Students and staff arriving for lectures across the Exeter College sites on Friday morning were greeted with colourful cakes and creamy coffee as groups of Arts Management students served up their version of the Macmillan Charity’s Coffee Morning.

As their first project of the new term, the organisers – around 30 students, aged 16 to 18 and studying for their BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Production Arts (Arts Management) – had only ten hours in which to prepare and finished the day in high spirits after they raised over £500 for the national charity.

The volunteers were among thousands across the UK taking part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning – an event held annually to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Their programme manager, Viv Finer, says: “I was really impressed by the huge amount of enthusiasm shown by the students, and by their innovative approach to organising such an event in only a short amount of time.

“Such an exercise urges them to think on their feet and work as a team, helping prepare them for a future in arts and events management. They had to change the drinks offer for example, to cold drinks through the morning since it was such great weather. Most importantly, however, this is a real opportunity for the students to do something for a charity which helps people and their families through some very rough times. I’m very proud of their fundraising efforts and thank all the staff and students who helped us raise the money for Macmillan Cancer Support.”

For further information, call Sylvia Jarman on 01392 205585 or sylviajarman@exe-coll.ac.uk

Press Release

Language and International Baccalaureate college students took to the streets in Exeter to mark European Day of Languages last week, finding out what shoppers and visitors really think about foreign languages.

Over 70 students – most of whom are starting their first year of a modern language course at the college – set out to check the general public’s view and ended up dispelling many of the myths about British people’s ideas about language skills.

“I really enjoyed the survey” said Sam Pillow 16 from St Peters, “I was able to talk to people from different generations and found out that you can’t judge anyone on first impressions. One of the shoppers I spoke to is fluent in 4 different languages.”

Tom Clatworthy 16, from St Lukes, also said that his group were surprised at some of the comments. “A lot more people spoke different languages than I thought and many we spoke to were very keen to speak the local language on holiday.”

The survey of nearly 470 people showed that over half (55%) could speak another language. 75% try to speak the local language when spending time abroad and 75% of those asked said they think a language should be compulsory at GCSE level.

Holly Hollister 16, from Ottery St Mary said: “Many of the people in our survey really enjoyed using a new language so it’s wrong to assume that the British don’t try out languages. Many people we spoke to had learnt a new language for use in business.”

And the survey showed that French has been knocked off the top spot as most popular language with Spanish beating it in popularity, followed by Russian and then Italian.

Martina Esser, who heads up the Modern Foreign Languages and Classics team at Exeter College and co-ordinated the day, added: “Our students were very positive about the survey and felt that it helped to raise the profile of European languages in the college as well as in the city of Exeter. Whilst our language students were busy talking to shoppers and visitors during the morning, our cafes across the college sites were selling pain au chocolat and coffee to staff and students to mark the day. The feedback from all involved was that they enjoyed carrying out the survey and that they talked to many interesting people.
“Several students who spoke non-European languages were also given a voice – languages are alive and well in Exeter and the staff and students are looking forward to celebrating the day again next year.”

For further information, call Sylvia Jarman on 01392 205585 or sylviajarman@exe-coll.ac.uk

Exeter College is celebrating following the news that it has been shortlisted for three national awards in the new Times Educational Supplement Further Education Awards which were announced last Friday. These awards mirror the longstanding “Times Higher Educational Supplement University Awards” which recognized the University of Exeter as University of the Year in 2007/2008. Exeter College has been shortlisted for the top award of “Outstanding Provider of the Year” as well as for awards for “Leadership & Management” and for “Innovation in Teaching & Learning”.

“We are proud that we have been shortlisted in these three categories,” said Richard Atkins, Principal, “as it shows that we are delivering an outstanding service to the community. These national nominations show that Exeter College is now one of the top performing colleges in the further education sector, not only in this area but across the country. This is well deserved recognition for our excellent staff and governors”.

Gerard Kelly, editor of The TES said “The TES FE Awards are an opportunity to recognise the dedication and expertise of staff in FE who transform the lives of learners. These nominees represent some of the best of this amazing and dynamic sector.” A judging panel will select the final TES FE Award winners, which will be revealed at a ceremony on November 11th in London.

