Saleha Williams, Head of the Inspire Programme at the London Organising Committee for the Olympic & Paralympic Games visited Loughborough College to take in the fifth Flames: Lighting the Way festival.

More than 180 children from four Loughborough schools joined with pupils from local high schools to take part in the festival, which focuses on getting youngsters physically active.

Ms Williams was moved to say: “This has without a doubt been the best day of my working life – this has been absolutely wonderful.

“This is very special and I feel very privileged to be a part of it today. This is the first project in the East Midlands to achieve the Inspire Mark, which is a massive achievement.

“You are the future and it is up to you to make this legacy happen and to take the Olympic values into everything that you do.”

City of Bristol College is offering a new nationwide Apprenticeship programme in pharmacy skills.

The programme is the first of its kind to be delivered by the College and is aimed at meeting General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) requirements that come into force this summer.

The new programme includes two separate routes: an Apprenticeship suitable for dispensing and pharmacy assistants resulting in an NVQ in Pharmacy Service Skills Level 2 or an Advanced Apprenticeship suitable for pharmacy technicians resulting in a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Science Level 3.

From July, all pharmacy technicians will need to meet the GPhC requirements in order to practise. Existing or new staff can train under the Apprenticeship programme, enabling them to work whilst gaining a nationally recognised qualification.

North Hertfordshire College has launched a new campaign ‘NHC Support Young People’ which aims to support young people through education into rewarding employment. NHC wants local employers to pledge their support by signing up and offering work-related opportunities including apprenticeships, work experience, work placement, research projects, or setting up a student-run commercial enterprise.

With youth unemployment reaching over one million, NHC is committed to developing the talents of our young people and giving the work skills needed for employment. Participating businesses will also benefit, with the increased productivity provided by the energy, enthusiasm and creativity of the young people. The campaign also gives businesses the capacity to demonstrate corporate social responsibility.

To recognise the commitment given NHC will nominate ALL employers who provide work-related opportunities for the new ‘Supporting Young People’ award at the annual Hertfordshire Business Awards as well as featuring the companies’ case studies on the campaign website.

For example, some students are being employed by Shine, a Valeting Centre at our Hitchin campus – this is a student-run venture. The students are being employed by Shine, and work for up to 10 hours a week. The venture is now expanding into further sites in Stevenage.

Lots of colleges (and journalist Jan Murray) attended a rather damp Chelsea Flower show 2011. Two of you lovely colleges shared your students’ successes with FE Week

Two Bicton College floristry students won Young Florist of the Year medals: Charlotte Murrant, studying a Level 3 Diploma won a Silver-Gilt and Lauren Curry, studying for a Master Diploma of Professional Floristry [NDSF] was awarded a Bronze for designs of Jockey Silks in the prestigious competition.

Tutor Sarah Hills-Ingyon NDSF FSF, herself a Chelsea medalist, said, “It is a major achievement to have won a medal at Chelsea Flower Show. The Jockey Silks brief was a very difficult schedule indeed, so both women have proved themselves in an incredibly tough competition.”

The Grimsby Institute has unveiled the HETAS Solid Fuel & Biomass Training Centre, the first phase of the brand new Engineering and Renewable Energy Centre, which will offer some of the foremost training of its kind in the United Kingdom.

This new facility, based at the Institute’s Nuns Corner Campus, is the first training centre in a FE College to be approved by HETAS, the official body recognised by Government to approve biomass and solid fuel domestic heating appliances, fuels and services including the registration of competent installers and servicing businesses.

Students and staff on college campuses in Cornwall are being offered on-the-spot skin tests to alert them to the risks of too much sunshine.

The county has nearly twice the English average of malignant melanoma cases.

Cornwall had 31 cases of malignant melanoma per 100,000 people between 2006 and 2008, the South West Public Health Observatory (SWPHO) said. During that period, the average in England was 15.6 cases.

The county’s outdoor lifestyle and an older population are believed to contribute to the statistic.

Students could opt to have a simple on-the-spot scan which, along with a questionnaire, helped health workers identify if they were putting themselves at risk, the teams said. College staff have also been volunteering for the skin scans.

High profile businessman Peter Jones, of Dragons’ Den fame, is set to launch his Enterprise Academy in the South West after Cornwall College, which also includes Duchy College, was named as the country’s second regional hub.

The Enterprise Academy was founded by Peter Jones CBE in 2008 to nurture young entrepreneurial talent through further education, where young people can develop and hone their business skills with the aim of setting up their own business.  The only other hub in the UK is based in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, which oversees courses run by colleges in the South East and North of England.

The College will also oversee courses run by the Enterprise Academy at South Devon College in Paignton and Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester.

The Enterprise and Entrepreneurship BTECs (a qualification accredited by Edexcel)combine classroom learning with hands-on experience through masterclasses, workshops, business surgeries, work placements, industry-experienced tutors and networking events.

Plans for a new university technical college (UTC) for Essex were submitted last week. Harlow MP Robert Halfon has been working closely with Harlow College to prepare a bid to bring a UTC to Harlow.

The bid has has been publicly backed by a number of organisations. These include Harlow and District Chamber of Commerce, Essex FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), the Chartered Institute of Journalists, Pearson UK and the Joint Contracts Tribunal Ltd. Prime Minister David Cameron and Education Secretary Michael Gove, who is due to visit the college in the autumn, have also backed the bid.

However, Harlow College principal Colin Hindmarch has stressed that there is still a long way to go yet.

“It’s still very early days,” he told FE Week. “We’re encouraged by the amount of local interest and positive support for the bid.”

‘Phyto Inspiration’ – the plants behind the arts – depicted a garden displaying the plants that have influenced and stimulated architecture, artists, musicians and poets over the ages.  In addition to securing a Gold award, Sparsholt College was also the winner of the Best Continuous Learning Exhibit.

Designed and created by a team of 16 National Diploma Horticulture students, led by lecturer Chris Bird, the garden centred on Dylan Thomas’ Writing Shed. The multi-faceted garden also included Flander’s Fields, Scarborough Fair, Monet’s Water Lillies, Wordsworth Daffodils and an English Country Garden.