Issue #04
Winter 2019/2020
Escape magazine Remembrance Parade Students mark Armistice Day
ESC is best
ESC International is UK’s best FE college
Humans of ESC The world’s best young beauty therapist stops by for a chat
vegan delight Vegan festival returns
Escape Magazine
www.escg.ac.uk
.Welcome
The new year is here and we’ve got lots to look forward to in the coming months.
Clive Cooke, CEO, East Sussex College
EDITORIAL TEAM:
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Zara Baker
Ashley Chapman
Have a story? Contact me zara.baker@escg.ac.uk
Have a story? Contact me ashley.chapman@escg.ac.uk
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vegan curry.
There is plenty more packed into this edition, so grab a leftover mince pie and enjoy Issue 4.
Would you ever consider going vegan? Turn to page 13 to try our tasty
In Issue 3 we celebrated the magnificent achievements of our students. Our students pimped up a rally-winning Robin Reliant, our Access to HE students celebrated during their graduation, and Rebecca West was crowned the world’s best young beauty therapist.
in Lewes during November. Read more on page 5.
But first, we take a look back at the last few months on 2019 where we hosted a very tasty vegan festival (page 5), our students paid their respects to fallen war heroes (page 6), and we were named the number one international college in the country (page 8).
We had a delicious range of food on offer at our latest Vegan Festival
Happy New Year and welcome to the fourth issue of Escape, your essential guide to everything that’s happening at East Sussex College.
On the cover: ‘Vegan Delight’
News, events, and interviews from East Sussex College, the world of FE, and beyond...
.contents Vegan cosmetics at Lewes Vegan Festival (p5)
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News...
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Vegan Festival offers an insight into a vegan lifestyle
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Students host Remembrance Parade to mark Armistice Day
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Catch up with the rest of the goings on at ESC with News in Brief
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We’ve been named the number one FE college in the country for our International courses
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Sir Peter Blake hands out the awards to our students at the Farley Arts Trust Awards
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Humans of ESC
Remembrance Parade at Station Plaza (p6)
We spoke to Rebecca West to find out what it’s like to be the world’s best young beauty therapist.
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Buongiorno Italian students visit our Station Plaza campus to get a taste of English culture.
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Veganuary Curry
Crash scene simulation at our Eastbourne campus (p7)
Whether you gave Veganuary a go, or you fancy ditching the meat one night, this vegan curry is delicious.
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Escape plans
Check out some important dates for your diary including College interviews, spring ESC open events, and Love to Learn month.
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Competition time Win a pair of tickets to see ‘Viva la Coldplay’ in March at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings.
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Escape Magazine
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.Cover Story
.vegan festival aims to be a game-changer Vegan Festival Lewes returned to East Sussex College in November to give young people and the local community an insight into a vegan lifestyle. The free festival, which was back for the second time at the Lewes campus, was bigger and better than ever as it welcomed over 1,000 visitors to explore over 40 vegan businesses.
Sweet Tooth London and the doublecooked Belgian fries from BeFries in Brighton.
very grateful to my three main sponsors and the college for helping to make it all happen.”
Entrepreneur and former A-Level student, Robert Stevens set up Sussex Vegan, the online directory for vegan businesses in Sussex, while studying at college. His vegan festivals have been showing off the range of vegan products and foods that are available in Sussex.
Lewes Ladies Football Club midfielder, Katie Rood, took time out from training to visit and tell guests about her footballing journey and experience of becoming Vegan.
UK cosmetic companies, arts and crafts, and clothing manufacturers, setting up stall in the Cliffe building from 10am until 6pm.
Talking after the festival, Robert said, “It’s been a fantastic event. We’ve had lots of people come and visit from all over the county. They’ve been very complimentary about the festival and the fantastic community spirit in Lewes.
There was an abundance of delicious foods on offer too. There was a range of street food including tacos, miso soup, and wood-fired pizzas, as well as mouthwatering cakes from Vegan
“We’ve had some brilliant speakers such as Katie Rood and Animal Sanctuary, who gave their perspectives on veganism. I’m really pleased with how it’s all gone and
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Katie said, “It’s been great telling people how veganism has shaped my view on the world and helped me to become a better athlete. I don’t think I could have got to the levels that I have without being vegan. “There is definitely a change in attitude towards going vegan, especially since The Game Changers documentary on Netflix. Everyone is hyped about it and now people realise that a change in diet can play a huge part in improving performance.”
