PRC Voice - Edition 6

PRC VOICE LATEST NEWS FROM PETERBOROUGH REGIONAL COLLEGE ISSUE 6 SPRING/SUMMER 2012

ment Explore and experi h at the Peterboroug Science Festival

ed as Music student pick st e one of the world’s b s! rist undiscovered guita

its Apprentice star vis PRC for National ek Apprenticeship We

Ofsted Special Edition Centre pages

Film Star Inspires Students A visit from Warwick Davis

Awards & Achievements PRC receive more awards For all the latest news and updates follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Farwell Martin Martin Fisher, PRC’s Chair of the Corporation Board of Governors, retired in May 2012 having served in the role for over a decade. Martin joined the Board of Governors in 1996 and was elected as Chairman in 2001. Speaking of his tenure, Martin said “During my association with the College and my time on the Corporation Board both as a member and a Chairman, I have represented the College at many meetings and events during which I have met many wonderful people. But some of my lasting memories will be those of the numerous student and staff achievements over the years, the awards, national and local that they have received. The successes that have come through hard work and determination are to be admired”.

Welcome from the Principal I am delighted that this edition of PRC Voice shares the excellent outcome of our Ofsted Inspection in December. It is a tremendous endorsement of the work of staff and students alike and there is much to celebrate about the work of the College. We will continue our drive for excellence in accordance with our mission and values.

The economic climate continues to be challenging and the announcement of a dip back into recession makes the role of the College ever important. In response to the high unemployment we have had much success through our employment service and the sector-based work academies. This work has now spread into Wisbech as a result of local demand. The employment service has supported over 200 individuals back into work since its creation last year. We recognise the youth unemployment locally and ensure that our courses develop employability skills as well as attainment of qualifications. In September we launch our Enterprise Strategy and the learning companies designed to create entrepreneurship amongst our young learners. In May we launch our partnership with the Digital Youth Academy to provide further specialist apprenticeship opportunities for 16-18 year olds.

University Centre Peterborough continues to support local higher education. The recent visit from the Quality Assurance Agency confirmed the high quality teaching and learning across the 34 undergraduate and postgraduate degree pathways. University Centre Peterborough will also be publicising the lower than average fee rate and the financial support mechanisms for local students over the forthcoming weeks.

We continue working to meet the needs of our communities. As the largest education and training provider in Greater Peterborough we are proud that our results are above national averages in all our work and that Ofsted now rate us as ‘good with outstanding features’.

Angela Joyce Principal & CEO

“The contribution made by the dedicated staff stands out as a prime factor in the success of the College. They are the people who have helped make the College what it is today – one of the very best in the region. I wish all those involved with PRC further success in the years to come”.

Principal, Angela Joyce said “The College has been very lucky and privileged to have had someone as dedicated as Martin in this key role of strategic oversight.

His help and guidance have been invaluable over the years in directing the College to where it is today. My colleagues and I would like to thank Martin for his contribution and wish him every success in his future”.

Results from our Parent/Guardian/Carer Survey It is pleasing to learn that parents/ guardians/carers value the information, application and interview process and felt that these processes provided learners with enough information to help them select the right course.

16% of parents/guardians/carers disagree that the College provides an appropriate home to college transport service. This is a slight (1.5%) increase from last year.

A few parents/guardians/carers felt that the College does not provide an appropriate range of extra curricular activities, whilst interestingly almost a third of respondents felt the provision of extra curricula activities did not apply.

There are extra activities available on a daily basis and it is important that all fulltime learners take the opportunities available to them. Quite a number of learners state that they find there are times in the College day when they have nothing to do.

Another improving trend showed that 98% feel that enquiries are handled satisfactorily on first contact with the College. For example 91% felt that they were given some or all of the information regarding equipment and uniform required for the course. This is a 2% increase from last year.

Another improving trend is that this year 96% of parents/guardians/carers who agree that the College has the right range of courses to meet the needs of young people. A very high proportion of parents/guardians/carers agree that the College provides support to the level expected.

Finally a pleasing 96% of parents/ guardians/carers said that they recommend the College to others as a good place for their sons/daughters to study.

Improvements have also been made regarding parents/guardians/carers receiving information on learner progress during the course. In ONLINE SAFETY addition, although more INFORMATION parents/guardians/carers are FOR PARENTS being contacted by tutors early in the programme. PRC are Here at PRC we understand that you may at times working to improve initial feel baffled by your child’s digital world. Below are communication with some useful links which provide information and parents/guardians/carers and advice for online safety which will enable you to get to especially on informing them grips with the latest technology, get involved with of unauthorised absence. what your kids are doing online and help them stay in control. http://parents.vodafone.com/introduction lwww.childnet.com

l

Upcoming Events r Datesdfiaory your

& Y A D N E OP

’ O G A E V ‘H A m p 8 m p 6 ne u J 8 1 y a d Mon iss out on ar so don’t m be on e y ic m e d a tors will of the ac st open day mber. Our tu vening la te e p e th S is is is th h e T urs ime and e r perfect co of full, part-t e g n taster starting you ra e id the w number of a ss g u on, c in is n d n to ru , constructi hand lso be re a a l c il d w il h e c W , n r. offe itality art & desig courses on ssing, hosp ccounting, re a d g ir a in h d , lu g c n engineeri nd much sessions in nce, sport a ry therapies, ie ta sc n e s, rt m a le g p com rformin g, media, pe ou apply! and caterin try before y n a c u o y o more. S te at n our websi o le b a il a v a hat s ster session d find out w n ta a f o k o g lo in a st li e k A full k so ta ce. orough.ac.u ook your pla www.peterb ng and how you can b fferi we will be o

Other dates for your diary Results and Advice Days Whatever the outcome of your exam results, we are here for you. Come and get advice and guidance at our Results Days. These sessions are for all students, whether you want to check your application with us, or just help with your next step. Our advice days will take place in the College Main Hall. w Thursday 16th & Friday 17th August 2012 - 10am to 4pm w Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th August 2012 - 10am to 4pm

Part-time Enrolment We will be enrolling for part-time courses from Monday 18th June at our Open Day & ‘Have a Go Day’.

You can also enrol throughout the Summer, but don’t leave it too late as places fill up fast!

Saturday Enrolment Day If you can’t make it during the week to enrol for a course, we will be offering an enrolment day on Saturday 8th September between 10am - 2pm in the College Main Hall.

The Sound of Soul 29th June 2012 at 7.30pm Our talented second year BTEC Music Performance students are bringing an evening of Soul classics and toe-tapping Funk to the Key Theatre on 29th June, with a selection of some of the greatest Soul and Funk hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Featuring favourites from Motown, Atlantic and Stax records. There will be great tunes from the likes of James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, plus modern numbers from the Chilli Peppers, Aloe Black and Alicia Keys.

Tickets are £10 each and are available from the Key Theatre Box Office.

Call 01733 207239 for further information.

Excellence in Skills Award Ceremony Our very own annual awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 5th July 2012. The ceremony celebrates the individual achievements by learners at the College.

Term Dates End of term 29th June 2012 Start of term 3rd September 2012

Awards & Achievements

PRC receive more awards!

Effective travel methods help PRC win top award Peterborough Regional College (PRC) has won an award from Peterborough City Council for the effectiveness of its travel plans.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Travel Plan Awards were established to reward employers for the work being undertaken in preparing and implementing workplace travel plans.

PRC has its very own Transport Specialist, who has been constantly improving the travel methods for the College since 2009. They also actively promote alternatives to driving to work, such as walking, cycling, car share and public transport.

The College is the very first further education establishment to win this award within the Greater Peterborough area.

“We are really delighted to receive this Travel Plan Award. As a large employer and the major college in Peterborough we recognise the role we need to play in reducing our impact on the environment and promoting sustainable approaches to travel to and from the College. “ “We work with our staff and students to encourage different modes of travel. We are particularly pleased with the success of our College bicycles which we have provided for staff and students to use to travel between our different sites. We are also pleased with the uptake in car share, we have a number of dedicated car share parking spaces and the use of these continues to increase. We will continue to do all we can to minimise the impact of our operations on the environment.”

Vice Principal for Resources & Business Innovation at PRC, Brian Redshaw said:

It’s official - PRC are Green!

Peterborough Regional College (PRC) are proud to announce they are now 'Green', after months of hard work improving their environmental performance, they have been officially awarded Green Level Accreditation by Investors in the Environment.

Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT) and Investors in the Environment (IIE) are gathering pledges from local businesses of all sizes and encouraging them to 'Go Green' on the journey towards Peterborough becoming the UKs Environment Capital.

Peterborough Regional College set their target high, aiming for the top award, not gold but 'Green!' A tough mission for such a large college, with over 700 members of staff and over 6000 students. The criteria they needed to meet included: implementing a recycling system, taking a carbon footprint test and adopting a travel plan for employees.

Nominated 'Green Champion' at Peterborough Regional College is Health & Safety Officer, Jacqui Fleming: "We have been working towards this award for many months now and are very pleased with our progress. Environmental issues are high on many people's agendas and as a large organisation in the City, we felt strongly about leading the way.

We have made many small changes which have generated some huge results and we plan on continuing this way of working and learning”.

Following an intense audit by Peterborough Environment City Trust, the College were commended on a number of areas including how well environmental knowledge was demonstrated and promoted amongst staff and students and also excellent savings and reductions in utilities, considering the number of students has risen.

The College has also been carrying out litter pick-up sessions around the campus as well as tree planting and composting.

Kim Coley, Green Business Officer at PECT said: "It’s not often we see such a wide variety of environmental work going on within an organisation. We were greatly impressed with not only the overall performance of Peterborough Regional College, but the effort and communication that has been demonstrated to 'overachieve' in a number of areas. We look forward to using Peterborough Regional College as an example to others".

PRC will be continuing their environmental mission by improving the company's resource efficiency by a minimum of 2% in areas such as electricity, gas, water and waste to landfill in order to maintain their status.

GREEN AWARD UPDATE PRC are pleased to announce that we also won the ‘OVERALL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT’ AWARD at this year’s Investors in the Environment Awards Event.

What’s New PRC goes green with new solar courses

PRC get the ball rolling with NEW Development Centre

Peterborough Regional College will be leading the way with their new range of environmental courses launching soon at the Park Crescent campus.

Following in the footsteps of Peterborough Regional College’s successful Football and Rugby Development Centre’s, PRC will now be launching a new Basketball Development Centre starting this September.

The College is a member of the National Skills Academy (Eastern Hub) and has recently become a BPEC approved centre enabling them to deliver the Photovoltaic Systems training and assessment course, thus qualifying members of the workforce to be able to install solar panels.

