Employers are being reminded not to miss out on a free vital briefing being offered by Exeter College about important government changes in Apprenticeships.

Exeter College is running an Apprenticeship Levy Technical Briefing to bring clarity to the future of apprenticeships. The briefing is taking place at Exeter City Football Club on Tuesday 14th February between 9am – 12pm.

It comes as the date draws nearer changes to Apprenticeships and as the level of interest continues to grow in the new era of Apprenticeship funding and delivery.

The briefing is the second in a series of events delivered by Exeter College to share its expertise with the business community of Devon and beyond. The event comes after the college’s successful conference in November, attended by more than 220 delegates.

The half-day event will be led by the College and will consist of an overview of funding, the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS), curriculum and the latest key dates relating to the reforms, supported by a session led by Foot Anstey on hiring an Apprentice, plus an in depth Question and Answer session with industry experts. The event will be held at Exeter City Football Club in their new Heritage suite.

Mike Blakely, Director of Apprenticeships and Employer Engagement at Exeter College said:

“We understand this can be a stressful time for employers. Our conference in November was hugely successful and as a result we have seen an increase in the number of enquiries regarding the upcoming changes.

“In order to address these questions and concerns, we have arranged this seminar to further inform and update on the reforms and changes, plus giving employers the opportunity to get further guidance specific to their business.”

He added

“We have seen a 68% rise in apprenticeships here in Exeter and across Devon over the past four years and the opportunities open to the young are better than ever before, but to maintain these we will need to support our network of existing and new businesses significantly to ensure the benefits for all parties continue to grow.”

The seminar is on Tuesday 14th February between 9am – 12pm. Spaces for the seminar are limited, To book your space at this event, or for more information, please call 01392 400800 or book online here

Players from the Exeter Chiefs rugby team visited the Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre this week for a well-deserved break in their rigorous training routine.

The team came to the centre to enjoy themselves and try out the many activities on offer in the water and out of it.

Centre Manager Ben Hedden said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Exeter Chiefs to Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre. During their visit the Chiefs squad participated in just a few of the many great activities we provide and they were able to see the extensive facilities we have available. Haven Banks is a Beacon Award winning partnership between Exeter College and Devon County Council and promotes community engagement and activity as well as facilitating full-time outdoor adventure courses and apprenticeships.”

It wasn’t all play however as the players were accompanied by strength and conditioning coaches encouraging the Chiefs players to tackle each pursuit which included rock climbing and kayaking.

Mark Twiggs, Head of Strength & Conditioning at Exeter Chiefs, said “Ben and all the team at Haven Banks put a lot of time and effort into running a great package for the players, which came through with all the positive comments from the day.”

The players were given the choice of several activities on the day including; Cycling, Artificial Caving, Climbing Wall, Kayaking, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, and the Power Fan “free fall” Descent.

Exeter Chiefs and Australian international, Dave Dennis, said: “As a group we had an enjoyable time on all the activities, even though the weather wasn't great on the day. I would definitely go back again in the future, especially on a beautiful summer’s day with family and friends.”

The clear favourite of the day was the power fan free fall descent which saw the chiefs leaping from the prominent 22 metre tower at the canal basin. The Powerfan is a highly engineered machine that is able to provide a free fall experience in complete safety. Each member of the team made their way up the tower. Cheered on by their team mates from below, they put their trust in the staff and equipment and stepped off of the high tower to “free fall” to the ground.

To learn more about activities available please visit the Haven Banks Outdoor Activity Centre website.

An Exeter College student has been selected for the Rugby Canada U19 Men's National team to play in Wales in April of this year. Pete Ingoldsby is currently studying the Foundation Degree in Coaching and Fitness. Pete plays for the College and the Teignmouth Rugby Club 1st XV.

Rob Gibson, Assistant Academy Manager said:

Pete is a top lad with a fantastic attitude and thirst for work and improvement. He a very strong young man and an excellent ball carrier. Pete displays terrific upper body strength, is strong on the ground and regularly turns the opposition over but also displays the understanding of when to leave alone and when to counter ruck. Pete is a player I came to meet relatively late in terms of identification. I have had Pete in the programme since May of this year. I can only say I wished I had seen him earlier!”

Named the International Series, Canada will play three games over eight days in Cardiff. Canada will open the tournament on April 8th against England before facing Wales on April 12th. They’ll conclude their tournament on April 16th against Italy. Ireland and Scotland are the other two teams competing in the competition.

Kickoff and streaming details have yet to be announced but will be confirmed in the coming weeks leading into the tournament.

For further information on this story, please click here.

The Art and Design faculty runs an annual competition for schools to showcase the best work produced by their young talented art students in our gallery space. This year it will include Tiverton High School, Blundell’s School, Torquay Academy, St James School and the Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education. We are looking forward to see what they come up with.

This project was established to celebrate the artistic talent within schools in Devon. Selected pupils representing their school have the opportunity to exhibit in the Yard Gallery, meet existing art students at the college and get a feel for what it would be like to study Art. Students will be invited to a private view along with their friends and family to celebrate their inclusion in the exhibition. There will be a prize for the best piece of art on display.

