The Exeter College team successfully completed the Ten Tors Challenge this weekend, walking an amazing 55 miles.

The event, organised by the Army and assisted by the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Teams, is a challenge of team work, endurance, navigation and camp craft and sees teenagers survive for two days completely unaided. Schools from all over the south west and beyond train hard for months before the final event in May.

Ten Tors Manager, Tom Howe, praised the teams hard work and said:

Ten Tors never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Over the past 9 months the students have been on an incredible journey, undertaking their training in some rather challenging conditions, mostly rain, wind and even snow. Never the less, despite the high temperatures and blistering sun over the Moor this weekend (bringing their own challenges) the training team had the utmost confidence in the groups ability.

Having donned their pink tutus and head bands, the team were immediately identifiable as they summited the track at West Mill Tor on Sunday afternoon. Surrounded by friends and family and led by Captain Jack, the team carried the college standard across the line to complete their 55 mile challenge in a very respectable time.”

The team were honoured to be presented their medals by Captain Lou Rudd – the first Briton in history to trek 921 miles unaided across Antartica. Read more about him here.

55 team leader, Jack Smith, who has also completed the 45 mile challenge during his time at college said:

Ten Tors has been one of the toughest yet most enjoyable challenges I have ever done. I loved Ten Tors especially when I crossed the finish line, feeling not only a huge sense of relief, but also an overpowering sense of achievement in completing the challenge. Additionally, I enjoyed the companionship as well as friendship of my teammates.

From Ten Tors I have learnt a great deal such as no matter how hard a task is, keep going and push that little bit more, you will surprise yourself with how far you can go. I would recommend Ten Tors to others not only for the great sense of accomplishment but also in improving skills in teamwork, self-sufficiency and resilience, however most importantly to have the experience of a lifetime.”

Vice Principal, Rob Bosworth said:

We are incredibly proud to have a team take part in this momentous challenge. We pride ourselves on offering our students holistic character building experiences like this and believe it makes a real impact in preparing them for their futures. The students have trained in incredibly difficult conditions but have come through the other side and absolutely excelled in working as a team and getting each other across the finish line.”

Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre also had teams cross the line this weekend as they supported the training of the 35 mile teams from St Luke’s and St James School.

Read more about the enrichment opportunities available at college here.

Exeter College is celebrating the award-winning Apprenticeship success of its partners, employers and Apprentices to mark national ‘Love Our Colleges’ Week.

The ‘Love Our Colleges’ week – which is being coordinated by the Association of Colleges (AoC) during 13-17 May – seeks to highlight the brilliant work that goes on in colleges.

Apprenticeships at outstanding Exeter College have been on a clear upward trajectory in recent years. As the city’s largest provider of Apprenticeships, it has played a key role in Exeter’s brilliant Apprenticeship growth, bucking a national trend of decline.

Indeed, the city of Exeter has topped the table for Apprenticeship starts between 2015/16 and 2017/18, in a recent Centre for Cities report; beating other cities like Oxford and Cambridge, by nearly 50%.

Exeter College recently officially opened a new Apprenticeship and Employment Hub, a city-centre facility that is available to both students and employers, which includes a walk-in clinic and learning space.

Exeter College Apprenticeships Top Five

1. Top 10% nationally for success rates for four consecutive years within Further Education (FE) colleges;

2. Previous Winners of The Times Educational Supplement Apprenticeship programme of the year;

3. Featured by Ofsted in their Apprenticeship best practice video for their approach to employers;

4. Identified as a support college through the Strategic College Improvement Fund to support other Apprenticeship providers;

5. Five years of substantial growth has made Exeter College’s Apprenticeship programme the largest in Devon.

Mike Blakeley, Director of Apprenticeships and Employment Engagement, said: “The changing face of Apprenticeships has led to countless new and exciting opportunities for young people to enter the world of work.

“We are blessed in the region with some of the most innovative and supportive employers when it comes to creating employment opportunities with training.

“No week goes by without new businesses joining the ever-expanding number that makes up the Exeter College’s award-winning Apprenticeship network.

“The investment and support we receive from these businesses are truly staggering and in turn allows us to deliver the exceptional provision employers and young people have come to love.”