BPEC, the leading provider of training and certification within the Building Services Engineering sector has awarded PRC with their approval to run these new industry programmes, making them the only centre in the region specialising in the Solar PV training.

The demand for solar panels across the UK has increased dramatically during recent times due to local government funding, encouraging residents to switch to renewable energies and a better general awareness of 'being green' amongst residents.

There are currently not enough qualified solar PV installers in the country so staff at PRC are anticipating their new course will be very popular. This course will be starting alongside a range of other BPEC approved courses, for example rainwater harvesting and water regulations.

PRC rugby celebrates a newly formed relationship with Leicester Tigers Peterborough Regional College Rugby Development Centre has recently formed a community link with Leicester Tigers who support the Development Centre in the delivery of rugby specific coaching sessions such as strength, conditioning and player nutrition.

Adam Copperwheat, Leicester Tigers Rugby Development Officer recently visited the College and provided an intense training session with the rugby players. He said: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to support the good work being done at PRC and hope to be able to support them more in the oncoming years with their rugby development”.

The Rugby Development Centre has grown massively over the past 2 years, including successes like students Matt Willis and Vernon Horne being called up to the England Colleges team. The Development Centre also won the BCS (British Colleges Sport) League in 2011 coupled with growing, strong developmental links with both Leicester Tigers and Cambridge Rugby Clubs.

In addition, the Football Development Centre at PRC goes from strength to strength under the guidance and coaching of new partners Peterborough United with strong results against a number of other college and development centre teams.

The new basketball course will follow the same format, with student athletes completing a Level 2 or Level 3 BTEC in Sport qualification plus an additional 12 hours per week of coaching and match play, led by a qualified coach. The aim is the same for all Development Centre courses which is to both improve the playing ability of each learner and provide them with academic qualifications to enable them to start a career in the sports industry.

Getting ahead with Peterborough Partnership Our new collaborative provision, with City College Peterborough, provides a range of different learning opportunities for students in our Skills for Life department and has recently commenced with a new element to the programme.

In addition to developing employability, personal, social and development skills, students have been involved in a number of work experience opportunities and enterprising initiatives.

A core element of the programme includes the Duke of Edinburgh Award (Silver) which has seen the students developing their volunteering and physical skills. This has involved opportunities to get fitter. For example walks at Ferry Meadows with the Park Rangers, boxing skills at the Arena Gym, workouts at the YMCA Gymnasium in Bretton and structured swimming sessions at the Regional Swimming Pool.

The students will also soon begin their training to complete an adventurous journey in the UK for their expedition.

Olympics 2012 Let the games begin!

The countdown has started for the greatest show on earth The excitement is growing and the days are running down until the greatest show on earth starts in London on July 27th 2012. Here at PRC, we have run a number of events to celebrate the Olympic values (friendship, courage and determination, equality, inspiration and excellence).

We held our very own Olypmic games on May 2nd and we were blessed with a dry day (which was amazing considering the very wet weather we had either side of the day). The opening address was done by Richard Hilliard, Vice Principal (Curriculum) followed by a dance routine by our very own PRC dance team.

There were games for everyone from physical activity to mental agility. Each curriculum team was assigned an Olympic country to represent to give it a more international appeal.

The ultimate frizbee competition attracted a very good entry and the relatively new sport proved to be very popular and keenly contested with Ireland (sport students) winning gold over Germany (engineering craft students) taking the silver, bronze went to Russia (maths students).

The most fiercely contested final had to be the volleyball competition with a confident Irish team (sport) finally taking second place to an excellent Australian team (engineering professional students). The noise and excitement in the sports hall was tremendous.

Boccia (a precision sport of throwing balls as close to a target as possible) gave all participants an expose to a popular Paralympic sport. All competitors had to compete from a seated position, but this still produced some very accurate throwing with a close final being won by Ireland (sport students) over Poland (construction craft students) with only millimetres separating them. Portugal (hairdressing students) came a close third for the bronze medal.

Good old favourites from the primary schools sports days made up the pentathlon event with a mix of bean bag, balancing, bean bag pick up, egg and spoon race and the sack race with the fifth event being a relay of all four of the others. Even though it was obvious that there was so much fun being had by all it was keenly contested with Ireland (sport students) again taking the gold with Great Britain and Northern Ireland (complementary therapies students) taking the silver, Portugal (Hairdressing students) took the bronze.

PRC Student selected to be a torch bearer

Congratulations to team Ireland (which was made up of students on sports courses). They were the overall winners of the event and came away with three gold and two silver medals from the event. Well done!

Image above shows team Ireland receiving their trophy with event organiser Paul Cooper.

Congratulations to ICT student David Alan Cottom who has been chosen to be one of the torch bearers to carry the Olympic flame through the city

Students design wall art in preparation for the Olympics As part of the ongoing celebrations of the London Olympic Games, Level 3 Art & Design students at Peterborough Regional College have designed and painted an Olympic mural onto their common room wall.

The Olympic wall depicts all elements of the Olympic values and it is clear that the students have taken these on board when working together in order to complete the project.

As part of their coursework, a total of 24 BTEC students submitted potential designs, from which elements of five of

these designs were chosen to incorporate into the mural. Ten students then spent four days transferring the designs on to the 20 metre long wall.

Art tutor at PRC David Lewis said: “It was a difficult task to choose from designs submitted as the standard of work was very high. Nevertheless the final outcome has exceeded my expectations. I am very pleased and proud of the creative effort and sheer hard work that the students put into the project”

Image shows the Olympic mural in the student common room.

PRC get into the Olympic spirit with the Gold Challenge walk

Students share their dreams with Olympic swimmer

To raise money for Sue Ryder (the chosen charity

by PRC students), both staff and students took part in a Gold Challenge mass walk.

Olympic swimmer, Suki Brownsdon paid a visit to PRC and provided our sports students with an inspirational talk about her experiences.

The bronze medalist competed in three of the Olympic Games throughout the 80s and 90s.

The challenge was for each person who took part, to pay £1 and walk 1km around the College campus. We ran the event over 5 days which gave as many people as possible the opportunity to take part.

Students studying the BTEC Level 3 Travel & Tourism course helped to organise the challenge which contributed to one of their study units of organising an event.

The College received a great response from this event and raised approximately £800 which will be donated to Sue Ryder. Well done to all those that got into the Olympic spirit and took part in this challenge.

Suki was invited to speak of her experiences as an Olympic athlete, what it takes to be an athlete and tips on nutrition.

Olympic Project Manager, Paul Cooper says: “It’s such a great opportunity when we can have Olympic athletes come and share their experiences with our students. 2012 is such an important and special year and we are planning lots of exciting activities and events based on an Olympic theme. Suki’s presentation definitely left the students more aware and able to understand the values of the Olympic Games.”

Image shows Bronze medalist and former Olympic swimmer Suki Brownsdon.

Look What’s Been Going on At PRC January 2012 Students get creative at Art Festival Peterborough Arts Festival was back for one week only in January with an array of events including Bollywood dancing out in the community, an art exhibition and workshops from industry professionals. Organised by Peterborough Regional College (PRC) and University Centre Peterborough (UCP), the arts festival encourages students to get involved at the fun workshops such as the Thick Skin theatre company, theatre show designed to unearth new talent.

Meanwhile Adrian Bushby, an award-winning music engineer, joined the festival in a range of workshops. Radio Cambridgeshire presenter and BBC sports journalist, Paul Stainton staged several seminars across the week giving tips and career information.

Other events throughout the week included Oliver Twist remaining utterly true to Dickens’ novel, this new version of the classic tale was first staged in 2004 at the Lyric Hammersmith. It was performed by PRC Subsidiary Diploma Performing Arts students and directed by College lecturer Jason Mitchell, using narration and a very visual storytelling style.

Our performing arts students also put on a performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

The festival also included an art exhibition and Bollywood workshops.

Event organiser Liz Knight said “The purpose of the Arts Festival is to inspire performers, artists and journalists. The events and workshops are all free to schools and colleges to come along to across Peterborough - we hope to continue to run it for many years to come. ” The five-day festival now in its second year has many students around the college getting involved with the events of photography, art, theatre performances and writing competitions.

This year also marked 200 years since Dickens’ birth so it was a chance to celebrate the bicentenary of the nation’s favourite story-teller with a fast-past production of one of his most gripping tales, full of unforgettable characters.

Image shows peforming arts students in their production of Oliver Twist.

Film star inspires college students Harry Potter star Warwick Davis paid a visit to PRC to give a talk to our students studying on the BTEC in Performing Arts and Production Arts course.

Warwick spoke about working in the industry and what it is like to have make-up applied for four hours before his day of work even begins. He said: “I think it’s always good to go and talk to make-up students, it’s important for them to see the other side and hear from actors. I consider it a team effort to create a character and it is important to stress that to the make-up artists. It is also good to speak to performing arts students. You can do all the training but not get a sense of what it’s like in the industry”.

Warwick explained to students that wearing the heavy silicon-based latex for the role of Professor Flitwick in Harry Potter was unpleasant and made breathing, eating and drinking difficult, but was a price worth paying for the character. He also showed students a film of the makeup being applied.

Diversity Day Celebrations This was the 6th annual Diversity Day that Peterborough Regional College have held, involving staff, students and external partners in putting on a variety of colourful and vibrant activities.

There were many different stalls for students to look around and get involved with, from delicious food stands to Henna painting. The aim of the event was to promote awareness and understanding of respect, equality and diversity and general community cohesion.

The live Bangra music really got people off their feet, with the infectious drumming, staff and students were encouraged to get up and take part.

Other demonstrations included Irish dancing and traditional Molly dancing as well as live music and DJ sets all in the College’s main hall.

Mohammed Sarfraz, Learner Involvement & Diversity Advisor at PRC said: “We are very proud of the popularity of our Diversity Day event and the positive messages it conveys about different aspects of diversity. The College’s Respect Campaign has worked extremely hard to make this a huge and successful event. “

February 2012 Tables are turned for Apprenticeship Week Apprentice star’s advice to get hired

The Apprenticeship team in the College hosted a number of fun events throughout Apprenticeship Week, from information stands for current college students to gain more knowledge and check vacancies, to a ‘bake off’ competition.

The training and placement advisors within the Apprenticeship Centre spent a day in the apprentices’ shoes to see who would become ‘The Apprentice’.

The day involved five training and placement advisors trying a variety of roles including: hairdressing, childcare, motor vehicle and engineering, competing against each other, with one team member being ‘fired’ after each session.

The Apprenticeship team ended the week with a friendly bake off to see who could make the best sponge cake, all using the same ingredients and facilities.