The news comes on top of the College’s record breaking A level results at the end of August and the recent news that it has been awarded ‘Centre of Excellence’ status for the A Level Extended Project for high achieving students who plan to progress to top UK and international universities.

“This is a great way to start the academic year,” said Richard Atkins “but we’re not complacent. There are challenges for students of all ages in the current economic climate but we see this national recognition as the assurance that students and employers need that the college is determined to continue to support them to achieve their full potential – whether that is through adult learning and higher education courses, through apprenticeships or through our wide range of 16 – 18 courses.”

Whilst a record number of new students are expected for their first week at the city’s college next week, those returning for their second year of studies will find the college transformed after over £1million worth of refurbishments over the summer break.

The developments, which have been carried out across all areas of Exeter College, have come as a direct result of the college’s Learner Voice student feedback and include increasing learning resource centres, adding specialist IT suites and curriculum areas and refurbishing social spaces for the students who come from across the city and the heart of Devon.

“Our Learner Voice programme encourages students of all ages to have their say about their college and they are always so positive about how we listen to their views. It helps us to prioritise the improvements, knowing they will make a real difference to the student experience at college and ensures we keep up to date with curriculum and industry innovations. We’re one of the few colleges in the country who are still investing in student facilities given the difficult economic climate and students are already telling us how much they approve of the changes we’ve made.”

Shilan Keskin 17 studying A levels said “I really like the changes especially the larger resource centres, the bright vibrant colours and the new ATM machine at the Hele site. It means I can get everything I need on the campus.”
Shani Walker, 17 from Teign School was one of the tutor reps very closely involved in the Learner Voice programme throughout the year and added “It’s great that all of the changes we’ve asked for have happened so quickly. We were keen to have more IT in the resource centres since they’re so well used and I’m really looking forward to coming back to college next week.”
Victoria Fenton 17, from West Exe really liked the bright colours around the college saying they were uplifting and was really pleased that the college had put in an ATM for students and staff

As well as increasing the capacity of the learning resource centres – already winners of a prestigious national Beacon Award – to answer the growing demand for on-line and traditional resources to complement classroom and workshop study, the college has also created temperature controlled areas within the city centre Victoria House, Laurence and Ted Wragg buildings for business, sports, hospitality, hair, beauty and foundation studies students. Specialist curriculum areas have also been created such as a bespoke forensic science lab now included in the enhanced Baker Building on the Hele Road site.

Whilst the majority of the investment has been in curriculum and learning areas the college has also acted on student feedback about their social spaces improving recycling facilities, adding a much-needed ATM machine and enhancing the decoration across the college sites to provide safe and friendly spaces for students.

With the summer break over, the college’s building programme is now focusing on the creation of a brand new cutting edge sport and fitness centre due to open before Christmas complementing the high performance sports, leisure and tourism faculty, as well as the development of the Technology Centre being built on the outskirts of the city which will transform the engineering, automotive and aerospace training at the college, concentrating industry standard workshops and laboratories on one site and is due to open in Sept 2012.

“This extensive summer programme has followed the exciting building programme of the college over the last 5 – 7 years “concluded John Laramy “and the impact of this considerable investment is seen not only in the students’ results but also in their aspirations and ambition to reach the top – as recently evidenced by 9 of our students progressing to Oxford or Cambridge Universities this autumn. This puts Exeter College firmly on the map for students reaching these top destinations”.

Students from all over Exeter and Devon are joining Exeter College staff this morning to celebrate an outstanding 99.75% overall A level pass rate, beating all previous records.

Of the 600 16 – 18 year olds taking A levels this summer at the college, over half (53.2%) gained grades A*, A or B across a wide range of 36 subjects. Of these, 32 subjects recorded 100% pass rate for all its students.

