Exeter College students triumphed by winning a stunning medal tally – including four Gold medals – at the prestigious UK Premier Young Culinary Contest.

Students in hospitality and catering from the college shined at the recent Major Series South West regional heat. In total, the students achieved a medal haul of four Gold Medals, two Silver Medals, four Bronze Medals, and one Certificate of Merit.

A platform for up and coming chefs of the future to showcase their skills, the Major Series is an annual competition led by Major International and The Craft Guild of Chefs, and features a number of regional heats. This year’s regional heat was held at South Devon College and featured a series of live challenges and restaurant skills that test chefs across a range of categories.

Gold Medal winner Robert Wykes, who is 19, won Gold in the Restaurant Skills category, as well as the accolade for Best in Class. Robert, who previously studied at Exmouth Community College before coming to Exeter College, is studying for his Diploma in Food and Beverage Service Supervision (Level 3).

Robert, who lives just outside Crediton, said: “It was absolutely incredible. I was shocked. I had a great time at the competition, all the other competitors were lovely and all their entries were equally impressive.”

Another Gold winner was Rose Nevill, who won Gold in the Street Food category. Other Gold award winners were Jade Fletcher in the Assorted Coffees category, and Megan Field, also in the Assorted Coffees category.

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive said: “I’d like to congratulate all of our students who took part in this prestigious competition. The total medal tally was a stunning. It’s an amazing achievement.”

Are you passionate about food and drink and want to prepare, cook and serve great food? Then come and train at Exeter College’s professional industry standard kitchens, and study food and drink in our lecture rooms.

Exeter College has a wide range of hospital and catering courses available starting in September 2018, including the Michael Caines Academy, supported by the celebrity chef and entrepreneur Michael Caines MBE. See our website for more: https://www.exe-coll.ac.uk/1618/Subjects/HospitalityAndCatering

We recently had the pleasure of hosting Richard Bagnold, of the restaurant review website, Major Foodie, into college to talk to our 1st, 2nd and 3rd year Michael Caines Academy Students.

Richard Bagnold is the only person to have dined in and reviewed every Michelin starred restaurant for 2018 in the UK. His website is dedicated to good food and all dining experiences, paid for by him, and are shared to compare all notable venues.

Richard spoke to students about who he is and what he does, as well as a little about the amazing food journey he has been on. He also gave a background to the Michelin guide itself, including why people are fascinated with it and what it takes to get a star – something our young chefs will be aiming for in their career. Richard has been doing this for 10 years but has been able to dedicate more time to it in the last 5 years. His passion certainly shines through when he is talking about his experiences. About his first Michelin starred meal he says:

I still remember the strawberry soup with chocolate truffles at Arzak, San Sebastian in 2007 with huge fondness.”

So what are his plans for the future?

Frankly it’s only just begun, it's nice to have some form of uniqueness – I believe I’m the only one to have done it. There are loads of places out there that don’t have a star which are really good that I would like to get to grips with, and there are more three star places that I am really looking forward to.” Richard is planning a trip to Japan in April, Thailand and Hong Kong in June and Napa Valley and New York in July and is excited to try the very best these areas have to offer.

Matt Pickett, Programme Leader said:

Days like today are what sets Exeter College apart when it comes to our links with Industry. Having guests like Richard share his unique experiences with over 75 students is vital to inspiring the next generation of professionals we’re nurturing here at College. Richards talk was fantastic and we hope to hear more about his journey through the UK's restaurant scene when we invite him back to meet more students in the future.”

We asked Richard what his advice was for students and above all he said you need to love what you do.

Doing it for the sake of it is different from doing it because you actually really love it. So it's not just to gain a label. Getting all the ones done in the country just seemed logical because it was just a lovely little extra thing to do but I was enjoying every single step of the way. If there was one thing I would say it’s explore the field you want to explore. It has to be something you're passionate about and I look forward to continuing my food exploration globally in the coming years”.

If you would like to read more about Richard then please visit his website here.

If you are interested in one of our hospitality courses then please look through what we have to offer here.

You can find out more about the Michael Caines Academy here.

Exeter College students have won the prestigious Bristol Grammar School Model United Nations (MUN) best delegation title for the fourth year in a row, cementing the college’s reputation as one of the leading debating and diplomacy teams in the South West.

More than 150 students representing a range of schools took part in the 10th annual Model United Nations (MUN) Conference, held at Bristol Grammar School, on Sunday, 4th Feb.

The conference is a simulation of the United Nations, with student teams allocated a specific country which they represent in a variety of committees, such as the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights.