The judges were a hospitality and catering apprentice and their employer.

On Tuesday 7th February, ‘The Apprentice’ star Lee McQueen visited the College to give advice to our fulltime students and apprentices.

Lee shot to fame after winning season four of ‘The Apprentice’ and landing himself the sought after £100,000 a year job, working alongside Lord Sugar. More recently, Lee set up his own venture, Raw Talent Academy, with the aim of placing internal sales academies within small to medium businesses and corporate organisations and encouraging them to look at the wider talent available in the UK, not just graduates. An expert in this area, after working in recruitment himself for over 11 years as well as being an employer of sales talent for almost 8 years.

McQueen is a strong believer of judging the calibre of new recruits on their personality and enthusiasm for the role rather than just what’s written on their CV. He said: “Apprenticeships are a great route into work and their importance is being recognised more and more in the current economic climate, for students not looking to go the 'traditional' route via University they are perfect for showing their skills.”

Lee also hosted an employer and networking event with the Apprenticeship team and their business partners in Parcs Restaurant that evening, to convey the strong message of apprentices to local business.

Image shows ‘The Apprentice’ star Lee Mcqueen with students who are studying an apprenticeship.

Images below show our training and placement advisors taking part in their challenges to become ‘The Apprentice’.

Above image shows them in our board room with Brian Redshaw, Vice Principal (Resources and Business Innovation) acting as Sir Alan Sugar.

Library+ celebrate Dickens’ 200th birthday To celebrate Dickens’ birthday on 7th February this year, Library+ hosted lunchtime readings from his novels read by performing arts students who had performed in the College’s performance of Oliver Twist.

The anniversary was also promoted by a display in Library+ and included very old editions of Dickens works, lent to Library+ by business lecturer Chris Pursehouse. Literacy Support Co-ordinator Alison Marsh (pictured here with Library+ Manager Claire Chinnery) was the worthy winner of our Dickens quiz.

Look What’s Been Going on At PRC February 2012 Building for the future Peterborough Regional College is pleased to announce that the new art and brickwork building is officially open.

The building was opened on 9th February by the Mayor of Peterborough, Cllr Paula Thacker MBE, and Chair of the Corporation Board, Martin Fisher, who the building was named after.

Our art rooms previously were dotted around the campus, but this now means we have a large well equipped unit especially for art and design. This involves fashion, fine art, graphics, 3D, interior design and more.

The new bricklaying areas will be well used by our Level 1 and 2 City & Guilds learners in bricklaying as well as units in our BTEC in Construction qualifications. The College also coordinate a Trowel Occupations Apprenticeship, where students attend the new building on day release from their employers.

The College invested £1.3 million on this new facility. The new workshop will increase our capacity enabling us to accommodate more students. It will also enable us to deliver the best experience possible in preparation for university or a career in the art and design industry. The extra brickwork facility will assist us in providing even more skilled workers for the local market.

Drivers learn a shock lesson Students at PRC have witnessed first hand the grim realities of a car crash as part of a hard-hitting road safety campaign.

The ‘For My Girlfriend’ campaign runs nationally every year and this is the 10th Year the Safer Peterborough Partnership has staged the demonstration.

Over this time the number of 17-25 year old casualties on the city’s roads has fallen from 240 in 2002 to 152 in 2011.

The campaign asks young male drivers to think about the consequences of speeding or driving after drinking or taking drugs. It also encourages girls to speak out and tell their male friends and boyfriends to slow down in the car.

Ben Cowley and Tiffany Moles who are both PRC students, were given a dramatic makeover for the roles of driver and passenger who were released from the wreckage by the fire service.

Firefighters, working with paramedics from the ambulance service, treated the scene as a real-life incident, using specialist cutting equipment and a spinal board. The scenario provides a reality check for youngsters and shows the serious nature of being involved in a road traffic collision.

College celebrates LGBT History Month Peterborough Regional College celebrated the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month in February this year. The event was organised in partnership with HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, with the aim to provide information, raise awareness and promote the lives of the LGBT community.

Images show the new art and brickwork building ‘The Fisher Centre’ along with Cllr Paula Thacker MBE and Chair of the Corporation Board Martin Fisher at the grand opening.

LGBT History Month is an annual event which is promoted amongst staff and students at the College, providing information on the contributions and achievements of the LGBT community. Local and national organisations were also present at the College event offering information advice and guidance to visitors.

Nicholas Crippa, Diversity Champion for PRC says: “We are really pleased to be working with Terrence Higgins Trust in celebrating the contributions that people make to society, in particular LGBT people. I look forward to this event every year and believe it is extremely important to raise awareness and provide information on this subject to students”.

March 2012 World Book Day 2012 Following on from the Dickens’ event hosted in February. Library+ held a second event to celebrate World Book Day on 1st March. The event included Library staff encouraging staff and students to write short stories and take part in quizzes. Library+ Assistant Keren Thompson said: “We were delighted at the enthusiastic response to our competitions”.

Also on 1st March, Library+ Manager Claire Chinnery went with catering staff and students to the Central Library in Peterborough where pupils from local primary schools heard stories read by the library staff and then decorated Easter biscuits made by the PRC catering students.

Kathryn Wallis, Learning Resources Coordinator went on to say: “It was great to have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the curriculum with all these events. Students and staff had a great time and a real opportunity to talk about and encourage a love of reading”.

Sport Relief 2012 Sport Relief took place throughout the nation in March this year and PRC got involved by taking part in a number of events organised by our sport tutors in order to raise money for this great cause.

First up, a departmental quiz was held where members of staff were encouraged to get into teams and compete against one another in a general knowledge quiz. Each team paid an entry fee, which was donated to Sport Relief. The quiz was held in our on-site restaurant and proved to be a successful evening which staff members thoroughly enjoyed.

The main event was our sports staff challenging themselves to a 24 hour cycle held in our student common room which ran from 9.15am till 9.15am the following day. The objective for the team was to complete as many cumalative miles as possible within the 24 hour period. Well done to those who took part in this gruelling challenge.

The team cycled 1057 miles and raised approximately £1000 which is a fantastic achievement.

Image shows sports staff and students completing the 24 hour cycle and raising money for Sport Relief.

April 2012 Nursery children meet mini beasts of the world!

Children at Peterborough Regional College’s nursery were treated to an exciting visit from the Zoo Lab, where they were introduced to a whole range of small creatures including millipedes, spiders and snakes.

The Zoo Lab are the only national company offering a range of curriculum relevant animal workshops in schools and take great pride in their long record as a safe and trusted part of the educational establishment. They deliver imaginative animal handling workshops to children across the UK and Northern Ireland and ensure that their Zoo Lab Rangers are motivated, inspirational and environmentally aware.

The nursery believes this educational visit is extremely important as it allows children to get up close and investigate unusual creatures and animals. This particular session was about movement and learning, which creatures have bones and which ones don’t. The activity got the children moving around the room wriggling and showing their muscles as well as meeting mini beasts/creatures including snakes, spiders, a hissing cockroach, giant African snails, rats, stick insects and millipedes.

Nursery childrens springtime cheer for older residents The College Nursery children provided some Spring cheer to residents at Park House Nursing Home.

The children wore hats with bunny ears and sang Easter songs. They also presented residents with Easter cards which they had created themselves.

Brogan Rainey, pre-school room leader at the nursery said: “We went over with daffodils and hot cross buns and sang some Easter songs to get the residents of the home into the Easter spirit. It is an activity to get children involved in community life and they really enjoyed it”.

Business Solutions

Professional training for businesses Local College’s Work Academy Success Peterborough Regional College’s new sector based work academies are growing rapidly across the city, helping more and more unemployed residents claiming JSA or ESA, find work. They are now working with many local employers to try and combat the shocking unemployment figures reported earlier this year.

PRC celebrated their first successful programme with Coca Cola Enterprise Ltd earlier in the year. Thirteen candidates attended the work academy at PRC after being referred from the Job Centre as having potential. PRC then delivered three weeks of training in subjects including customer service, interview skills, CV writing and other valuable work skills. Four of the 13 candidates have now secured permanent work with Coca Cola Enterprise Ltd as Customer Development Representatives. Louise Crockatt, Senior Professional Talent Acquisition at Coca Cola Enterprise Ltd: “Following the success of January’s Get Britain Working Academy we are delighted to be running it again. It is a great opportunity for Coca Cola Enterprises to speak to unemployed people in the community and find future talent for our business, whilst they gain further qualifications at Peterborough Regional college.“ The soft drinks giant were so impressed with the calibre of the candidates attending the academy, they planned another course to start this month to fill more roles they have available and are looking at choosing PRC to run this quarterly for them from now on in order to recruit new staff.

which offers around 4000 seasonal vacancies each year.

Working alongside recruitment agencies, they will be preparing candidates for the testing application and interview process, giving them the edge on other applicants.

Project Co-ordinator at Peterborough Regional College, Tara Forde says: “Sector based work academies have proved to be a highly successful recruitment tool for both employers and potential candidates and we are really pleased to have the opportunity to work with The Cordant Group. We plan on running a number of programmes for them, preparing a large number of candidates that have been referred to us from Job Centre Plus for warehouse roles. We will train them and prepare them for their vigorous application and interview process, giving them the edge on other applicants.”

The Harvester Group recently secured 5 new members of their team from the work academy for their new restaurant at Hampton and are now planning more joint projects with the College. Home Care Solutions are currently working with PRC hoping to recruit new Home Care assistants, with a choice of eight high quality candidates awaiting an interview date.

PRC’s team have recently made new contacts with the Wisbech Job Centre Plus, to expand their project. This new partnership is set to develop further in the next few months.

For more information on Peterborough Regional College’s sector based work academy, please contact employment@peterborough.ac.uk

Stewart Jackson, MP for Peterborough says: “I am delighted that our local businesses are investing in our young people and our future. The ongoing success of the scheme provides all involved with an exceptional foundation for future endeavours. The Regional College and their students should be very proud of the contribution that they are making to local businesses and Peterborough’s wider community”.

Staff running the programme at Peterborough Regional College say they are thrilled with the rate at which the scheme is growing, especially now that they are developing an academy to support the logistics sector in Peterborough,

Inspiring leaders of the future In a challenging economic climate, investing in personal development isn’t high on the agenda for some businesses.

However, this isn’t true at Fusion Contact Centre Services, part of Peterborough-based BGL Group, which recently celebrated the successful achievement of 22 employees from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 3 programme.

Designed to develop the skills of practising or aspiring managers, Peterborough Regional College (PRC) has been delivering the course on behalf of Fusion since 2007. In that time, 126 employees across Fusion’s three UK sites have achieved ILM qualifications.