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive, said: “The quality and impact of our Apprenticeship work is a great example of why so many people ‘Love Our Colleges’. I am absolutely delighted that while nationally Apprenticeship growth has fallen, here in Exeter we have seen yet another record breaking year.

“The passion of our employers, the calibre of our Apprentices, and the quality and dedication of our staff has created a magic formula – which has enabled us to buck every trend. I would simply like to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the Apprenticeship programme.

This year’s final performance for our UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma Performing Arts’ students is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We invite you to join us at one of the performance – tickets are available through the Barnfield Theatre.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta (the former queen of the Amazons). These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.

In this ever-popular comedy, a quartet of mismatched lovers, a company of hapless actors and malicious sprites cross paths with the King and Queen of the fairies, entangled in their own domestic dispute. Audiences will be transported to a tainted supernatural forest overflowing with possibilities where the unexplainable magic of falling in love – and the marvel of waking up from the sweetest of dreams – is discovered.

Chaos, confusion, trickery and skulduggery reign in this fresh, joyful, accessible and memorable interpretation of the nation’s favourite play.

Imaginative contemporary design, wondrous music and vibrant movement breathe new life into a new modern retelling of Shakespeare’s unforgettable story. Inspired by the multi-cultural world that we reside in today this current and fresh production celebrates diversity, spirit and the power of story.

Over the last two years our UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma Performing Arts’ students have been developing skills in acting, singing and movement. Today’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the culmination of our students’ time with us at Exeter College within the Drama and Performing Arts department.

Each year the final major project enables the Drama and Performing Arts Section an invaluable opportunity to deliver a genuine vocational experience.

It provides them with an invaluable experience of working alongside professional freelance designers, as well as other performance/ production students from different tutor groups and courses. It then further demands that they are available for technical and dress rehearsals that can last up 12 hours. Finally the learners get to the opportunity to perform to a paying audience over a week long performance run.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been a fantastic teaching and learning vehicle for the company this year. It has allowed us to consolidate and further explore acting, movement and voice. At the core of the piece of our interpretation is the power and purpose of ensemble. It’s been a fantastic process to see our first years working with our final year students.”

Nige Paul – Head of Section Drama and Performing Arts
UAL Level 3 Performing and Production Arts Co-ordinator

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is running on:

• Wednesday 15th May @ 7.30pm
• Thursday 16th May @ 2pm & 7.30pm
• Friday 17th May @ 7.30pm
• Saturday 18th May @ 7.30pm
• Sunday 19th May @ 2pm

Thanks are being made for the exceptional fundraising that is supporting Exeter College students to represent England, the college and Exeter Chiefs in a Global Rugby Tournament in Japan – for the second year in a row. Exeter College Rugby Academy, in partnership with Exeter Chiefs, will be once again setting off to Japan for the tournament that will be held at the end of April 2019.

The academy has been selected to represent the England RFU at this year’s Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Japan – the top 16-18 rugby competition in the World.

Truly exceptional fundraising by parents and families, supported by local businesses, the community, friends and family, has raised a remarkable £50,000 to support the team. The Tournament, held at the Global Arena in Fukuoka, Japan, is an invitational tournament and often called the pinnacle of school boy rugby.

The news comes during a ‘golden era’ for rugby at Exeter College. The Exeter College Rugby Academy, in partnership with Exeter Chiefs, recently won the Association of Colleges (AoC) Premier League 2018/19, beating Hartpury in the final, and a number of former students and rugby players are now playing at the top flight of the game.

Former Exeter student Marcus Street has moved into the senior ranks at Exeter Chiefs, Richard Capstick recently had his Premiership debut with the Exeter Chiefs playing against Leicester Tigers. Rus Tuima, who has played for the England Under-19 Squad, is now studying an Apprenticeship at Exeter Chiefs. A large number, including the likes of Sam Rose and Jack Sylvester have also progressed to higher education where they continue to play alongside their studies.

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive said:

Exeter College would like to thank all of the parents, team, supporters and staff who are collectively raising money to support our student rugby team, who have been selected by the RFU to represent England at the Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Japan – the top 16-18 rugby competition in the World.

The fundraising is to help pay for the trip, so that all of the students who are selected can afford to go regardless of their background or circumstances.