At the end of the day, all of the students come together for the General Assembly to find a resolution to a crisis scenario. The teams are tasked with debating resolutions to overcome specific, current political issues. A large majority of the students present were from independent schools from around the South West.

Exeter College took thirteen students to the conference, with ten of the students winning individual awards. The Exeter College team which represented Japan won the prize for the Best Delegation – the coveted top prize at the conference. This was for the fourth year running. The Japan delegation won two best delegate awards, two Highly Commended awards and one Commended award.

Exeter College teacher Martin Gilbert, who organised the trip to the prestigious conference at Bristol Grammar School, said: “Yet again, the students were fantastic diplomats in every sense of the word. I am very proud of their achievements.”

Meanwhile, the previous day, twelve Exeter College students, including an Exeter Maths School student took part in a local Model United Nations (MUN) hosted by Exeter School, with students again competing against independent schools from around the South West.

Overall, the Exeter College team ‘won’ the conference with the Best Delegation award going to the college delegation representing the USA. The Exeter College students representing Poland also were awarded the Highly Commended prize.

Exeter College International Baccalaureate student Ben Pike, from Umberleigh, North Devon, who was a member of the winning delegations at both events, said: “The feeling of accomplishment I experienced after winning an award rounded off an already tremendous conference.

“Likewise, winning the Best Delegation awards at both conferences was hugely fulfilling; it was fantastic to have the opportunity to represent the college at something we all enjoy so much. I believe these achievements are a testament to the hard work of our teams and the sheer enthusiasm of both the students and supporting staff.”

Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive John Laramy said: “It is a fantastic achievement for the students and I’d like to congratulate the students on their remarkable success which demonstrates exceptional academic, debating and diplomacy skills of our students.”

Emma Fielding, Assistant Principal, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the success of our students on this competitive and prestigious circuit. The dedication and professionalism with which they prepare for these competitions is exceptional and their talent and dedication gives us great confidence in the politics and diplomacy of the future.”

Winning Delegates at the Model United Nations

Japan Delegation (Best Delegation)

• Marceli Potocki
• Tara McKenna
• Tom Burrows
• Emma Hardes-Butler
• Ben Pike
• Michael Grant

Winning Delegates at the Model United Nations at Bristol Grammar School, representing Japan. Pictured are (back), left to right, Marceli Potocki, Tara McKenna, Michael Grant, Tara McKenna, (front) Emma Hardes-Butler, and Ben Pike.

Celebrating success at the Model United Nations (MUN) hosted by Exeter School, winning USA delegation. Pictured are (from left to right), Tara McKenna, Charlie Lees (Exeter Mathematics School), Tom Burrows, Ben Pike.

Fifteen A Level and International Baccalaureate (IB) students at Exeter College took a trip back in time to Ancient Greece and Rome at the University of Exeter, with the chief culture writer of the Guardian Charlotte Higgins.

The group of students recently took part in day-long workshop featuring the leading national newspaper writer Charlotte Higgins, and academics at the world class University of Exeter, a leading Russell group university.

The event was organised by Advocating Classics Education, an AHRC funded research project designed to promote the study of Classical Civilisation and Ancient History in secondary schools.

The day featured a talk from Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer of the Guardian and a member of its editorial board.

The workshop at the university is one of a number of similar events taking place at leading universities across the UK. Students from Exeter College and other local schools from the South West took part in a range of workshops, including sessions on Roman architecture and Greek tragedy.

Second year Classics students from Exeter College performed an outstanding presentation on the Battle of Thermopylae.

Dr Mike Beer, Head of Modern Foreign Languages and Classics Programme Leader, who is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, said: “The students who took part in the day’s activities did so with enthusiasm and drive, and were excellent ambassadors for the subject. Lecturers from the Department of Classis and Ancient History were impressed by their subject knowledge and their presentation was warmly greeted.”

Meanwhile, former Exeter College student and alumnus Liam Preston, who was taught by Mike Beer in 2010, also attended the day. Liam is now completing his MA in Classics at the University of Exeter and is looking to do his PhD.

Inspired? Fascinated with Graeco-Roman antiquity and its impact upon the modern world? Did you know that Exeter College offers an A Level in Classical Civilisation and you can apply now for September 2018. Click here to find out more.

Launch of Pioneering Initiative to develop the Next Generation of Exeter’s Data Scientists, as city named among top 10 hubs for tech jobs.

The official launch has taken place of a pioneering alliance among leading partners to develop Exeter’s next generation of data scientists, as Exeter recently named among the top 10 cities for future tech hubs.

The new Exeter Data Information Science Collaborative (E-DISC) brings together leading city organisations to develop the city’s technical data analytical skills for the future.

