Students from the Work Skills Apex course at Exeter College have been getting in to the festive mood by painting students' faces and hands to raise money for the college's student charity of the year, Children's Hospice South West.
As part of a project about “developing yourself”, the students carried out research into the cost of materials and designs, purchased the goods and set up a room as well as advertising the event across the college. They worked as a team to run the event and each took responsibility for one element. Jack Michael Barlow, one of the students on the course, said that the best thing about the project was researching the materials.
PRESS RELEASE
Exeter College Rugby goes from strength to strength
Exeter College 1st xv remain unbeaten in the British Colleges Elite League, and are now just one win away from automatic qualification for the British Colleges Semi Finals, following their convincing 29-6 victory over Swansea College. For the forth BCS Game in a row, Exeter did not allow their opposition to cross their try line, and managed 5 tries themselves through impressive centre Jack Talbot, winger Justin Southam, Back Row Dean Folland, Captain and back rower Ben King, and Full Back Ollie Cave. Fly Half George Meadows managed two conversions in difficult playing conditions.
Exeter dominated in the tight and loose, opening the scoring with a 40 metre solo effort from winger Justin Southam, following a strong run in the centre from man of the match Talbot. Talbot then crossed himself after a line break from centre Jamie Briant. Swansea responded with two long range penalty attempts before half time following offences at the ruck, to see a half time score of 10-6 in Exeter’s favour.
In the second half, Exeter used the wind and slope to their advantage, and played a mature territorial game. Back rower Paul Davis came off the bench and made a number of clean line breaks allowing Full Back Ollie Cave to cross, and Meadows to add a touchline conversion. Ben King scored a trademark catch and drive try to put the result beyond doubt with fifteen minutes to go, following a 15 metre drive by the Exeter forwards.
In the latter stages, Dean Folland added another score, with Meadows converting, to further enhance Exeter’s position at the top of the Elite League table.
It has been an excellent week for Exeter College rugby following on from the news that following a successful trial at the weekend, four players from the 1st xv squad have just been selected in the England Colleges squad for the International Programme after Christmas. Captain and back five forward Ben King, Prop Will Norton, Back Rower Paul Davis and Fly Half George Meadows have all been included.
Exeter Chiefs and Exeter College Partnership Co-ordinator Dom Caton commented “All four players have made huge improvements in their rugby development, showing the high levels of commitment and drive required to play at this level and above. Paul Davis and Will Norton have benefitted greatly from the input and training received at Exeter Chiefs and prove to be exciting prospects for the future. The opportunities for these players to develop their rugby is ever increasing and achievements such as this help to progress their rugby even more”.
PRESS RELEASE
A Hairy response to a good cause
Staff from across the city's college are proving that it's not just the students that know how to fundraise for a worthy cause as they count the donations for Movember – and raise awareness for men's health at the same time.
Staff from Construction, Engineering, Automotive and Maths and Science faculties have been sprouting moustaches for the past month with competitions for the best moustache raising the pressure on the teams.
“Whilst this has been a fun thing to do it obviously has a very serious side.” said Chris Whittaker, Head of Construction, “We're very proud that the college gained its Healthy FE Colleges status earlier in the year and we have used the national Movember campaign to spearhead a tutorial programme with our students to raise awareness of men's health and prostate cancer in particular. The staff teams have gone from clean-shaven to moustached throughout the month and this has been a really good way to continue to raise the profile and show our commitment with a twist of humour. There has been a certain amount of teasing since some of the team have been more successful than others.”
Raising over £1,000 across the college, the funds will help the two main charities supported by the Movember campaign – The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research. The national campaign aims to raise awareness of some worrying facts about men's health in that 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime; this year 37,000 new cases will be diagnosed and 26% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women.
PRESS RELEASE
STUDENTS PERFORM AT EXETER CATHEDRAL THIS CHRISTMAS
Exeter Cathedral is the stunning backdrop to Exeter College's Festival of Carols being held on Friday December 9th.
The doors will be open to members of the public wishing to join the college's staff, students and family members to celebrate the festival season at Exeter Cathedral from 7pm on Friday, December 9.
Whilst entry is free, the college will be collecting donations at the end of the festival of Carols for the college's charity of choice this year, as voted by the students, Children's Hospice South West.
This year's event, sponsored by Lloyds TSB, includes music from the Exeter College Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Big Band and, for the second year running, the College students are being joined by the Bowhill Primary School Choir, making this a true community event. The massed choirs of the College's Choral Society, Victoria Singers, Foundation Studies Choir and Inspirational Choir will make this an all age-performance.
