in music journalism.

Featured image caption: Student blogger Rhys Buchanan, whose review caught the attention of the Glastonbury festival organisers