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.remembrance parade to mark armistice day
Students, staff, and war veterans gathered in the atrium at Station Plaza on Friday 15th November to remember fallen servicemen and women. Each year, Public Services students plan and organise the Remembrance Service and Parade to remember and honour those who lost their lives in wars and conflicts over the last century. Hastings Parachute Regimental Association, Hastings War veterans, the Mayor of Hastings, and members from the Royal British Legion were all in attendance to
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join together to say ‘Thank You’ to all who served, sacrificed, and shaped our world. Students and tutors filled each of the five floors to watch the service. The parade began at 10:30am with a coordinated march from the Level 2 and 3 Public Services students. Guests then heard readings from the college principal and a local priest. Children from the Jigsaw nursery then laid two poppy wreaths before the five standard bearers lowered their flags on the first note of the Last Post.
final note, the college observed two minutes of silence. Jim Sharpe, Hastings campus Principal, said, “Our Remembrance Service is a special date in the college’s calendar and we were proud to mark this occasion of remembrance with a special service. It was important for us to welcome our distinguished guests and members of our community to join us in saying thank you to the fallen war heroes and ensure they aren’t forgotten.”
The bugle player then sounded the last few notes as the bearers began to raise their Standards and on the
Escape Magazine
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.News in brief Warming up the homeless Hospitality and Catering students at our Eastbourne campus have chosen to support Warming up the Homeless as their charity of the year. The students will start a year of fundraising through a range of activities including Afternoon Teas, Christmas dinners and themed dining evenings at Kings Restaurant to support the Hastings charity.
Visit the news section on the college website to read our news in brief stories in full. www.escg.ac.uk/blog
EYR returned to the airwaves Eastbourne Youth Radio (EYR) made a welcome return to the airwaves in November, as media students from our Eastbourne campus hosted three days of radio. The shows gave listeners an insight into life, events and news at the college and the opportnity to interview local politicians and our very own principal, Rebecca Conroy.
Crash scene simulation Tutors trek the Sahara Five Sport and Public Service tutors from our Hastings campus took on a 40km trek across the Sahara Desert to raise money for charity. Craig, Pete, Dan, Adam, and Jon flew to Marrakech before embarking on the challenging five-day trek across one of the world’s largest deserts. The team managed to raise over £7,500 for St Michael’s Hospice, the college’s charity partner of the year.
East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS) recently reconstructed a road traffic collision (RTC) for our Motor Vehicle students at our Eastbourne campus. ESFRS led the demonstration and recreated a road traffic collision scene with students being ‘rescued’ from a silver Ford Fiesta. They experienced being cut out of a crashed car, with all the sounds and feelings of being in a realistic RTC, albeit with hard hats and safety goggles on.
Question time for policticians Four of the main parliamentary candidates for the Lewes constituency took part in a Question Time-style event at our Lewes campus. Johnny Denis (Green Party), Maria Caulfield (Conservative), Oli Henman (Liberal Democrats), and Kate Chappell (Labour Party) were joined by around 100 students in the lecture theatre and answered 15 questions about the environment, how they plan to reduce crime, what funding will be put into the NHS, whether university fees would increase if the UK leaves the EU, and why Further Education (FE) is the worst funded sector in education.
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.ESC is the best FE college for international students East Sussex College has been ranked as the best performing FE college and in the top 5% of all providers in the UK for its international provision following a recent British Council inspection. EL Gazette (English Language Gazette), the international news and media company for English Language Teaching, ranked the UK providers based on the summary statements published by the British Council. There were 15 areas assessed by the British Council, which EL Gazette then calculated to create the overall standings. The college was ranked as the highest placed Further Education provider for its Lewes and Eastbourne campuses, only bettered by 14 other organisations, predominantly made up of private language schools. The college has held the top position for eight years. Mark Allen, International Director at East Sussex College, said, “We are delighted with the successful British Council inspection. Although the inspection
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focuses on English Language, they also look at every area of our work including the accommodation we provide, our admissions process, the support we offer students, the resources available to help them learn, and the management of the college. This accreditation is a very strong kitemark of the whole college’s quality and something we are very proud of. “We also have even more reason to celebrate as this is the eighth consecutive year that we are the number one college in the UK for English Language and placed in the top 5% of all providers, including private language schools, colleges and universities.” A summary from the British Council report showed that the college had “Strengths...in the areas of strategic and quality management, staff management, student administration, premises and facilities, learning resources, academic staff profile, academic management, course design, learner management, teaching, care of students, accommodation and leisure opportunities.” You can read the full report here: www.britishcouncil. org/education/accreditation/centres/
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.Sir Peter Blake presents awards to seven EsC winners at Farley Arts Trust awards Seven talented young artists from ESC were celebrating at this year’s Farley Arts Trust awards as they won top prizes and commendations for their topical, thoughtprovoking, and creative artwork. Students from Eastbourne, Hastings and Lewes were invited to the awards evening at the Farleys Gallery in Chiddingly on Friday 18th October to receive their awards from special guest, Sir Peter Blake. From Lewes, Gus Baldwin, won the top sculpture award for his 3D wire snail which illustrates the slow, numb feelings of anxiety and vulnerability. Katarzyna Fedor’s oil painted canvas, which represents the current societal situation regarding immigration and domesticity, won the top prize in the painting category. Shannon Townsend’s book of sketches visually explore the relationship between architecture and atmosphere and was the winner in the sketchbook category. From Eastbourne, Jessica Miles created a range of prints based on her relationship with synaesthesia and won the top award in the works on paper category. There were highly commended awards for Izzy Patterson, who created swimwear based on micro-cultures in pond life, and Emily Coates, who created an advertising campaign to raise awareness for foodbanks. Rounding off the night of winners was Isaac Wall, from the Hastings, with his humanitarian life jacket. Michael Shepherd, Art & Design course leader in Eastbourne, said, “What a fantastic night of celebration at the Farley Arts Trust awards. We’re immensely proud of our students who won the top awards and highly commended awards for their art pieces. This will hopefully be just the start of their exciting careers in the creative industries.”