Managing Director David Thompson invited this year’s graduates to present to 160 Team Leaders and Managers at Fusion's Team Leader Conference in December 2011. They discussed ‘Managing

Change’ and ‘Business Challenges’, detailing what they had learnt and how they have applied it to their roles. This was something to be proud of, as public speaking is something that many students say they would not do before the ILM! David Thompson said “In achieving this qualification, our students have shown real dedication and commitment. It is a solid foundation on which to build a strong career at Fusion and the BGL Group.”

Adam Mee, PRC Business and Management Curriculum Team Leader, said: “We are delighted by the support given by Fusion, along with the motivation demonstrated by all involved in the ILM journey.”

D T E T S EN F M O E PL P U S

PRC VOICE OFSTED SPECIAL EDITION

Principal, Angela Joyce successfully raising college ambitions City’s Largest Educator is Raising Aspiration Peterborough Regional College has made huge gains and is now graded ‘outstanding’ in three key areas, while improving its overall rating in the recent Ofsted inspection report of January 2012.

The inspection report noted considerable improvements at the College since the last inspection in 2008. The results confirm that the College is now rated, ‘good with outstanding features’ and states “Peterborough Regional College is a strongly improving college because of very good leadership, experienced and capable management and the unequivocal commitment of all staff to provide the very best for learners”.

During the inspection, Ofsted concluded that “learners work is good. They learn the skills they need for employment well”. They also stated “the curriculum meets the needs of a wide range of learners by providing coherent and often innovative provision”.

The College is the largest education institution serving Peterborough and serves around 8,000 students from age 14 upwards annually, specialising in vocational education, apprenticeships and skills training.

Angela Joyce, the youngest College Principal in the country, was noted in the report as having “had a profound impact” during the 18 months since her appointment in successfully raising the College’s ambition, establishing an ethos of continuous improvement and creating a strong and determined focus on improving learners’ outcomes. She said: “this inspection result is fantastic and I am very proud of all the staff and students at Peterborough Regional College. I knew we were very good at what we do for learners and employers alike and now Ofsted has confirmed this. I believe this is an excellent result for the people of Greater Peterborough and the communities we serve”.

Martin Fisher, Chair of the College’s Corporation Board, who retires in May, said: "It is very important to us to have Ofsted's confirmation that the College is doing so well in meeting the needs of the people of Peterborough and surrounding areas. I am delighted that the hard work of management and staff at PRC has been recognised. As I approach my retirement as Chair of the Corporation, it is gratifying to know that the College is in such a good position and, more importantly, that it continues to have even greater ambitions for the future."

At Peterborough Regional College we are committed to providing the very best for our learners to prepare them for employment or higher education. We have a broad curriculum which has been designed to suit the needs of both learners and employers alike. Our success rates have increased year on year which reflects a statement in the Ofsted report saying “Learners enjoy college life fully and have good attitudes to their studies”.

Outstanding Safeguarding

Grade

Here at Peterborough Regional College, we pride ourselves on the safety and wellbeing of our students.

1

This was identified in the report with Ofsted saying : “Safeguarding of learners has a very high priority and is extremely effective”.

“Learners’ awareness of health and well-being is outstanding”.

We are extremely proud of this ‘outstanding’ achievement.

‘Outstanding’

Our Wellbeing Centre is open at all times for students should they need support, whether it be medical or counselling, learner involvement and diversity, careers advice or a dedicated personal learning coach to help with their studies.

Our campus is extremely safe and we continue to ensure the safety of our learners remains a high priority.

We have access barriers at all entrances and also at various spots throughout the building where a security card or pass is needed. Everyone on site can be clearly identified by their different coloured lanyard depending on whether they are a student, staff or a visitor.

Ofsted said: “Learners’ safety is paramount and arrangements to ensure this are outstanding.”

“The very high priority placed on safeguarding of learners is immediately evident in the security system which restricts entry to buildings to those who have appropriate security clearance. “ “The College promotes learners’ awareness of specific safeguarding issues exceptionally well through displays, screens, events and training opportunities.”.

It is important that this policy is respected by all staff and students alike. We involved our public services students intermittently throughout the academic year to run barrier checks, where they ensure that all those on site are clearly displaying their access card and lanyard.

PRC were also commended on their management of health & safety throughout the College, Ofsted described it as ‘comprehensive and reliable’.

AFE S E B , E F A S FEEL

[

]

C AN YOU O US T TALK home

DING SAFEGUAR CONTACTS

ther-Dennis ents) Joanne Ha ector (Stud Executive Dir 78 gh.ac.uk )22 (76 : Tel peterborou er -dennis@ joanne.hath rse Nu ge lle Co enby Eleanor All

at ence ct l o i V • le • Neg g ullyin ce b r e b len • Cy ip Vio e h s n o i t s • Rela tional Abu o se • Em l Abu our a u x e •S ehavi e B g n i y ig • Bull ced Marra r o •F

YOUR SAFETY IS IMPORTANT TO US

.uk Tel: (76)2183 borough.ac nby@peter eleanor.alle ral sto Pa OL ES scogna Maddy Fra r Co-ordinato .ac.uk Tel: (42)7299 ogna@peterborough asc madeleine.fr ent hm ric En - Learner Simon Aston r Tel: (76)2158 ge Team Mana eterborough.ac.uk @p simon.aston or culum Direct ister- Curri ive Learning Katie McAll Life & Inclus for Skills for Tel: (76)2320 rough.ac.uk er@peterbo katie.mcallist Team lum cu rri Cu yd ing) Jeremy Llo clusive Learn Manager (In 26 Tel: (76)22 gh.ac.uk @peterborou jeremy.lloyd visor - Welfare Ad er dg Ple Nikki Tel: (76)2234 peterborough.ac.uk r@ nikki.pledge

SHOW US YOU R SO WE CAN KE COLOURS E P YOU SAFE ALL STUDENTS, STAFF AND VIS

ITORS BADGES AND CO LOURED LANYAR MUST HAVE THEIR ID DS VISIBLE AT ALL TIMES

VISITOR Red Lanyard

UCP Yellow Lanyard

STAFF Green Lanyard

14-16 STUDENT White Lanyard

STUDENT Navy Lanyard

CHILDLINE out of hours help and 11 Tel: 0800 11 advice

Image shows a selection of safeguarding posters which are displayed around the College.

Grade

Strategic Leadership Ofsted said: “The principal has had a profound impact in raising the College’s ambition, ensuring a stong focus on improving learners’ outcomes and establishing an ethos of continuous and sustainable improvement. Managers support her very well”.

Angela Joyce, who when appointed was the youngest principal in the country, said: “These are excellent inspection results of which we’re extremely proud. I’ve known for some time that we’re very good at what we do in providing a great experience for our students and ensuring that they get the best qualifications possible and it’s fantastic that Ofsted has now confirmed this”.

1 ‘Outstanding’

She went on to add “These results now give us the high level foundation on which to build an outstanding college over the next few years”.

Ofsted said: “Quality assurance is comprehensive and robust”.

Ofsted reported that self assessment is critical and highly evaluated, ensuring that managers identify and resolve any underperformance quickly and vigorously.

Ofsted said: “Self assessment is particularly well developed and inclusive. Rigorous validation draws on external expertise and helps ensure that course reviews, self assessment reports and quality improvement plans are thorough and effective tools for improvement”.

The College is managed well and managers of all levels use performance data with confidence. Staff are encouraged to develop and regular appraisals are set in place to ensure staff remain happy and productive.

The College is also managed well financially. This helps build resilience against future financial threats.

Leadership & Management Ofsted said: “The mission, values and strategic direction are clear, complimentary, well understood and stongly supported by governors and staff. Staff feel valued and motivated. Targets for improvement are clear, realistic, mostly challenging and highly visible to all staff”.

The leadership and management at PRC was praised for the high priority placed on safeguarding learners, the high profile of equality and diversity, the extensive quality assurance measures and the good financial management.

Ofsted commented that: “with high success rates and almost all aspects of provision improving strongly, the College provides good value for money” and “the aspiration of becoming an outstanding college is a realistic one”.

Grade

2 ‘Good’

Our mission:

“Raise aspiration, realise potential and inspire success in a diverse community through high quality education and training”.

Outcomes for Learners Peterborough Regional College are passionate about their learners and thrive to ensure their entire experience of college is a great one! College life, success rates, wellbeing all add up to happy and positive students.

Ofsted said: “Learners’ outcomes are good. Learners enjoy college life fully and have good attitudes to their studies....they enjoy lessons “ The learner voice is valued highly within college. Ofsted believe that the learners’ do have a strong and influential voice and get well involved in college life.

Peterborough Regional College have a student union that play an important part in projecting the voice and opinions of students and also a student president that attends various meetings at a high level. Particularly regarding equality and diversity, the events they co-ordinate are valuable to student inclusion and development. Opportunities for learners to contribute their views and influence decision making are highly developed. There are roughly 200 class representatives across the full-time provision at PRC who receive valuable training for their role, who meet in a ‘parliamentary’ way to discuss college wide issues.

Ofsted said: “Success rates at PRC have increased and they are high”.

Learners’ success rates on long courses increased between 2008 and 2010, faster than the national rate. They continued to increase into 2011 and remain high. Almost all subjects have success rates above the national average.

Ofsted said: “Learners work confidently in realistic, industry settings”.

PRC learners take pride in their work, their attitude to work and college life in general is good.

Ofsted mention that the learners also acquire a good range of useful employability skills, fulfilling the College’s aim of preparing their students well, for the world of work.

Ofsted said: “Learners’ work is good. They learn the skill they need for employment well”.

“Most learners have high standards of work; they often develop high levels of practical vocational skills relevant to their subjects. They use technical language appropriately and often match industry standards in the work they produce”.

Grade

2 ‘Good’ Peterborough Regional College manage a large apprenticeship provision in-house, where they co-ordinate a number of training programmes in a variety of different subjects. They also employ a large number of apprentices within the College including posts in business administration and marketing and communications.

Ofsted said: “the success rates for the employment based learners has also increased notably in 2010/2011 and are also high”.

The work of the apprentices is mostly good and the skills levels are high. They found the College’s apprentices develop confidence and maturity very quickly. Employers from small and large businesses agree, finding the skills and high standards of work an asset to their company.

Learners’ Awareness of Health & Wellbeing is Outstanding!

Peterborough Regional College work hard on keeping students well informed on their own personal health and general wellbeing. All students have access to the Wellbeing Centre, where help and advice is on hand throughout the College day should they need it.