Following a welcome by Principal Richard Atkins and College Chaplain Revd Tom Honey and a candlelit procession, guests will be invited to sing carols, listen to readings by students, and join in prayer.
Principal Richard Atkins says: “The Festival of Carols is undoubtedly a highlight of the College year. It is a wonderful opportunity for staff, students and members of the public every year to celebrate not only the festive season, but also the great talents of those who perform on the night.
“The charity which the students have chosen to support this year is the only organisation in the South West that cares for children who have illnesses which mean they will die before reaching adulthood. Children's Hospice South West provides expert care for these children, their parents and well siblings. I hope those who are able to join us on the night will have an extremely enjoyable evening and will be able to give towards a very worthy cause.”
For further information and interviews, contact Sylvia Jarman, Head of Marketing and Communications on 07800 745855 or email sylviajarman@exe-coll.ac.uk
Exeter College was delighted to welcome 10 students from Berufskolleg Lübbecke, Germany, last week to improve their English and employability skills as part of the “Working in Europe” programme.
The students, aged between 19 and 22, took part in 5 days of English lessons, delivered by the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) team at the college.
Accompanying the students were their Principal, Stefan Becker and tutors Sonia Wöpking and Heike Siebeking (pictured, with Exeter College Principal Richard Atkins and staff Caroline Romijn and Bob Mycock).
Following their college placement, the students will attend work placements with local organisations including the University of Exeter, South West Water and Audi. Every autumn a group of 10 young German students (19 – 22) take part in the Working in Europe course, in a partnership with the college that has spanned 20 years. They have a week of English classes with a focus on English at work, followed by a two-week work placement in local companies including the University of Exeter, South West Water and Audi.
We look forward to welcoming a new group next year!
PRESS RELEASE
Exeter College's 1st XV remain unbeaten and currently are top of the BCS Elite League following a comprehensive 46-0 victory over Bicton College played at the home of the Bicton Academy.
Exeter College started the game brightly and set the tone after 5 minutes with a catch and drive try by second row Jack Fahy, who also plays for Cullompton. In total, the Exeter forwards scored three catch and drive tries, and Fahy managed to touch the ball down in all three of those mauls for his first ever hat trick in a game of rugby. Five minutes later Fly Half George Meadows converted a penalty to build an 8-0 scoreline.
With ten minutes remaining in the first half, Exeter's flying winger, Lewis Edwards ran in from 50 meters in a brilliant piece of individual skill, this was followed by a touchline conversion by the impressive Meadows. A surging run by flanker Paul Davies resulted in the award of a penalty which was expertly placed in the corner. The resulting lineout led to Fahy emerging with the ball to score his second try following a 15 metre drive.
The second half saw Exeter College build on their first half lead. Alex Priest chased down an excellent kick from Meadows to force a 5 metre scrum. Following some strong defence from Bicton, Exeter finally burst through with Chris Swash running under the posts with Meadows converting. Captain Ben King was prominent at the line out as usual, and the Exeter forwards took a number of scrums against the head. Ben King took a line out ten metres out and Fahy completed his Hat trick before Edwards added another individual score from 35 metres soon after, following a strong run by centre Jack Talbot.
As the game entered the last ten minutes, Exeter and Bicton sent on many of their bench players, and it was replacement scrum half James Bath who scampered in following a scrum in midfield to score Exeter's 7th try of the game.
Man of the Match was Exeter College prop Will Norton, who is certainly benefiting from his exposure to the Exeter Chiefs 'A' XV and his contact time with Exeter Chiefs Academy Manager Robin Cowling and Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Exeter College student, Dave Bargent. It has been a great few weeks for Norton, who featured in Launceston's National Two game away to league leaders Richmond. Norton, along with fellow College players Ben King and George Meadows have been selected for the final England Colleges trial to be held on Sunday 27th November.
PRESS RELEASE
The unique partnership between the city's college and Flybe, Europe's largest regional airline, has won a major national education accolade with the announcement that its aerospace engineering training has been awarded a prestigious Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Award for Practical Teaching and Practical Learning. The College was announced as winner of the award, sponsored by Edge, by John Hayes MP, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning at the AoC Annual Conference in Birmingham on 15 November.