One of speakers on the night of a recent fundraising event I attended described Exeter as a ‘special place’, as the fundraising efforts have been spectacular.

Led by a volunteer parent group, they have raised £50,000; which almost covers all the costs for the 30 strong Exeter College rugby team. I would like to thank everyone involved, ranging from local rugby clubs to businesses across Devon.

Our vision is to be exceptional – this tournament, this fundraising, this commitment, the students involved and the staff who support this endeavour are, I feel, showing one example of what ‘exceptional’ looks like.”

Brian Lodge, Managing Director of swcomms’, who are kit sponsors for the team, said:

This is the second year in a row we have support the Exeter College players at the prestigious Sanix tournament. We closely followed their progress last year and wish them all the very best for this year’s competition.

This a great opportunity for these young players, as many Exeter Chiefs and England players have taken part in this tournament in the past. I have no doubt we are supporting stars of the future and players that will continue the great tradition of rugby in the South West.”

The Tournament, held at the Global Arena in Fukuoka, Japan, is an invitational tournament and often called the pinnacle of School boy rugby.

This is the second consecutive year students from Exeter College have been invited to take part in the tournament and an enormous honour for the students. During their time in the tournament the team are likely to face students from schools in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, France, Wales, South Africa and Japan.

The opening ceremony for the tournament will be held in the main arena and involve all the teams being presented to the dignitaries and crowd.

The tournament takes place during the period called ‘Blossom Week’ which is a traditional holiday week and therefore the Global Arena will be very busy every day with many visitors coming just to watch the international teams play rugby.

The team will play a total of six games over the eight day period. The schedule includes a two day playing period followed by a day of cultural activity, to give the students time to explore this beautiful and culturally different land.

The tour will also include a visit to the site and museum of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb. This visit is an incredible experience and one which the team will find both interesting and moving. Students will also have time to watch some of the other games and to interact with local children, by playing games of touch rugby.

Meanwhile, the Women’s rugby academy prepare for a trip across the Atlantic when they will be touring and playing in Canada later this year. Another successful year for the women’s programme has seen numerous achievements on the field including playing in the cup final at Roslyn Park 7’s as well as the regular competitive fixtures against the other leading women’s rugby programmes across the UK.

As the programme continues to grow and develop, as well as more opportunities for high level participation with two established teams, we have also had a large number of individuals gain representative honours at country, regional and national level, including Meryn Doidge and Abby Middlebrooke running out in England shirts this year.

Exeter College recently hosted a careers fair to give learners the chance to find out more about careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

More than 50 organisations took part in the STEM Careers Fair which took place in Exeter College’s multi-million pound Maths and Science Centre.

Learners had the chance to attend a wide range of workshops and talks as part of the event. There was also the opportunity to visit a STEM Careers Exchange, an exhibition offering further information, advice and guidance in terms of progression routes to higher education and employment

The delivery of the STEM Careers Fair took place in collaboration with employers, STEM ambassadors and stakeholder partners.

This meant Exeter College learners had the chance to benefit from enriched and enhanced learning experiences, including impartial careers information, advice and guidance.

Organisations who took part in the fair included STEM Learning, South West STEM Ambassadors Hub, Institute of Physics, Grow Exeter, Exeter City Council, the University of Exeter, Plymouth and Gloucester universities, the University of the West of England, IMECHE, Royal Navy, Royal Airforce, Exmoor Zoo, PLANIT ECO, Amazing Apprenticeships, The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E).

Learner Feedback

• The radiography workshop was ‘fantastic’
• ‘The workshops were interesting and I can’t think of any improvements’
• ‘I found all three workshops I attended interesting and felt that each one gave a good amount of information on how working in each area could be a good career choice and how to achieve that.’
• ‘I found the event really helpful, providing insight into future careers that I was unaware of. The Crest Workshop was inspirational!’
• ‘Excellent workshops and information.’
• ‘Phil from PLAN IT ECO was amazing. Really, really informative and also super inspiring. Something I will never forget! Bring him back!’

Employer Feedback

‘Staff and students were amazing, really helpful.’

‘The students were really engaged and it was great to get them to think about Geography and future areas of study’