Students taking maths and science subjects particularly excelled, with 60% of Further Maths and 44% of Maths students (1 in 5) gaining the top A* or A grades, as well as Physics, Biology and Chemistry all recording 100% pass rates with over 30% of their students gaining the prestigious A* and A grades.

Other popular subjects were also recording brilliant results with 42% of the 124 students taking English Literature gaining A* and A grades and 36% of the 77 students taking History gaining these top marks.

Richard Atkins, Principal said, “This year we’ve seen the highest pass rate and the highest proportion of A*, A and B grades for students. With the pressure mounting on university places we are delighted that these results give individual students the best chance of entering the university of their first choice, as well as embarking on their chosen careers.”

The Reach Academy students – set up to support academically gifted students to reach the top class universities – has seen its first set of results and students have been very successful in gaining places at either Oxbridge, ‘Russell’ or ‘1994’ groups of universities.
With competition for university places being so fierce, Exeter College is providing additional support on the day for students anxious about university choices. The college’s own dedicated team of information, advice and guidance specialists will be on hand to offer practical advice and support – enhancing the work done within the tutorial and progression programme at the college throughout the year. The college’s own higher education team will also be providing help and a mini ‘clearing’ system of its own to ensure that students who have applied for one of the wide range of higher education opportunities at the college.

“I’d like to congratulate all the students and staff at college who have worked so hard this year,” said Richard Atkins. “These results, plus our earlier successes with the International Baccalaureate qualification and our very pleasing vocational results, mean that students have a ‘passport’ to university and their future careers. We have much to celebrate and we are delighted that we continue to show year on year improvements helping students in what is such a competitive university and job market. These results illustrate why so many young people choose to travel from across Devon, Exeter and Torbay to continue their studies at Exeter College”

EXETER College International Baccalaureate (IB) students are celebrating after receiving world-class results.

Two IB students achieved results that have placed them within the top 1% in the world.

Student Ariadne Lyroudia, aged 18, of Pinhoe, Exeter, scored 44 out of a possible 45 points, landing her a place at Cambridge University to read Law.

The former Clyst Vale Community College student thanked her teachers, who she described as “experts in their field” and said of the course: “It is a massive challenge, but so rewarding. I have gained a mountain of knowledge from my course over two years. The IB is incredible and gives people the opportunity to truly develop as people.”

The 28 students completing their two-year diploma this year, achieved average points of 31.8. Many students gained top marks in their subjects, with 20 top scores of grade 7.

IB students take six different subjects, as opposed to the three traditionally taken by A level students. In addition to studying core subjects, such as Maths, English, Languages, Sciences and Arts, candidates also complete an extended essay and voluntary work.

As an internationally recognised qualification, the IB is particularly attractive to students who may wish to continue their studies abroad.

Izabela Wigier, aged 18, from Sidmouth, moved to England from Poland 5 years ago. Achieving a score of 40 out of a possible 45 has secured her place at the University of Exeter to read Economics. She says: “I loved the versatility of the course – being able to take 6 subjects and pursue all of my interests and it also gives me the option to go back to Poland with a recognizable qualification.”

Julen Beer, aged 17, from Exminster, moved to the area from Spain and has gained a place at university in Bilbao, Spain, to study Business Management later this year. He said “I’ve loved the course and the people I have met. It is a real challenge, but really worth it. Studying the IB means I have been accepted into a Spanish university.”

Exeter College was one of the first in the country to offer the IB 18 years ago, and was the first in Devon to do so.

Jane Russell, Head of English Languages, Communication, Classics and IB, says: “When you have achieved an IB Diploma, the world really is your oyster. The IB diploma has currency in a global capacity. We are all very proud of the students’ achievements and expect them to widen their horizons in their future progression to university and employment”.

For further information about studying the IB and other courses at Exeter College, visit www.exe-coll.ac.uk or contact Admissions on 0845 111 6000. For further general information about the IB, visit: www.ibo.org.

An unusual but winning collaboration of an international rock star, the UK aviation industry and local media students resulted in an educational safety video that was launched this week and already has You Tube success of 30,000 hits.