The award recognises the exacting programme of technical training in aerospace engineering, set to the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority that has been designed by Exeter College as part of its pioneering partnership with Flybe. The partnership, launched in 2007, secured Exeter College as lead academic partner for Flybe's commitment to increase the numbers of licensed aerospace engineers, and to invest in workforce training across all sectors of their industry. Flybe engineering students receive training through Exeter College's engineering specialists spending time in the college's workshops and now within the state of the art Flybe Training Academy opened in 2011.
The four year, full-time course was recognised in the award as challenging and stretching students in a real work environment with trainee engineers learning from highly experienced practitioners in the industry. The partnership with Flybe ensures that theoretical study is supported by real accident and incident information and practical workshop sessions use aircraft parts and components to ensure industry-standard technical skills and competence. The first Flybe Aerospace Engineering ‘graduates' are due to finish in July 2012, keenly taking up their offers of employment at Flybe.
The partnership has been recognised as being successful not just nationally but also locally with introductory engineering groups being launched in local schools for 14 – 16 year olds who are keen to develop their practical and engineering skills in preparation for applying to the prestigious Exeter College Flybe Engineering Academy at 16.
Richard Atkins, Principal said, on receiving the Beacon Award from the Minister, “We're very proud of this award since it evidences not only the strong relationship we have with Flybe but also the commitment we have to ensure the college's courses meet the needs of our students and also the ever changing demands of industry. Exeter College's role is to ensure all students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to successfully progress into their chosen career and our partnerships with local, regional and national employers are helping us to train the high quality experts of the future. We are delighted that this ground-breaking partnership with Flybe, that has developed such high quality engineering training for our future aerospace engineers, has now gained this national recognition. We will be celebrating this award with all those who have been involved across the two organisations. “
Andrew Rosser, Director of the Flybe Training Academy added: “Partnership is at the heart of so much of what Flybe does and our work with Exeter College to train the aerospace engineers of the future is a fantastic example of joint-working between private industry and education. To be able to offer a world-class course here in the South West is a marvellous achievement and we look forward to many more years of success.”
Jan Hodges, CEO of Edge and sponsor of the award, said: “Edge has sponsored an AoC Beacon Award for several years. Edge is dedicated to raising the status of technical, practical and vocational learning and is proud to be associated with an award that recognizes excellence in practical teaching and learning.
“The Exeter College initiative provides a highly regarded pathway into employment in the aerospace engineering sector. The Flybe Diploma in Engineering combines practical and theoretical elements in a course that equips students to become licensed aircraft engineers. I congratulate them on their Award and hope they continue to lead the way for other Colleges across the UK.”
Roger Marriott, AoC Beacon Awards Chief Assessor, said: “I am consistently impressed by the excellent quality of the work that colleges are producing; their efforts provide exemplary support for learning to a wide range of students across the UK.
“The sector's commitment to addressing the needs of students and the high standards of work displayed by colleges during our assessment visits was outstanding. Through this award programme the AoC is highlighting best practice, innovative development and continuous improvement; it is a showcase for Beacon colleges that others can look to for help, inspiration and encouragement.”
Chair of the AoC Beacon Awards, Dame Patricia Morgan-Webb, said: “These awards serve to highlight and celebrate the achievements of colleges and the impact they have on the lives of students, their families and the wider college communities.
“As Chair of the National Steering Group it is a privilege each year to be among the first people to learn about the new and creative ways in which colleges are meeting the challenges of this tough economic climate through responsive collaborative approaches to engaging with students and developing the curriculum to meet the needs of individuals and businesses alike; all of which are underpinned by strong and supportive leadership and management.
“I should like to congratulate all of this year's winning colleges and encourage them to really make the most of this opportunity to celebrate their achievements and invigorate the sector as a whole through the dissemination of their outstanding teaching and learning practices.”
The AoC Beacon Awards are now in their 18th year and are awarded each year to UK colleges who capture and celebrate the positive impact they have on their students, staff and communities.
Exeter College will host a local celebration event in the New Year and will be presented with their Award by John Hayes MP, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning at a national presentation ceremony due to be held at Westminster on 8 February 2012.
Ends
For more information, photographs or to arrange an interview with Exeter College, please contact Sylvia Jarman, Head of Marketing and Communications
For more information about the AoC Beacon Awards, please contact Louise Duffy, AoC Charitable Trust and Communications Officer, at louise_duffy@aoc.co.uk or 020 7034 9957. Alternatively, contact Alice Thiagaraj, AoC Charitable Trust Manager, at alice_thiagaraj@aoc.co.uk or 020 7034 9917.