A qualified nurse and counsellor are always available for confidential meetings along with a careers advisor for general advice and guidance on employment or further learning; UCAS applications for example.

Grade

1 ‘Outstanding’

The College’s Youth Work Team are a valuable asset to PRC, forming great relationships with all students and getting them involved in recreational sports, games and events. They also run many seminars and talks on sexual health, safety and healthy eating for example.

PRC have found their Youth Workers to be very approachable and are always there for the students, on their level and a good ear to listen, should they need them.

Images show us receiving the nationally recognised NHS Your Welcome standard and our PRC Youth Work Team.

Partnership Work is Outstanding Peterborough Regional College work closely with a number of business organisations, community groups and schools around the region. This benefits students in providing a wider range of experiences and setting up new opportunities with employers for work experience and apprenticeships.

Dedicated teams go out to local schools giving valuable advice and guidance about their next step and also information about the courses and apprenticeship programmes available to them post-16.

The Apprenticeship Team have good, long standing relationships with local employers. College events involve large representation from the community.

The College regard this as an important factor in order to keep their profile and reputation high amongst the education and training communities.

Ofsted said: “Partnership work is extensive and highly productive. It adds considerable value to the learners’ experiences and improves their future opportunities.”

Images show Be Healthy Stay Safe Week and our partnership with Peterborough United.

Grade

1 ‘Outstanding’

Grade Quality of Provision Peterborough Regional College boast a large provision of industry specialist teaching staff. They are experts in their teaching areas whether it be music, childcare, media or construction.

Ofsted said: “Vocationally skilled teachers often act as good role models for learners, motivating and inspiring them. In a number of subjects such as hospitality and public services, teachers use realistic working environments very well to help learners develop vocational skills”.

2 ‘Good ’

Ofsted also mentions how the relationship between teaching staff and students are mostly highly productive and that learners often make good progress. They found lessons, interesting and involve the learner well, making good use of the College’s resources.

The teaching staff mark and assess students’ work well, improving on the previous inspection.

Ofsted said: “Teachers give clear and detailed feedback that helps learners to improve their work. Sensitive, verbal feedback contributes well to learners’ understanding of what they have achieved and how they can improve”.

The College has a higher than average proportion of learners who start with a below average prior attainment. The teaching staff at PRC assess their level accurately and become an effective tool to help the majority learn quickly and make good progress with their studies, in particular, those needing learning support.

Ofsted said: “The additional needs of learners are identified early. Additional support is provided promptly in lessons and in individual group sessions. Learners receiving support are very positive about its effectiveness”.

Peterborough Regional College have specialist departments who support those students who have special needs and are studying on a preentry level programmes called Living for Work. The College also have a large learning support unit available for students support regarding learning difficulties or obstacles for example dyslexia or the hard of hearing. This kind of support is available to all students after it has been raised on their application form and followed up by an assessment with a key worker.

Ofsted said: “Good and improved support includes additional learning support and tutorial provision of a high standard. Readily available health and welfare support is of very good quality. Staff provide their detailed advice and guidance with integrity”.

“Learners value individual support highly”.

Subjects under the spotlight Ofsted focused on four key areas and highlighted the following: Health, social care and public services Ofsted said: • Learners’ self confidence increases alongside their understanding of community and individuals’ needs • Learners have good opportunities to develop personally and socially through enrichment activities, careers events and trips • A good range of provision provides clear progression routes, which benefits learners • Good partnerships with a wide range of external organisations including the fire service and local health trusts help learners well

Engineering and motor vehicle Ofsted said: • Success rates for apprentices are high, having increased notably; in particular, advanced apprentices are very successful • Full-time learners achieve good relevant employability skills • Partnerships with employers and external organisations are very good • Learners thoroughly enjoy their learning. Managers and staff actively seek and use their views to develop and improve provision. Learners and employers speak very highly of the college Information and communication technology Ofsted said: • Learners receive good care, guidance and support. Learners comment on teachers’ helpfulness and the extent of their support • Current learners are making improved and good progress; they enjoy their learning • Progression routes are available from foundation to advanced level. At advanced level, the range of diploma courses covers appropriate specialist areas such as software development or business computing Performing arts and media Ofsted said: • Learners make good use of a range of community projects to develop their skills • Learns benefit highly from their teachers’ industrial experience • Success rates are high and increasing on most courses Learns make good progress, gain confidence and develop self-esteem. Their work is of a high standard in all specialisms, particulary in dance and performing arts.

How our students find Peterborough Regional College        

very supportive teachers who push you to do your best and are really good role models. plenty of individual help. the safe college environment. enjoyable courses. help with getting a job after college. learning new skills and the opportunities to move on to the next level of study. the high level of respect between staff and learners. help to build individuals' confidence.

What PRC are looking to improve on  Share the highly effective practice in promoting good progress for young learners at advanced level in highly performing subjects with the few subjects where these learners do not consistently meet or exceed expectations compared to their prior attainment.  Monitor the progress of learners at pre-foundation level closely to ensure that improvements put in place to increase their achievement are fully successful.  Improve the small minority of unchallenging lessons by supporting teachers to increase the pace and the level of challenge and by ensuring the full engagement of learners.  Provide work experience opportunities for more full-time learners by drawing on the good practice from other subject areas and by making more use of the excellent partnership arrangements with employers.  Provide staff development to ensure that the learning targets are specific and sharply focused on actions to improve learners’ achievement.  Increase the rigour in the evaluation of measures of learners’ progress, drawing on all relevant sources of evidence and using these to inform self-assessment fully.

What learners would like to see improved  the number of computers available for private study.  the range and promotion of extra-curricular activities.  lncreased space for socialising between lessons.

Ofsted said:

“Peterborough Regional College is a good college with outstanding features”

We are:

‘On the journey to outstanding’

Progression

Looking to try something new this September?

Looking to go to University?

University life begins at school or college University Centre Peterborough has recently launched a fantastic new programme which has been developed to raise the aspirations of students into higher education and also to provide them with the extra skills they will need once there.

The Passport to Uni programme, which is aimed at 19 year olds and under who are considering going to university, is run throughout the year and offers a range of study skills. It is attending these sessions, along with other activities, that will earn students up to 40 UCAS points towards a place at University Centre Peterborough.

Each study skills course is run for 7 consecutive weeks and once completed 15 points will be allocated.

Other points can be awarded for completion of other courses that students might complete whilst at school or college such as: The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Community Sports Leaders Award, ASDAN Peer Mentoring Award, Young Enterprise Company Programme or Attendance at a HE Summer School.

The scheme will also allow students to become familiar with the HE environment, understand course content and build confidence in their learning styles. Not only this but the students will also have the opportunity to start to build relationships with academic and support staff.

So thinking of going to university? Worried about your grades? Need to brush up on your study skills? The Passport to Uni programme could be just what you need! For more information or to sign up to the programme, please visit www.peterborough.ac.uk/passport

HOT OFF THE PRESS! New Apprenticeship starting very soon in digital and social media As well as the current portfolio of apprenticeship programmes available, PRC are new in partnership with Digital Youth Academy and are about to launch a brand new apprenticeship programme in digital and social media.

Interested?

Get in touch with our team on 01733 762121 or email apprenticeships@peterborough.ac.uk

Have you thought of doing an advanced course in Production Arts?

Imagine yourself as a sound engineer for the next big international band on tour or maybe working in the West End on fantastic musical productions, preparing costumes, make up or set design. Our BTEC in Production Arts can get you qualified to work in the exciting industry that is music, theatre, TV and film.

The Production Arts qualification at Peterborough Regional College is a specialist qualification with big results! It is a level 3 course (A Level equivalent) and is taught over 2 years.

From this, our students can go onto University or another training programme or straight into employment.

There are 2 qualifications, depending on which area of the industry you wish to focus on. The Production Arts Technical Route involves subjects such as lighting and design management, sound skills and

design, stage management, props, puppetry and more. As well as a real overview of the performing arts business and how the big productions are planned. The other arm to the course is the Production Arts Design Route. Subjects covered in this creative qualification are costume design, theatre make up, hair design, set and prop design along with special effects and mask masking.

The teaching staff for this programme are highly skilled in their field and have worked in the industry in which they teach. This really helps our students get the best advice and guidance for careers in the performing arts & design business.

For more information on this course, download our full-time course guide from www.peterborough.ac.uk or speak with our Information Team on 0845 8728722.

Peterborough Science Festival Explore, experiment, explode at the Peterborough Science Festival Budding Albert Einsteins and Isaac Newtons took part in the week long Peterborough Science Festival back in March. The event is a great opportunity to come and get inspired about science, maths and engineering.

Students get to meet some exotic animals As part of the festival we had the pleasure of welcoming Deepings Exotic Pet Refuge and their wide variety of animals.

The refuge brought along some eye-catching and heart-stopping animals to amaze the people who attended. Some of the animals included: leopard gecko, common boa, bearded dragon, Mexican black tarantual, Thai tree frogs, European eagle owl and a chinchilla.

Students were lucky enough to hear about Baz, the common boa and the story of how he became a resident at the refuge. Baz was bought as a present and kept in a steel cage in a shed in winter. The wrong kind of environment can make any animal ill. Baz never got the care he should have and eventually the owner asked for The Exotic Pet Refuge to look after him. Baz hardly moved and didn’t eat for the first six months of being at the refuge, but slowly recovered.

This is just one story of the amazing work the people that work at the refuge do. Exotic Pet Refuge is a charity and often stages fundraising events so they can keep caring for these animals.

The European Eagle Owl has been at the refuge since he was a baby and is now 22 years old and will live in to his forties. This owl is one of the main attractions on the open days due to its big size and friendliness.

Students also got the opportunity to draw some of the amazing animals.

Written by student Sian Rogers

The festival, which takes place every year at PRC and UCP, looked at all aspects of science and hosted an array of activities including: a space telescope workshop, microbiology, virtual autopsy, pathology and crime scenes to name a few.

The star attraction of the event was the Bloodhound Project. The Bloodhound, a rocket-powered super car that is set to break the land speed record by travelling at 1000 miles per hour. Find out more about this exciting project in the article opposite.

James Webb Space Telescope workshop The James Webb Space Telescope, sometimes recognised as the JWST introduced a fascinating theory based lesson on the JWST. The JWST project will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror.

It is also an orbiting infrared observatory that will harmonise and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity. The goal of the JWST is to search for the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, and study the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems. The project is working to a 2018 launch date.

Written by student Mariane Barlaan

Students learn the fun way at Maths Road Show In the drama studio, students have been taking part in the Science Festival’s Maths Road Show... and, unlike any normal maths lesson, they love it.