Helen Burak, Deputy Head of Art and Design said:

The aim of this project is to inspire and engage school pupils to aspire to the creative arts as a possible progression choice; to help bridge the gap between School and College and to reward the fantastic creative talents we have in our local schools.”

Exhibition Dates:

Thursday 2nd Feb – Thursday 9th February: Open to the public 10am-6pm

You can find us at: The Yard Gallery, Faculty of Art and Design, Exeter College, Centre for Creative Industries, Victoria Yard, Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3SR.

Exeter City Futures is working with students to help them to create lasting change and a sustainable future.

Starting in January, Exeter City Futures is working with Exeter College, analysing data with students based at the Maths and Science Centre.

The 15-week data analytics pilot programme is aimed at A Level Maths, Computer Science and BTEC Enterprise students. It is one of two education challenges that Exeter City Futures is currently running.

The aim is for students to learn how to engage with real problems and build their analytical skills. In doing this they will show that young people are capable of creating change in the Exeter region.

Students will be using data to work on projects within the college and will solve real-world problems for students within the Exeter region. Improving the college and the students’ experience is just beginning. Exeter City Futures is also helping students to upskill and gain enhanced knowledge in data analysis, so that they can identify problems and create change for all.

Exeter City Futures was founded in November 2015 with the aim of making Exeter and the surrounding region sustainable for the future. Its vision is to make Exeter and the region congestion free and energy independent by 2025.

The 15-week course at the Maths and Science Centre is the first in a series of education programmes that Exeter City Futures is delivering throughout 2017.

To find out more about Exeter City Futures, click here.

Young chefs from all over the country recently travelled to Birmingham NEC to the Great Hospitality Show 2017 to take part in the finals of the Major Series competition.

Finalists took to the stage in front of over 50 people to battle it out for the trophy. After competing in the regional heats and winning gold, Megan Mccarron from Cullompton and a student at Exeter College made her way to Birmingham for the finals.

“It was quite a high pressured environment, competing alongside seven other students and on a stage. It was nice to see everyone’s dishes and learn from what everyone else was doing, I really enjoyed representing the college too.”

Megan presented a Pistachio Crusted Chicken Boudin, stuffed with a Moroccan Fast and served with an Israeli cous cous, asparagus and coriander and pistachio oil dressing, using Major Moroccan Mari Base and Major Applewood and Hickory Smoke. Megan walked away with a plate and certificate for overall ‘Best in Class’, a trophy for competing, a silver medal for her chicken dish and a £500 voucher to spend in a catering catalogue.

As part of the competition, they provided feedback which Megan was eager to hear. They said:

“It is always a pleasure to work with students who are receptive to constructive criticism and eager to improve. To take the example of Megan’s winning dish, it was well executed, very modern, very current, especially the Israeli couscous which had a wonderful flavour, it was only lacking a bit of sauce.”

Delighted with her results, Megan assured Major that she will be taking on board the top tips and would most certainly like to be part of the competition arena moving forward.

“I can’t quite believe it. I was a little nervous beforehand but knowing what was expected of me, helped me achieve my goal.”

She added:

“I’ve never been a chef, I’ve always been a baker, that's what I love. I was practicing for the final for over a month, I knew straight away what I wanted to cook but I developed the look and the flavours.I feel more confident now and have come to realise that I know more than I thought I did. It’s a massive boost being on stage and being watched, it was really hard but once I got up there I was in the zone.”

Thirteen Exeter College students are celebrating after being offered places at the world-leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Seven students studying at Exeter College have won places at Cambridge and six at Oxford. The offers cover a range of subjects including Biochemistry, Maths, Engineering Sciences, History, Law, Philosophy, Spanish and Arabic, and Architecture.

Exeter College is a state funded, non-selective provider that places student ambition at the heart of its mission. Students at the college are supported with personalised support and guidance with their university applications. Exeter College has very close and historic links with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford (Oxbridge).

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive, said:

“In the year that Oxford University has been rated as the number one university in the world, it is a truly exceptional achievement for 13 Exeter College students to receive firm offers from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

“As a College, we have great students and great staff, but our dedicated specialist support for University applicants, alongside our extensive enrichment programme is clearly helping our students to stand out from the crowd. I would like to congratulate the students, their tutors and our specialist team on this achievement.”

Of the thirteen students who have secured offers to study at Cambridge and Oxford, nine are members of the Exeter College Reach Academy, a programme providing opportunities to stretch and challenge their most gifted academic students and access their first choice university.

On Tuesday, Exeter College had the privilege of inviting world renowned linguist, David Crystal in to talk to A Level English Language students.

After his lecture, we caught up with him about his visit.

Why do you think it's important to come to events like this and talk to students?

The subject of language has become so important, people are studying language all over the place. Language is front of everyone's eyes and it's not an easy subject because there's lots and lots of aspects of it. The vocabulary, the grammar, the pronunciation, the spelling, the way it's used, the accents, the dialects, the lot. So it requires a course, a proper course and A Level English Language has become hugely popular across the country, simply because it covers all these aspects of language. It relates them to present day activities, it isn’t just reading something in the past like how literature was, this is literature today and language being used today and so the kids love it and the enthusiasm is obvious. When I talk to a group like this they are clearly very enthused about the subject and it's because they can relate it to their own lives – their own accents, their own dialects, how children learn language – their brothers and sisters, how their parents use language differently from them and it all comes in together.