The Foundation Degree TV Production students from Exeter College were commissioned to produce the training video ‘Safety in the Balance’ as part of a joint initiative between the Civil Aviation Authority and UK Aviation industry and found themselves working face to face with legendary Iron Maiden star Bruce Dickinson.

“We were approached by the CAA who had seen the work we’d completed for Flybe”, said Atila Mustafa the College’s TV and Video Production curriculum adviser, “They wanted us to produce a training video that could be used across the aviation industry in the UK and abroad promoting the importance of improving safety standards. Since the course at College is heavily focused on commercial experience we were delighted to take up the challenge.”

The project, started in 2010, was filmed at a number of airports and used as many aircraft types as possible to ensure that it has a universal appeal to the industry. And heading up the video was Bruce Dickinson, who hung up his rock star image and reverted to his role as an Astraeus Airlines Captain and qualified Crew Resource Management Instructor.

Toby Morgan, media student said “Working with a global superstar was a daunting prospect but we needn’t have worried.” Daniel Wiseman from Exeter noted that “This was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I’ve worked on and it was fantastic working on such a high profile film and to deliver such an important message.”

The project gave the media students a real insight into how things come together and how media projects evolve. Atila commented “Bruce Dickinson was a real pro and a natural teacher. He shared his knowledge with the students willingly and was very patient as the students set up shots. The CAA Aircraft Loading Inspector and focal point of the project, Jason Sandever, oversaw the project keeping everyone on their toes, demanding outstanding quality and attention to details – we wish all producers were like him.”

Kirsten Riensema, Chair of the Ground Handling Operations Safety Team which is committed to developing strategies to reduce the safety risks from aircraft ground handling and ground support activities said “Loading errors account for a significant number of safety incidents reported to the CAA” Aviation organisations are being encouraged to make the video required viewing for a wide range of personnel including dispatch personnel, airline management and flight deck and cabin crew.

Lesley Ross from Newton Abbot completed the project saying it was “a fantastic collaborative project between organisations, companies, colleagues, students, staff, clients and rock stars”.

Following the good news that planning permission has been granted for the exciting new £8.3m Technology Centre at Monkerton, Exeter College staff are now concentrating on firming up the green plans for the building that promises to be a world class centre for technology.

“It’s a key objective that this new development minimizes its impact on the surrounding environment” said Rebecca King, Deputy Principal, “The sustainability of the building plans have been central to our discussions and we’re proud that this has resulted in the positive reaction from the planning departments since as we all know construction and buildings have a significant impact on energy consumption in the United Kingdom”.

Plans for the centre, that will combine the training and teaching of automotive, engineering and aerospace students include :
• Reducing the building load by maximising opportunities for energy conservation.
• Reusing energy where practicably possible.
• Renewing energy where practically possible with natural resources such as daylight, passive solar and wind.
• Minimising contribution to ozone depletion, global warming, air and water pollution.

Such an important building project has depended on the sustainable building service strategy at the college which aims to minimize energy consumption, by using passive and efficient active systems and to source as much as possible of the building’s energy, from renewable resources. The effect of these strategies will reduce the ‘carbon footprint’ of the building thus reducing the environmental impact associated with carbon emissions.

In addition to sourcing energy from renewable resources, the strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of the building will be to reduce overall building load, by utilising energy efficient systems throughout.

The building form and orientation has been optimised within the site constraints.
• The building fabric will be designed to a high standard to reduce heat losses and maximise air tightness.
• After limiting the areas of glazing used, external shading and solar control glazing on eastern, southern and western facades will reduce external solar gains to the building.
• Natural ventilation will be used, wherever possible, to reduce the energy associated with mechanical ventilation and cooling. Exposed mass will be used extensively to moderate temperature swings within the occupied spaces and to allow for night-time cooling
• Natural daylight will be utilized, wherever possible, to reduce the energy use associated with electric lighting. Electric lighting will be switched using presence-detection and will be controlled to allow for daylight dimming.
• New wall hung modular boiler plant will be high efficiency condensing models with low NOx pollutants. New cooling plant will be efficient with high coefficients of performance (COP) and low ozone depletion potential and global-warming potential
• In all ventilation systems heat will be recovered from exhaust air and used to preheat intake air. Heat recovery systems, which include heat exchangers, will be used.
• Plumbing systems will use gravity techniques to eliminate pumping energy and to control excessive flows at taps and outlets.