With set challenges to make maths fun and more appealing it was clear for all to see that those taking part were enjoying themselves as soon you walked through the door.

Sigourney Twigg, an Art and Design student, was one of the students that took part in the activities, speaking highly of the event, she said, “It’s a lot of fun; it’s not what I expected at all.

“I was expecting just to do an exam; I didn’t expect to do games or to be social with anyone.”

When asked on whether she feels other maths teachers should use the same techniques, she said: “Definitely, maths is a lot harder at secondary school and there’s no one there to help you.

“Putting things into practice makes it a lot easier to understand and it’s a lot less time consuming than explaining it over and over again. I didn’t do very well in my maths GCSEs; the teacher didn’t have enough time to explain different techniques.”

Asked if she would have done better if her lessons were more like the Maths Road Show, she replied, “Yes”.

With maths not being the most glamorous of subjects, it’s quite an achievement for a room full of students, some who didn’t like maths, enjoying themselves when faced with mathematical equations. A resounding success.

Accelerating its way into the record books The Bloodhound Project took a pit stop at Peterborough Regional College to educate and inspire students ranging from Key Stage 2 to Degree students. We also invited 200 primary school children from a number of local schools to come and see the super car for themselves.

The project hopes to reach its final destination during 2014 at the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa. The 12 mile track has been cleared by hand of all stones bigger than the size of a pea, to ensure the smoothest ride possible for the RAF trained driver.

The Bloodhound Project aims to break the world land speed record by breaking the sound barrier at an astonishing 1000mph. In layman’s terms, the potential speed of the Bloodhound is the equivalent of 120 Bugatti Veyrons. Top Gear will have to create a super sub zero category for this bad boy.

Following the presentation the students were invited to view a prototype of the Typhoon engine as well as make their own cardboard model Bloodhound SSC, powered by a balloon.

PRCs hall floor was a makeshift runway, with some of the students’ model cars travelling 5 metres, a far cry from the 12 miles of barren desert which will see Bloodhound SSC roar across its plains.

Nick (Slick) Naylor gave a presentation to students to explain just how this project has developed and the education programme which it runs alongside. Nick Naylor said, “Education is key to the Bloodhound Project. We need young people to embrace new technology” .

The Leitch Review (2004) highlights the level of engineering skill required according to age brackets. The majority of skilled specialists are lacking in ages below 40, something that the Bloodhound Education Project is hoping to rectify, through the medium of exciting younger generations by way of creating a surge of national popularity in science.

What better way to get youngsters interested in maths and science than introducing the world’s fastest supercar?

This is engineering at its best. With a peroxide fuelled falcon rocket, a Euro Fighter Typhoon engine, designed by Rolls Royce, and Director, Richard Noble, former world land speed record holder, at Bloodhound Project’s helm, makes for a neon impossible formula to defeat.

Throughout January-March 2013 low speed tests (if you can call 250mph low speed) of the final model will be undertaken in the South of England, which is any car enthusiasts dream to spectate. Full speed ahead!

Students studying on the BTEC National Print Based Diploma share their stories on events which took place at the Peterborough Science Festival.

PSYCHOLOGY BATHTUB Who would have thought that a bath tub could shower you with psychological lectures?

Stuart Bowditch explained how he takes the bathtub on tour and installs it so participa tors can indulge in psychology. Debora D'Auria, psyc hology lecturer at Southend High School for girls, invented the bathtub which is called Eureka.

Stuart Bowditch said, “Deborah’s inve ntion came from the idea of being immersed in psychology, and being showered with knowledge.”

Eureka was exhibited in Waterstones as part of the Art Side 2011 and at the British Psycholo gy Society Annual Conference in December 2011. Eure ka is also going to be featured in the Psychology Journal later this year.

Stuart Bowditch explained how he is excited for Eureka to travel, and to give more participants a chance to indulge in psychology.

Written by student Hannah Palmer and Olivia

Few

The bathtub works by allowing part icipants to hear mini lectures from the manipulated show er cap. It is covered with psychological diagrams and information from well known case studies. Even the legs of the bathtub were made from psychology books.

Debora hopes to achieve that the view er will take away a small item of knowledge and they will review what they already understand about psycholo gy and perhaps reflect on their own psychology.

S ST RAF FLIGHT SERGEANT INTRODUCE undertaken at Peterborough A workshop on Imagery Analysis was rborough Science Festival.

Regional College as part of the Pete n by his colleagues as ‘Midge’ Flight Sergeant Paul Hartley, know the ways in which different ng tifyi voiced the workshop, iden ct different clues in crime. methods of Imagery Analysis can dete to provide students with The main aim of the session was lysis and how it evolved Ana ery invaluable knowledge about Imag from the war. ce in the Royal Air Force Hartley who has 25 years experien gathered through imagery be d coul explained how information d how “Imagery Analysis is the to provide intelligence. He explaine ved or extracted from any process by which information is deri ” . available imagery or planning where they had to observe A short quiz was given to the students ering a series of shor t answ re an image for a few minutes befo see in the picture. Hartley questions about what they could e use images as part of explained how the Royal Air Forc e in-depth. Students were mor stereoscopy, where they are studied ugh 3D glasses and an thro es imag e then asked to view som their best eye to touch both exercise was carried out, first using closing their best eye and their fingers together, and then students found the activity re whe is repeating the process. This part of the workshop looked much more difficult than before. This d that the Royal Air Force used at depth perception. Midge explaine spot individual people and to to overlap images by 60 per cent tion. He explained how 3D cars at different stages of an investiga e with other images in the imagery derived from this techniqu glass, whilst an RAF worker to Second World War being printed on

UDENTS TO IMAGERY ANALYSIS

an aircraft and capture the would fly above the battlefields in images from above. the effects of bombing in the Midge then went on to talk about 16, 1943 the Mohne Dam in war and explained how on May, bing attack that meant the bom Germany was affected by a large before. As the workshop as ly ient effic as Germans couldn’t fight about Infra-Red imagery and progressed students were taught and identified via a thermal how heat and energy were omitted benefits of RADAR imagery the d usse shadow. Midge Hartley disc used in physical photographs and explained how they could be and across digital media. ge explained how he had When asked about his career, Mid e Town in South Africa and travelled to Iraq, Bosnia, Kenya, Cap eager to try. When asked ed Norway, something students seem very positive about it, I think about the Science Festival he said “I’m in formal education, back it’s a very good thing. When I was back because we never got the , in the 1980s, we never had science fairs the curriculum”. Adding of s area rent opportunity to explore diffe ed from these fairs is fantastic.”

“The access and the knowledge gain workshop has helped young When asked about how he feels his take this information and will they e people, Midge replied: “I hop use it in the future.” close with a series of shor t The workshop was brought to a were looking to gain a job questions asked by the students who lar field. within Image Analysis or work in a simi Written by student Avril Kavanagh

RTUA WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF? - A VI

L AUTOPSY

students at the University Centre to perform a virtual autopsy to dule sche y bus her ruments of of out time e re the autopsy began, surgical inst Pathologist Dr Liz Astell took som inside the university centre. Befo tre thea ents were ure lem lect imp the ical in e med plac the es lingered in the air. As glov x Peterborough. The autopsy took late and ant fect disin of I really ll “Do the room. The sme the students said it all. various sizes were passed around hter, but the looks on the faces of laug and g terin chat of nds sou by the passed around they were followed ” for? used is this t wha w kno to t wan ll takes her place in front of mer humour” follows it. Dr Liz Aste “ham eral gen and ut nd arou ed pass a mallet is t. Dr Astell then goes on to talk abo The room ripples with laughter as introduces her volunteer assistan then she she e; how tabl ut psy abo auto ed an talk like She ession. a table that has been set up to look a few facts and myths about her prof ology and then tells her audience to the last stages of cancer. ns ctio infe or min from ng ythi how she got to be in the line of path ever r cove ists olog path how and a mortuary spends 5% of her time working in t volunteer. y’s vital organs on Dr Astell’s assistan e drawing the outlines of the bod ienc body it is! aud the the in re from r whe ntee ws volu kno a liver and no one in the room The autopsy then begins with the draw to d aske is r ntee e volu othly until the s to tell the audienc how she Everything seems to be going smo apron and latex gloves. She proceed her on puts then ll Aste Dr ed, tions solv a body.

With the mystery of the liver’s loca a scar or tattoo can help to indentify tells us of how a simple thing like and psy auto and t duc con ld wou picks psy table, she looks unfazed as she a tray of animal organ’s to the auto gs brin ll Aste Dr as rd hea are ’s” “Eww’s” and “aah she d how Dr Astell felt about her job, up the heart of a pig. When aske job g fyin satis ly real to get answers, it’s a replied, “It’s very interesting, I love on, pers ng you a of y bod looking at the but I do get a bit upset when round a , hed finis psy auto al virtu the . As especially since having my children” and were given the opportunity to go of applause was heard and students ! give the animal organ’s a closer look Written by student Emily Smith

WIND FARMING WORKSHOP

! Here to The Science Festival 2012 is back Farming d Win ing contribute was the fascinat , who King er Rog by held was workshop which s about stion que few a er answ to ed agre kindly to generate the event. “Last year we managed g just two usin cle bicy a electricity through me about g tellin d aine expl er Rog s!” television always are s how the workshops he hold . interesting and hands-on to groups Today he partnered the students in work on, to cise exer r and gave them a compute wind ut abo ht insig an which gave them friendly e erat gen they how and turbines ess, as the electricity. The workshop was a succ unt of amo the with py students felt hap nding. atte ugh thro ed gain they ge knowled ed shar and day Roger was well organised for the the ut abo ents stud the lots of information with different advantages and disadvantages of the types of electricity. ul and I Overall the workshop was successf enjoyed believe all students found it useful and ! themselves. See you next year Written by student Georgina Wood

MICROBIOLOGY - IDEN IFYIN

G BACTERIA

The microbiology taster with microbiologist Karen Randall began as if it we school lesson; students re a came in and grabbed a white lab coat, then sat listen to the tutor. Karen down to then told the students wh at a microbiologist does, they test and why. She the what n remarked “We’ll test any thing but vomit!”

The students were then shown a DVD about the work done behind the sce in the world of patholog nes y. The DVD started with a touching piece about “invisible heroes” who the work behind the scenes of pathology and are the people to get fast result key s and patients better. The students hear about blo transfusions, bone marro od w samples and decalcifyi ng blood samples.

A storyline about a footba ller who had fallen ill on the pitch carried alongsid the pieces of informatio e n about pathology and there was not a dry eye room when he was told in the that he had leukaemia.