How did you get into languages? Was there a defining moment as a student where you knew this was the path you wanted to follow?

Oh yes, I think like most people you fall in love with your teachers ideas and enthusiasm and everything that happened to me at university college, the people who taught language there were just brilliant and I fell in love with language at that particular point. I’d always been interested in languages because I have a multi bilingual background, coming from Wales, but I’d never thought of myself as a linguist until I went to university college.

What do you hope students will get out of today?
What I hope is that they will get a reinforcement to the ideas that the teaching staff here have been putting to them officially in the syllabus. You treat your teachers a bit like Gods and at the same time you think they're just making all this up. Maybe it isn’t real out there but when someone like me comes in and says actually, the kind of things you have been taught over the last few months and the next few months are not just of importance here but they have importance everywhere. I explain that this really is an important subject, that there are aspects of it in my life that I shall tell you all about and suddenly it coincides with what the teachers have been saying and suddenly there's a new dimension of relevance that comes out of an occasion like this. Also, to be honest, a lot of them read my books, they're on the syllabus, so people have read them and they like to meet the author, like I do. When I go to literary festivals, I like to meet the author and to have the voice of the book in reality is an exciting moment.

You can find out more about David here.

@jarveybarvey @ExeterCollege @davcr Completely wonderful morning! It was thoroughly enjoyed by all

– Charlene (@Charlene_Norris) January 17, 2017

On Friday 13th January, students from the prestigious Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College, were invited to a very special behind the scenes tour of Lympstone Manor, opening on the 3rd April this year.

Students joined Michael for a tour of the outside of the estate, the manor – including bedroom suites and the kitchen, and took part in a question and answer session.

They also had the opportunity to speak with Executive Head Chef, Tom Hine and General Manager, Scott Andrews. They talked about Michael’s vision and ethos for the business as well as the operational aspects of running an enterprise like this.
Students described the experience as ‘inspirational’ and said Michael’s enthusiasm for the project was ‘infectious’.
Michael said, ‘Welcoming academy students to Lympstone Manor was a real pleasure for me and the whole team here. We are all advocates of this exhilarating industry, and I’m proud to show the students my vision of a country house hotel for the 21st century. I hope my story inspires them to follow their dreams by working hard, graduate from college and succeed in the industry.”

Exeter College Programme Lead, Matthew Pickett said: “Teaching students is just one aspect of what we do here, we also have a duty to inspire our students to succeed. Having the chance to spend quality time with Michael and learn about Lympstone Manor is an amazing opportunity. Students got a rare insight in to the amount of work that goes in to this sort of operation. Students were awed by Michael’s attention to detail and the amount of decisions he is making. It certainly inspired them to think about their futures and what they can achieve.”

John Wheeler, Head of Faculty added: “Students and staff will never forget this experience. Michael Caines is a big inspiration, not just locally but nationally, and he continues to give students time, commitment and support. It’s this kind of one to one time that will inspire them to succeed.”

You can learn more about the Michael Caines Academy at our Open Evening on Monday 23rd January. Click here for more information and to book your place.

So the time has come. Exams are approaching and it’s time to think about your next steps. By coming to an Exeter College Open Event, you will not only get to see our fantastic specialist facilities but you will also have the chance to talk to our staff about what’s on offer and how we can make sure your next step is the right one for you.

Here are our top tips for making sure you get the most out of your visit.

1. TALK to us – if you are unsure about what subjects to take then we are the best people to ask. Our lecturers will be able to inspire you and tell you about what you will learn from their course. We also have specialist advisers who can help you make informed decisions about your choices.
2. Step out of your comfort zone – you might have always known which subjects to take next but maybe you should see what else is on offer, you never know – we might surprise you.
3. Cover all your options – talk to our experts about A Levels, BTECs and Apprenticeships, that way you have all the information you need and you can make those all important decisions.
4. Visit our facilities – whether you want to study construction, hospitality or art, it’s worth visiting the buildings where these subjects are based. You will have the chance to see the equipment you will be using on an everyday basis and speak to students who currently take those subjects.
5. If you have a extra – curricular activity that you are interested in then make sure you take a look at the academies that are on offer with us. We have a wide range of academies covering subjects such as music, journalism, performing arts, sports and even academies aimed at getting you into world class universities.
6. Have a chat with our current students – there is no better way to find out about college life. There will be student representatives based in all our city centre sites so if there is anything you’re worried about, just ask!
7. Grab a free tea and coffee and just sit down and think it all through, that way if you have any more questions, we're here to help.
8. Go to a Principal's talk – this is a great way of finding out about the college, our staff and students and how we can help you on your next steps. Check out a programme for times and locations. You can download one here.

Our next open event is on January 17th from 5-8pm, come along and see what we have to offer. Click Here for more details on the Open Event.