PRESS RELEASE
STUDENTS' BUILD ON SUCCESS AT ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION AWARDS
Students, families, staff and employers celebrated the achievements of students based in the city college's Construction and Built Environment faculty at its annual awards ceremony this week.
Over 70 people attended Exeter College's celebratory event that recognised the outstanding achievements of 20 students from across Exeter and the heart of Devon studying a wide range of specialist courses from brickwork to plumbing both part time and full time. The event also acknowledged the invaluable support of the faculty's award-winning Employers of the Year who provide vital employment opportunities to the students of all ages as they enter a career in the construction industry
“At a time when the construction industry is, like many sectors, facing difficult challenges,” said Richard Atkins, Principal of Exeter College, “it is essential to continue to celebrate the excellent achievement of the students and employers to ensure that the industry continues to be supplied with a highly skilled workforce”.
The Construction Faculty itself has recently added to the existing facilities at its premises at Sowton Industrial Estate with a £1million extension to bricklaying workshops and teaching areas and the event allowed parents and employers to see for themselves the industry standard equipment and facilities.
“It is always difficult to select particular winners,” said Chris Whitaker, head of construction, “since we are very proud of all our students. But there are particular success stories in the past year which show the strength of character of many of our students and these awards celebrate their enthusiasm, commitment and sheer determination to the construction industry and to their studies and training”
Many of the winning students are apprentices proving that training to NVQ level while being employed gaining true work experiences is a very positive route into the industry – and many of the employers joined family and friends at the event.
Chris Whitaker went on to comment “We have students who have produced excellent work consistently throughout the year both within theory based and practical subjects and always rise to the challenges and targets set. All students contribute to team work and group tutorials and many continue to display a real flair for the industry. Many of our students have potential barriers such as travelling long distances or in some cases having to juggle family commitments as well as coursework and again this event allows us to recognise how many of them go that extra mile.”
The essential support of local employers to the college was recognized with Bennett Plumbing and Heating, Eurotech Group plc, JH Cheffings & Son and Devon County Council being awarded Employers of the Year under their various categories in recognition of the essential part they play in enabling the continued success of the vibrant Construction faculty at the College. Skinner Construction Ltd was singled out for special honours as a double winner for both Carpentry/Joinery AND Painting/Decorating Employer of the Year Awards.
Richard Isaac from Skinner Construction said ” Considering the high standards set by our competitors, we were delighted to have received two awards. We are a great believer in apprenticeships (we currently have five in training) and we are convinced that it builds sound working standards from the outset. We can then build on these skills as a company and eventually offer the best tradesmen to our clients. The more time and money we invest in employing local people can only be a good thing for our company – and for the company to still be here after 125 years I think proves my point!
For more information please contact Sylvia Jarman, Head of Marketing and Communications, 01392 205224 or 07800 745855
Editor's Notes
The full list of winners for the Faculty of Construction Celebration of Achievement Awards 2010.
Professional Studies full time Student of the Year: Ross le Carpentier
National Certificate Student of the Year: Natasha Jones
Higher National Certificate Student of the Year: Sam Chapman
Plumbing 1st year Full-time Student of the Year: James Gorman
Full time Year 2 Plumbing Student of the Year : Jez Hooper
Plumbing Apprentice of the Year (Year 1): David Prynne
Plumbing Apprentice of the Year (Year 2): Michael Spurway
Electrical Installation Full-time Student of the Year: Jack Procter
Electrical Apprentice of the Year (Year 1): Jared Singleton
Electrical Apprentice of the Year (Year 2): Chris King
Electrical Apprentice of the Year (Year 3): Dale Upcott
Carpentry and Joinery Full-time Student of the Year: Bradley Theopald
Carpentry and Joinery Apprentice of the Year (Year 2): Matthew Barker
Carpentry and Joinery Apprentice of the Year (Year 3): Alexander Taylor
PRESS RELEASE
Exeter band Morning Rush play the Royal Albert Hall
Exeter band Morning Rush are playing at London's Royal Albert Hall on November 9th as part of Music for Youth Schools Prom which features performances from 'some of the country's finest young musicians and singers – the next generation of the UK's musical talent'.
The selection process for this prestigious Royal Albert Hall appearance involved performances at the Music for Youth Regional Festival in Exmouth in February and the National Festival at the HMV Institute in Birmingham in July, which showcased hundreds of other successful acts from Regional Festivals around the country.
At their performance in Birmingham, Morning Rush were not only selected as one of three from the twenty acts in the Rock/Pop category to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in the Schools Prom in November, they also won the Music for Youth award for songwriting.