Under the collaboration, organisations such as the Met Office, Exeter College, Exeter City Futures, Exeter City Council, University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust are taking part in a new Data Analytics Apprenticeship scheme.

Each partner is passionate about the use of data analytics and information science and committed to developing essential technical skills and talent to meet priority skills gaps.

The new Data Analytics Apprenticeship offers a unique training opportunity in the Greater Exeter area where apprentices will not only follow the new standards in Data Analytics, but they will also come together as a group and collaborate to use their skills to address city-wide challenges at the Exeter City Futures Hub.

Glenn Woodcock, Exeter City Futures CEO and Founder, said “This innovative venture is another fantastic achievement for Exeter, and demonstrates its commitment to establishing itself as an analytical city.

E-DISC will help to boost the analytical skills of our young citizens and provide them with the essential tools that unlock their capability for making change locally.”

Rob Bosworth, Vice Principal, Exeter College, said: “This is part of a much broader skills escalator scheme, where the University and the College is driving the digital and data skills agenda and creating an ecosystem of technically trained information scientists.

The recent tech hubs analysis shows that Exeter is identified as being one of the top 10 cities for tech vacancies, with one in five vacancies in Devon being tech based over the last year.”

There are already three Data Analyst Apprenticeship vacancies live under the innovative project for data analysts at the Met Office, Exeter College, and Exeter City Futures.

The launch of this ground-breaking initiative took place at the home of Exeter City Futures, Southernhay West, on Wednesday, February 7th.

Playback exhibition is now open at the Yard Gallery in the CCI building.

This exhibition, a joint initiative between the Arts Council England and Channel 4 Random Acts, gives you the chance to view over 200 short films made by young artist filmmakers using the interactive displays. There are a broad range of award-winning films on offer, from dance and comedy to animation.

The exhibition is on tour around England until March 2018 and will be at the Yard Gallery until Friday 16th February and open from 10am-4pm, weekdays only.

Creating opportunities for young people from all backgrounds is the focus of this project which supports the development of 360 high quality short films over three years until 2018.”

To find out more about this project, please click here.

If you are aged between 16-24 and interested in making a short film then please click here to find out about more opportunities in your area.

Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #Playback

This year has seen huge success for our netball teams. Not only were the girls crowned Regional Champions at the National Schools Regional competition this weekend (and will now progress to the National Finals) but a number of players have also been selected for the Bath U19 squad.

Hannah Barnes was recently selected for the Bath U19 short squad, accompanied by Charlie Plumridge, and in addition to this Jade Richards and Sophie Orchard were selected for the Bath long squad.

We are also proud to announce that Charlie Plumridge, Jade Richards and Imogen Plumridge have all been selected for the AoC Sports National representative Team.

To qualify for Bath U19's Hannah had to do an initial trial to get into the long squad (about 20 people). She then had to attend training sessions before being chosen for the short squad (14 people). We spoke to Hannah to find out how she is feeling about playing for the team. She said:

I am very excited and happy to be selected, very excited to play at this high standard.” Hannah is looking forward to playing in an upcoming fixture this Saturday as it will be the first game for the squad and she is excited to see how the team gel together.”

We also spoke to Sophie who went for the U19 trial and made the long squad and was then offered a place in the U17 squad. She said:

I am really pleased with being offered a place in this squad as it is really challenging. The teams we will be playing when the season starts will be tough but it will be a great opportunity for the team to play against them. I am really looking forward to going to these games with the team and playing together for the first time.”

Sophie says she is hoping to progress in netball after college and will look at trialling for the u19 and possibly the u21 squads.

We wish the whole squad good luck with their upcoming fixtures.

This weekend five IT students took part in a game-making workshop. Students were organised into teams to plan, design, and create an original videogame inspired by the Seaton Down Hoard and other objects in RAMM’s Roman collection. Students also had the opportunity to listen to various guests who work in the games industry, such as Jo Morrison (Programme Director of Digital Innovation at Calvium) and Lizzie Mee (Seaton Down Hoard Project Officer for RAMM).

The aim of this project is to encourage young people to be inspired by the museum’s Roman collection in order to create games, making them not just players, but also creators of gameful content. For the participants, this will be a unique opportunity to develop their game thinking and design skills in the specific context of a museum, as well as gain exposure for their work, both from the museum’s website, and during the event when their games will be available for visitors to play in the museum’s galleries.”

This weekend was the first stage of the project with a Gamerama Day happening in April. During the Gamerama Day, visitors will be invited to play the games within the galleries. There is also the possibility of making the games available through the museum’s website.