“Our goal is to ensure that the build process and final centre will achieve the BREEAM industry standard “Very Good”, said Steve Strang, head of estates “and obviously we will be compliant with the requirements of Building Regulations Part L (2006). Whilst economic sustainability is also a critical consideration in any project, the emphasis on our goals of energy efficiency and renewable energy use reflect our commitment as a Green College.”

It is now one year since Exeter College started their Sustainability Journey in earnest, when they asked the EAUC to conduct a Sustainability Audit. Whilst lots of good things were already happening, they were unstructured, and often unseen. Since then, the Exeter College has made impressive headway, with focus through the now well-established Sustainability Group; and an understanding of what all areas of the College – and wider community – can do, particularly together.

The College were always keen that the Sustainability Group would include College partners as well as staff and students, and this approach is certainly proving advantageous and one they would recommend to others. The Hair and Beauty department are presently working with Exeter City Council (both represented on the Sustainability Group) to see how viable it is to recycle foil from treatments. This relationship has facilitated trials to determine what items can be recycled and under what conditions. The learning from this will be valuable initially throughout Exeter City as the Council will have a better understanding of additional waste that can be recycled; and offer learning further afield as the results of the study are shared.

Steve Strang, Ambassador for Sustainability, and Head of Estates, has a steady plan for leading the sustainability progress. Working as part of the day-to-day focus in Estates, good central practice is already underway. The next step is greater engagement within the wider community. As Steve and his team already visit each department within their Estates role, adding Sustainability to this is straightforward to implement, and firmly on the action plan. Combining the sustainability role into a role that already works across the organisation is certainly working for Exeter College.

The learning from the Urban Garden project continues. Steve reflects that it was “great to get students involved in a one-off project, but the greater learning experience will come when it’s part of the long-term curriculum”. The grant suited the purpose of getting the Garden started. The curriculum leaders are now planning how the garden can be used as part of courses, including foundation studies; maths and science; and adult and evening courses.

PRESS RELEASE

Adults thinking of re-training, qualifying or learning something new and interesting will get help to pick the right course at an Adult Learning Fair in the city tomorrow.

Exeter College is holding its dedicated adult learning information event at the Hele Road campus from 5pm – 8pm where visitors will be able to talk to tutors, find out more about study options and discover the huge range of courses that can be taken at the College’s facilities or in community and school venues across the city from September.

Rachel Iles, head of student experience at the college says “People have been approaching us about what will be on offer from September and there really is something for everyone. There are literally hundreds of courses ranging from vocational to leisure and from basic numeracy and literacy courses, to GCSEs, Steps to A levels and NVQs and higher education qualifications.”

She continues, “Adults are asking us for courses that will help them retrain so that they can secure the career they’re keen on or that they want to get further qualifications so that they can get the promotion they want in their current job. And more and more we are talking to adults who also want to learn new skills just to enjoy themselves and discover new talents.

“We’re particularly keen to encourage adults who perhaps feel they missed out on education during their school years to come to the fair and find out more about the range of courses on offer.”

At the event there will be a diverse range of stands representing each subject area from Art and Design, hospitality, hair and beauty, business solutions, sport and leisure and staff from the college will be on hand to answer questions. Visitors will also be able to pick up a copy of the new Adult Learning Guide, to be launched at the event and enrol on the spot if they wish.

Rachel notes that as adults with busy lives it is easy to put off further studies. She adds “Whether you’d like to train to become a teacher, read law or learn cake decoration, we have so many adult learning courses. Even if you are unsure what you want to do next, it is definitely worth coming along to find out what’s on offer”

For further information, call Sylvia Jarman on 01392 205585 or sylviajarmanr@exe-coll.ac.uk