Happier times were ahe ad though as the DVD car ried on to show the footba fast forwarding through ller his treatment and at the end was given the all cle Karen switched the ligh ar. As ts back on, the students dabbed their eyes from emotional ending! the Then it was time for som e practical work. Karen gave each of the stude microscope, glass slide and nts a a dish of either the bacter ia epidermis or e-coli, bo of which are pretty harmle th ss when in a tiny Petri dis h. The students looked at bacteria under the micro the scopes and Karen went through all the things should be looking for and they might find. It was intere sting to see what the bac looked like up close, ho teria w it forms and how quick ly it can multiply. It made want to wash your hands you just looking at it!

Written by student Emily

Smith

Student Involvement Recipe of Success for Hospitality and Catering Students Our hospitality and catering students have had a busy year getting real life work experience in our on-site restaurant and out in the community at local events.

Below are some articles of what they have been up to this year.

Love Food Hate Waste Feed the 1000 menu Aspiring chefs at PRC recently teamed up with Peterborough Waste Partnership, Orminston Bushfield Academy, Cross Key Homes and Riverford Organic to give Peterborough Residents a free lunch at the ‘Feed the 1000’ event.

Love Food Hate Waste is a national campaign run by WRAP whose vision is a world without waste, where resources are used sustainably. The Love Food Hate Waste team were on hand at the event with information and tips. Our hospitality and catering students got involved by creating the 1,000 meals using ingredients supplied for free by local producers and supermarkets. These ingredients included food such as bread which was fresh but had not been sold, or items that had passed their sell by date but not their best before date. They also provided cooking demonstrations.

Culinary talent on the menu at the Town Hall As well as taking part in the ‘Feed the 1,000’ event, our budding chefs were also asked to create a wonderful lunch at the Town Hall by the Mayor, Paula Thacker.

Students studying on the BTEC in Hospitality & Catering course catered for the Mayor’s monthly charity lunch.

They served a variety of dishes such as cottage pie and potato and leak flan to eighty diners, including Mayor Paula Thacker’s.

Deirdra Hawkins, Hospitality Lecturer at PRC said: “I was really pleased with their work. We had great feedback from the Mayor and guests on the quality of food and the service”.

Terry Windsor, Curriculum Team Manager for Hospitality & Catering said: “I’m really pleased we were a part of this event. It’s unbelievable how much high quality, nutritious food gets wasted in UK homes every year. We hope that the demonstrations inspired people to make the most of their food. At PRC we teach our students to cook with resource efficiency in mind, carefully portioning the ingredients and using up leftovers”.

Students get a taste of a catering career with Exec Peterborough Our hospitality & catering students have also been getting a taste of working life in a busy kitchen, catering for over 700 delegates at a national conference which was held in the city.

“During that time the students worked on setting up, serving, and clearing the service area for lunch for the delegates. This day is included as part of the students’ course work curriculum.”

Our food service students were given the opportunity of work experience by Exec Peterborough who are no strangers to hosting and catering for hundreds of people at regular functions and conferences.

Chris added: “This also gives us an opportunity to identify students who may be interested to work for us on a casual basis over weekends or evenings, and for the students themselves to get first hand experience of what a career in hospitality may actually entail.”

The students gained valuable experience at the Beet Sugar’s BBRO national event held at the East of England Showground.

Exec Peterborough catering manager Chris Dyers said: “As part of our relationship with Peterborough Regional College we have tried to find large events held at Exec Peterborough where we can offer an opportunity of ‘work experience’ to catering students.

“This year we invited 25 students to assist us to service a large one day conference with over 700 delegates who were having meetings, tea breaks and lunch served through the day.

PRC Food and Beverage tutor Barrie Rattue said: “We were delighted to be asked to be part of this event. This was the largest event the students had worked on and the feed back from them was excellent. They enjoyed the experience of working on a live event and felt it gave them an opportunity to demonstrate the skills they have learnt at PRC. As their lecturer I was very proud of them and the professionalism they showed throughout the day.”

Students join forces with Sacrewell Students at PRC have been lending a helping hand at Sacrewell Farm & Country Centre this Spring. As part of a project to rejuvenate one of the Farm’s hedges, the trainees have been learning the traditional skill of hedge-laying.

This may be the students’ first attempt at the technique, but their work will have a long-lasting effect as the hedge should not require the same treatment for at least 30 years!

Under the guidance of course leader Stuart Bish, the students learned how to lay the hedge in a traditional ‘Midlands Style’.

Stuart said: “I am pleased that I can help improve the habitat at Sacrewell and rejuvenate one of the many hedges on the farm. I hope that by encouraging the youngsters on this project some of them will go on to keep the historic skill alive”.

The technique of hedge-laying was developed to create a living barrier to enclose farm animals. If left to grow then hedges can become sparse at the bottom, and invasive shrubs such as elder, brambles and ivy can take over.

Learning for work get sporty!

Our Learning for Work programme is designed specifically for entry level students. The course is designed to help the students who may find mainstream education more challenging by developing their personal independence and social skills. They work with a supportive team of tutors who encourage them throughout their learning topics whether it be managing money, healthy living or taking part in work experience of enterprise activities.

They recently set up a football match between the two different Learning for Work groups and worked hard to write their very own match report from their eventful game! “ We are Learning for Work 1 and we played a friendly six-a-side match against Learning for Work 2 in the Sports Hall. Some staff played as well. Learning for Work Group 1 worked as an organised team and won by an impressive 18 goals to 8 (one goal is still disputed!). Both teams showed great enthusiasm and are looking forward to playing another match”.

Bridal firm duo vow to support students The owners of bridal boutique, Vow recently worked with PRC students to showcase their exclusive gowns and formal menswear in a catwalk show earlier this year.

Owners of the boutique, Lisa Smith and Dave Gallagher linked with the technical theatre department students who got involved with the show by operating the backdrop and managing the staging, music and lighting.

Lisa from Vow said: “As a new small business, it is important to us to work with our community as much as possible, and we are also passionate about giving young people help and support where we can”.

Fundraising success for art and craft students Students on the part-time Entry Level Art & Craft course at PRC were very busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas, making crafts to sell in order to raise money for a local children’s charity. The students, who have a range of learning difficulties/disabilities, made salt dough Christmas shapes, decorated with paint and glitter and also beautiful hand-printed gift wrap.

Other students on different courses within the Inclusive Learning department made Christmas cards and gift tags. The sale made over £90, that was donated to The Rudolf Fund, a charity based in the Peterborough area that helps local children who are seriously ill.

The students really enjoyed working on the stall and demonstrated great customer service skills. Fiona Ross, the Art & Craft tutor for the group, said “I am so very proud of the students and what they have achieved.

They have worked really hard, created beautiful crafts and raised a lot of money for a very good cause.”

The students involved in the fundraising were Paul Longland, Natalie Matson, Dorreen Heath, Lisa Fowkes, Alberta Rochester, Paula Wright and Michael/Stephen Dean.

Image shows Paul Longland receiving his certificate.

Student Involvement Business students make big bucks for charity Eight Groups of BTEC National Business Studies students at Peterborough Regional College recently combined their studies with raising money for their chosen charities.

The students raised in total £944.92 during this one day event which will be distributed to their chosen charity.

The 33 students who are in their 2nd year of the Level 3 qualification had to work together as a team to complete the practical task of ‘Managing a Business Event’ in order to complete units in their qualification.

To complete the tasks the students needed to plan, organise, run and evaluate an event and develop their team leadership skills in the process.

After splitting into teams, the students could choose what event they wanted to run and all the students picked an event that would raise money for charity as this was seen as a just cause in which they could offer something back whilst they were learning.

They chose their own charities and these included, Cancer Research and the NSPCC. There was a variety of types of activities involved in their events including, Henna tattooing; Prize draws; Treasure Hunt; Cakes and nibbles; Guess the money in the bottle; collecting donations and even “Hug Me for 10p”. All events took place in the main student common areas, popular and busy during lunch and break times.

The students wanted to do something that was fun but useful and they were able to use the whole experience to gain knowledge and skills in event management and effective team working. They got to name their teams, the winning team being Diamond Events raising £214.80 throughout the day!

Picture shows - Team Boom left - right Dan Moore, Diana Santos, Paula Uosyte and Vicky Kaur.

Dream job for students at the Olympic Games Public services students at Peterborough Regional College have been working hard to enhance their chances of working at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012.

Business student at PRC, Dan Moore says: “The events were a great success. Everyone pulled their weight and that shows in that as a whole group we nearly raised £1,000. I feel this will encourage other young people to get involved in charitable fundraising. We performed well and I hope other people will look to improve on what we achieved.”

They have completed a four day door supervision qualification which has guaranteed them an interview with G4S plc who will be supplying security services for the London Olympic Games 2012. They have all attended an interview and are eagerly awaiting job offer confirmation.

Business Lecturer at PRC, Mary Clark says: “We are all very proud of the achievements made by the students in these tasks. They pulled together and overcame problems in order for everything to run smoothly. Learning how to manage people and events is a challenge and the students rose to the challenge very well indeed”.

If successful the chosen students will work at a range of the London Olympic or Paralympic venues. The course, training and interviews were all held at PRC ensuring that the students were fully prepared with the skills and knowledge they needed to give them the competitive edge during interview.

Well done to Avril nalism Kavanagh, a jour ge lle who has student at the Co Little Book of Love had her book, My ished.

Poems publ sity next to go on to univer s pe ho ho w , ril Av ines Day. r book on Valent year, launched he to write poetry when I d She said: “I starte after my aunt sent me r, ge un t this was much yo per to write on. Bu pa ed to some colour get my work in year I decided to y planning a print. I am alread ems about second book of po the seasons”.

The College have been working with the Bridging the Gap project, whose programme gives students the chance to be a part of the London Olympic Games 2012. The company are inspired by the security requirements of the Games and they aim to address the skills shortage within the security industry.

Paul Cooper, PRC Olympics Project Manager says; ‘The employment window of opportunity for our successful students will start at the end of July and will be continuous until the end of the Paralympic Games in September. I believe this will give our students excellent work experience which will enhance their skills in readiness to pursue their careers into areas such as the military, the police force or security services, as well as the once in a lifetime experience of working at the London setting of the greatest show on earth.’

College students win grants for projects Students on the AAA programme at Peterborough Regional College recently put forward their project ideas to Project Dirt, in order to be rewarded with grants to support their future activities.

Project Dirt are a national organisation that inspire and support ‘green’ projects around the country.

Locally Project Dirt have been working with Peterborough Environment City Trust and RSA in order to offer funding to ‘green’ projects around Peterborough.