Feedback from students has been great and they are looking forward to the next stage of this exciting project.

The talks were informative and were about how to develop games and how to keep players involved.” Lewis, studying BTEC Extended Diploma IT Practitioners

The talks that were given have helped me understand more of the game development world and how games can reach all people.” Alex, studying BTEC Extended Diploma IT Practitioners

If you are interested in studying an IT course with us then please search through our courses here or come along to our next open event.

Local Exeter College alumni, Tom Dawn, has recently published his first novel. Tom completed a series of adult Creative Writing courses with the college. We caught up with him to find out more about the novel and how the classes helped him finish it.

Why did you enrol on the creative writing course and what did you hope to gain from doing it?

Since I had the idea when I was twenty, I’ve meant to write a book. I thought the course would give me some added oomph, which it did. Also I do enjoy the social aspect of evening classes, and it turned out to be a very friendly and talented group of people. We still meet up on alternate weeks.

How did the course help you write the book?

I think we all have it in us to write, and we just need to practice. The course makes you do that, and it added some formal ideas on top of what I already knew instinctively. That was very helpful.

Where did the ideas for the book come from?

There are lots of ideas in the book and it evolved a lot as I went along. When you’re writing a book you puzzle over the how and the why a lot, and some of my best ideas are solutions to the problems that I was tussling with in the evening as I went to bed. I’d often wake up in the middle of the night with the answer. So a short answer to your question is: sleepless nights.

The thing that surprised me is how the characters came to life. Sometimes they ‘did’ things which I wouldn’t have thought of. That might sound a bit weird, but they have become real to me now!

Tell us a bit about the plot.

A guy called Marc is the main character. He loves diving until he’s involved in a tragic accident. Then he loses it completely. I mean he loses his job and his best buddy and his confidence. He has a kind of a mental meltdown and, as the saying goes, the Devil makes work for idle hands. He begins a relationship with just the wrong person and before he knows it, he’s been sucked into a life-or-death intrigue and has to find the will and the means to survive.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m writing a sequel to the first book. It’s code-named The Lonely Island, but it will probably have a different name by the time it comes out. Will there be a third? One thing at a time, please!

How did you go about getting the book published?

I self-published, which is relatively easy to do nowadays. There’s still a learning curve, but I enjoyed the challenge. People are sometimes a bit rude about self-published authors, but read the book first and then make your judgement! I will look for a publisher for my next book though, even though everyone says it’s tough.

If you would like to buy Tom’s book then it is available for purchase on Amazon or from Crediton Community Bookshop.

We offer a wide range of adult leisure and professional courses. Please take a look at our course search here or come along to our next open event.

Exeter College today announced that a record breaking 24 students are holding offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge starting in 2018.

A total of 17 students have been offered places at Oxford and seven at Cambridge in a diverse range of subjects from Medicine to Law.

An outstanding five students were offered places to study Medicine at either Oxford or Cambridge, two of the most sought after medical programmes in the country.

The successful students are from all corners of Devon and beyond, from a variety of schools. A remarkable 71% of students from Exeter College who were invited to interview were successful in being offered a place, far above the national average.

Jona Metcalf, formally of West Exe School, Exeter said: “It's a privilege to be offered a place at such a brilliant university. To have the chance to study at Cambridge is a great opportunity – receiving an offer is so rewarding.

“It's clear that the lecturers and staff at Exeter College work hard to support the students here. There are plenty of ways to get help with your studies if you need it. My lecturers and the staff have done so much to help me secure an offer; they genuinely want me to do well.”

One student, Andrew Foan, from Cullompton is an adult learner who joined the college last September as a mature student on an Access to Higher Education course. He has been offered a place to Oxford to study Law.

John Laramy, Principal and CEO of Exeter College said: “I would like to congratulate the students who have received offers from Oxbridge, some of the most hotly contested university places in the country. The 24 student offers include five for Medicine which is remarkable.

“This is a new record for Exeter College and shows the academic pedigree of the college and the calibre of students who choose to continue their studies at Exeter College from right across the region, with some students travelling up to two hours each way to attend the college.

“This exceptional outcome shows the combined impact of great students, working with excellent staff in an outstanding college. Across the college, students’ progression to university, further study and employment demonstrates the effectiveness of both our dedicated Oxbridge support and wider progression advice.

In the current environment, when social mobility is at the top of the education agenda, I think as a state funded, non-selective sixth form provider, we can confidently say that Exeter College is doing its best to support student ambition.”

As an Ofsted Outstanding college, Exeter College is focused on delivering exceptional teaching and learning to support learners to fulfil their potential.