Sam Perry – guitar/vocals (17), Tom Short – keyboard/vocals (17), Michael Richards – bass (18) and Sam Chamberlain – guitar/vocals (18), formed Morning Rush while students at Isca College in Exeter and recruited drummer/vocalist Pip Arnold (18) at Exeter College where all the band are currently in their second year of A levels and BTEC music courses. They write all their own material and have already sold over 300 copies of their first CD 'Racetrack' (2010). They are currently recording an EP with Show of Hands producer Mark Tucker, and in December they will be working with legendary songwriter Ray Davies at his London studio on some new material.
Head of Music at Exeter College, Laura Wright, said: “This group has the potential to go far – their original material is really good, their performance standard extremely high and their understanding of the need for constant hard work and application whilst learning the craft of musicianship, is exemplary. They are also just a great band to listen to and to see live! Morning Rush are members of our Exeter College Music Academy Ambassadors scheme and I can't think of a better way for them to represent our music department, than at this festival in November. We are very proud of them and are looking forward to supporting them at the Royal Albert Hall, along with the other 24 students from the bands' BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Music course.
During the 18 months they've been together Morning Rush have performed at numerous local venues including Exeter University's Great Hall, Mama Stone's, The Cavern Club, Exeter Phoenix, and The Northcott Theatre. They have also taken part in The World Stage Festival in Bristol's Colston Hall, the Musicosity Festival in Bournemouth, Dartington Home Festival, Exmouth Festival, Aeon, Ilsington, Ivylive, Chagstock, Sidmouth and Acoustica Festivals – and they have supported Show of Hands, Billy Bragg, Electric Skies, The Quails and Adam Isaac.
Morning Rush were winner's of Exeter FM's prestigious 'Battle of the Bands' competition, and they were joint winners of the 'Exeter Factor' talent show. They have also been nominated as the South West Music Awards 'Best Breakthrough Act' to be awarded in November.
Radio appearances include BBC Radio Devon's John Govier Show, Exeter FM, Phonic FM and Exmouth's Bay FM, and they have followed in Steve Harley's footsteps by performing in the now legendary 'Songs from the Shed' – an appearance which has now had over 2,000 on-line views.
“They have made extraordinary progress in their writing and playing over the last 18 months” said Steve Knightley. “They have a fine ear for melody and lyric and now regular public performing has added confidence and attitude to their well-crafted material”.
For further information, call Babs Knightley Short: 07870 549007, Katy Perry: 07870 525488 or
Sylvia Jarman (Exeter College) on 01392 205585, 07800 745855 sylviajarman@exe-coll.ac.uk
PRESS RELEASE
Monday October 31st, 2011
College launches website – in house celebrations
Exeter College is celebrating launching its new website today particularly since its design and layout has all been achieved with the expertise of its own in-house web design and marketing teams.
The website, launched on November 1st, is designed to be central to the college’s marketing and communications – whether that is to prospective 16 – 18 year olds students, to parents, to higher education students or to the increasing number of employers who are contacting the college to train their workforce and apprentices.
“It’s not unusual for an organisation such as ours to have a highly designed website,” said Richard Atkins, Principal of Exeter College, “but we are particularly proud that this new website has been designed in-house rather than commissioning from a web agency. This means that we have been able to secure value for money from the project as well as ensure that students’ and staff views of what our website should contain have been able to be incorporated effectively in the new design.”
The website, www.exe-coll.ac.uk has particular new features, demanded by focus groups and surveys of students throughout the year, such as virtual tours of the college’s facilities, easy to navigate student sections, links to the facebook and twitter pages and links to videos showing student views about courses and college life.
Richard Brine, head of information and learning services said “It’s important that the website offers a good experience to visitors whatever browser or device they are using to view it. The careful selection of web technologies and techniques was, therefore, an essential component in building the new site.”
“We were keen to listen to the demands of all our customer group”, said Roselle Thompson, deputy head of marketing and communications at the college and project manager for the new website “so we spent a lot of time auditing our current website and talking to students, staff and stakeholders about what they expect. Our website, facebook and twitter audiences are growing and it’s essential that the college keeps up to date with current trends and use these techniques to support the way people are able to find out about what the college can offer. It’s really exciting that we’ve been able to work closely with our Learning Media team since they’ve been able to incorporate the designs our students demanded.”
And the college is still keen to ensure that they’re listening to feedback. Any student who comments on the new website via our Exeter College Advisers Facebook page will be entered into a draw to win amazon vouchers.