The PRC students submitted two projects that they have been working on. PRC Planet Bikes is a project where students are taking un used and pre owned bicycles and restoring them for college use. Students can learn how to repair them and achieve a cycle maintenance qualification, whilst also renting them as a low cost and healthy transport method. The other project is PRC Ponds and Frogs, learning about the amphibians and how to care for and maintain them. The project involves creating and maintaining a sustainable pond and helping to maintain numbers of endangered species whilst learning.

The students were thrilled with the news that they were successful with their bids and will be receiving a £350 grant each to support their project!

The AAA programme at the local College is a Level 1 qualification that targets students, post 16 who may be unsure of what path to take and what area of training they want to specialise in. The course runs for one year and includes a variety of subjects from healthy body and sport and activity to catering and horticulture. The course prepares the students for another programme at the college, a level 2 course perhaps or an apprenticeship or employment route. They also focus more on literacy and numeracy throughout the qualification.

Spokesperson from Peterborough Regional College says: “We are so proud of the students. It took a lot of hard work and planning along with confidence during the pitch. We have had some lovely feedback about how the judges were really inspired by their energy and enthusiasm towards their work”.

Picture shows PRC Planet Bikes students Tabea Ndiweni, 16 and Liam Slight, 16

Student has a Taste of Success with Regional College Peterborough Regional College has presented one lucky winner the fantastic prize of an iPad 2!

The competition was held as a part of Taster Week at PRC during February half term. The aim of the taster sessions was to give members of the public or potential new students the chance to try the course or courses they were interested in before they apply. All the visitors who attended and took part in the sessions were all entered into the fantastic prize draw.

The lucky winner of the iPad was William Dunkley who currently attends Sawtry Community College. He is looking to attend Peterborough Regional College this September so came along to the Public Services taster session to have a go first.

He was surprised to say the least, at winning this fabulous prize.

“This is the first time I have ever won anything, and I’m really pleased because it’s an iPad! I went to the Public Services taster, and it gave me a great insight and a lot of information about what the Public Services course involved”.

Peterborough Regional College will be holding similar taster sessions during the ‘Have a Go’ event at the next Open Day on Monday 18 June between 6pm and 8pm. For more information and for a list of tasters on offer please visit our website www.peterborough.ac.uk

Students given opportunity to design new shower for firm Level 3 art and design students at PRC were recently given the challenge to design a new shower for local firm Redring.

The showering and hot water solutions company who are based in Woodston launched on their Facebook company page a competition where the online community could go on and support the PRC students and vote for their favourite design.

The brief given to our art students was to create an innovative shower design which incorporates an eco-design element. Anna Downs, art and design lecturer said: “We were delighted to be asked to take part in this project as we believe it is vital for the College to build links with organisations and businesses to strengthen the vocational experience gained by the students”.

The competition is now closed but entries can still be viewed on the Redring Facebook page. Congratulations goes to Ben Wabe-Smith who won with his Eco Jungle Shower entry and received a prize of £25 in iTunes vouchers.

Student Successes Music student picked as one of the world’s best undiscovered guitarists!

Chris Robinson has had an interest in music from a very young age and in particular guitars! His idols include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa and Eric Clapton to name just a few. Chris would have never predicted that just a few short years after picking up his first guitar he would be selected as one of the top undiscovered guitarists in the world!!

His passion for playing the guitar - blues and rock ‘n’ roll was cemented when he was 11 years old and he saw his first live footage of Stevie Ray Vaughan - he was mesmerised by the artist’s presence and sound, and knew this is what he wanted to do in life. Whilst other children his age were out playing sports or other games, Chris would be found practicing for hours on end, perfecting different styles and techniques and learning more about the history of music and it’s competitive industry.

Chris at just 17 years old is studying on the BTEC National in Music at Peterborough Regional College, a very practical two year qualification popular amongst young musicians whether it be piano, guitar, keyboard, or students interested in singing or song writing. Students make use of the industry standard equipment at PRC from recording and editing equipment to specialist programmes on Apple Macs as well as the industry specialist tutors who continue to maintain their links with the professional industry and assist the students as much as they can.

This life changing journey started for Chris when international photographer and music producer, Robert Knight, world renowned for his passion of photography in the rock ‘n’ roll and music industry, had an idea to set up a platform where new and up and coming musicians could be noticed and appreciated for their talents. Working together with Fender, the world’s leading guitar manufacturer, Robert flew around the world looking for new talent to include in his top 23 of the world’s best yet undiscovered guitarists. He would feature these artists with Fender guitars, promoting both Fender as a brand and the new talents that could be the future of the music industry.

Robert came across our fantastic local talent that is Chris Robinson, via YouTube, the online self broadcasting tool that has helped so many up and coming artists get noticed. Chris had been uploading video footage of his amazing guitar sessions to YouTube for over five years - to great acclaim; they are definitely worth a listen! http://www.youtube.com/user/rob33cinema Chris describes his journey: “I was incredibly proud and excited when I heard from Robert Knight. He has worked with and captured incredible images of so many of my idols. Robert flew in from Vegas earlier this year to meet me at the John Henry’s Studios in London. He interviewed me and filmed lots of footage of me playing; Robert is launching this footage of me along with the other chosen guitarists, to a new site called www.brotherhoodoftheguitar.com. I would like to thank Robert Knight, Guitar Centre and Fender for helping me, it’s a fantastic platform for my career.”

Chris is continuing with his studies here at PRC for his 2nd year of his BTEC programme and is aiming to head off to university after, whilst pursuing his career as a professional guitarist.

PRC Rugby Development Centre - training sporting stars of the future Peterborough Regional Colleges Rugby Academy is going from strentgh to strength, with yet another player picked for a SSE National League 1 team. Levan Stapleton is in his second year of the BTEC National in Sport with the Rugby Development Centre. He was picked this season for the elite program at Cambridge Rugby Union Football Club whilst still playing for the Regional College team, who have been holding the top spot in their table for the British Colleges Sport East Premier League.

The Rugby Development Centre is an added element of the BTEC Sport qualification, delivered at Level 2 and 3 at PRC. It allows students with an interest in rugby to become part of a team, play in league matches and also train with FA qualified coaches alongside their BTEC qualification in Sport. This enables them to have a choice of pathways after their time at College.

Levan was also picked to compete for the Eastern Region.

After completing his BTEC, Levan plans to go to University Centre Peterborough to study further.

Image shows Levan Stapleton

RUGBY UPDATE PRC Rugby Development Centre have won the BCS Rugby Union East Mens Division one with a massive 438 point difference. The squad played 14 games and won 13 of them, with one loss. Well done to the team!

UCP student goes country Murphy Cole’s Story When young Murphy Cole arrived in the UK over seven years ago, he had no home, no support and no idea of where his life would take him.

Originally from Liberia, Africa, Murphy was just 17 years old when he arrived in London, alone and with no job qualifications and having to tackle the English language meant there were going to be tough times ahead to say the least.

Luckily Murphy then found his way to Peterborough where some friends of his were staying and soon got himself enrolled on a fulltime course at PRC. He was not entirely sure where to start but knew he wanted to start learning and make a life for himself.

Progressing quickly from the Level 1 qualification in health & social care to Level 2 and 3, Murphy was overwhelmed by the support and encouragement he was receiving from the staff at PRC. "Everyone was so helpful, considering I had to start from scratch. They made time to help me with my writing and English in general”.

He knew he had found his calling and new ambition to work with young people in a community or social care pathway.

"I can't thank the tutors I had enough for making my experience at college so enjoyable and memorable.

They have inspired me to want to work with young people as my career choice and give something back".

Continually driving to achieve more and more, Murphy passed his health & social care qualifications at PRC including a Level 1 and 2 qualification in maths and English and went on to study a foundation degree and a BA at Sheffield Hallam University in Youth & Community Work .

During this degree, Murphy was able to get some valuable work placements and experience in the community with the Princes Trust and the NHS as a Health Trainer to young people.

Murphy recently came back to PRC to visit the tutors he worked with, filling them in on his current studies at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, as he works towards his last year on a Masters Degree in Public Health.

"I hope to work back in Peterborough with the NHS after my Masters, especially in the community or with young people”.

Amy Jones (22), a second year English Literature student at UCP, enjoyed a two week placement with the Artist Development Network on Music Row, Nashville; a programme which covered every aspect of the artistic and commercial process - writing, recording, performing, even photography.

The programme started with a week of co-writing sessions where she worked with leading songwriters such as Karen Staley and Sarah Majors, who between them have written for country legends such as Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Byrd and Faith Hill, amongst others. She was also coached by the renowned Buzzy Orange - responsible for cultivating artists such as the US chart-topping American idol winner Carrie Underwood.

Amy then recorded her very own songs with some of Nashville's finest as her backing band, including Jon Conley on guitar and Tommy Harden on drums. The recording session was at Ocean Way Studios on Music Row, where the likes of Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and The Band Perry have also recorded.

Amy said: "The whole experience was totally relaxed and fun, if not a little surreal, and we got some great tracks for me to put vocals to. The climax of the trip was a chance to perform at the famous Nashville Palace Writers' Night, where legends such as Randy Travis, amongst others, have made their name."

However, it is her studies at University Centre Peterborough which she believes is also playing a major part in her development both as a writer and a performer: "UCP has been such an amazing place to make friends, as well as develop artistically ... as well as the literature and its ideas, I meet such an intriguing mixture of people there that I'm never short of inspiration!

Image shows UCP student Amy Jones

A picture perfect day for photography student Sarah Page Ambitious teenager Sarah Page, who studies photography at PRC’s Media and Journalism Centre, was specially selected to snap the latest trends at the prestigious London Fashion Week back in March.

Sarah beat off hundreds of other applicants in a competition to impress photography specialists Fixation. Her prize being to photograph top models dressed by the hottest fashion designers around.

Sarah said of her experience: “I had a mixed feeling of nerves and excitement. I was suddenly in London, somewhere I’m not familiar with. I had never been to a fashion show before, let alone something as prestigious as London Fashion Week. I didn’t feel ready at all, but when I began photographing the models and saw how well my photographs were turning out, I really got into the swing of things”.

Sarah made the most of her prize by taking more than 1000 photographs during the 30 minute show. She now has her sights set on a career as a high-end photographer or in film making.

To see more of Sarah’s shots from London Fashion Weekend visit her portfolio website www.sarahkathleenpage.co.uk.

Peterborough Regional College Park Crescent Peterborough PE1 4DZ Tel: 0845 872 8722 Web: www.peterborough.ac.uk Find us on: www.facebook.com/peterboroughregionalcollege

www.twitter.com/prclatest

RAISING ASPIRATIONS, REALISING POTENTIAL AND INSPIRING SUCCESS