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Rebecca West is the WORLD’S BEST young beauty therapist after winning gold at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan... ... and we had the pleasure of talking to the talented beauty therapist shortly after she returned from the competition. She told us about her training, the WorldSkills competition and what it was like being crowned the world’s best young beauty therapist. “WorldSkills has changed my life! Being the world’s best young beauty therapist is an amazing feeling, but still hasn’t quite sunk in, even two months after winning. My journey [to becoming world champion] started while I was at college. I was given the opportunity to compete at the regional heats of the UK Skills competition. From there I got through to the national finals at the NEC in Birmingham, and after that, I went through to compete for a place on the GB Team. There was only one place up for grabs, so the feeling I had when I made the team was one of happiness and sadness. I was sad because I had become good friends with other girls, but on the other hand, I was extremely happy because I was off to Russia to represent my country. I began my training on 1st April and it was a 20-week programme where I stopped working [at my day job] and trained every single week. I was training with different beauty experts, specialising in areas such as lashes and then moving on to things like massage. Training took place in different parts of the country, five days a week, and I went home at the weekends, so it was intense! After my training, I flew to Russia on Monday 19th August and had
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a couple of days where we did the opening ceremony and familiarised ourselves with how the competition would unfold. We had the chance to do a few excursions before the fourday competition started. I was one of six finalists on the world stage and the competition was two full days and two half days. I was marked on everything including massage, lashes, nails, make-up and hair removal; a mixture of every beauty therapy skill you can think of. We had three or four judges watching over each area of skill. The judges would walk around while we were doing treatments marking us against certain criteria. We would then move to another area where we would have new judges marking us on something different. There was at least one judge from each of the finalist’s country, to make it fair.
The moment I found out that I had won was just wow! I remember making my way out into the stadium with the five other finalists and stood by the podium. The stadium announcer then called the top three countries before announcing the bronze, silver and gold winners. I was stood there with Korea and China. Korea finished third, which left me and the girl from China. We looked at each other and had no clue what was about to happen next. They called China and I was stood there on my own. Suddenly it hit me… I was world champion! It was crazy. I got onto the podium and all I could think about was ‘don’t fall over’! I then made my way to the Winner’s Circle to have pictures. When I saw Phoebe [McLavy], the bronze hairdressing winner, the
emotions hit me and I cried with happiness.
Since winning, I’ve been very busy. I’ve had a few TV and radio interviews and had lots of people congratulating me, which is lovely. But it’s nice to get back to normality. I’m back to work and I’ll hopefully be helping out with the next generation of WorldSkills to passing on my knowledge. Shanghai 2021 is going to be even harder. I couldn’t have done this without my training at East Sussex College. The skills I learned while I was there set me up for the competition without question. I started at the Lewes campus in 2013 and studied beauty and chose to stay on an extra year to complete my Level 3 in Beauty Therapy. I finished in 2016 but I was able to go back to use the facilities and train for the WorldSkills competition. I knew that ESC was a good college. I chose to travel two hours each day to get to Lewes because I knew it was a great college and I didn’t want to settle for average. I wanted to push myself and I knew that this college produces such amazing therapists and I could see from Kaiya’s win at the last WorldSkills in 2017 that students do really well here. What’s next for me? My future is definitely in the beauty industry. I’d love to go into training and pass on all my knowledge and experience.”
Read an extended version of Rebecca’s interview at: www.humansofesc.com
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.humans of ESC
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.Buongiorno! Travel students welcome Italian students for tourism morning Travel & Tourism students from East Sussex College Hastings welcomed a group of Italian students into the college in October. The Italian students were in Hastings to study English with English for Less and had arranged to visit the college to find out more about education in the UK, learn more about the historic town of Hastings and improve their English. The visit was the perfect opportunity for the Level 3 Travel & Tourism students to put their learning into
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practise as they greeted the students, gave them guided tours of the facilities, and then presented some interesting facts about some of the UK’s top tourism destinations, including Hastings. The Italian students, who are from the Amalfi Coast, then switched roles and spent some time to tell the Hastings students about the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, Pompei and nearby Naples. Hayley Watkinson, Travel & Tourism lecturer at East Sussex College Hastings, said: “We loved having the Italian students visit us. We were able
to show them around the college, visiting the fuselage, travel classrooms, the gym and the Plaza hair and beauty salons. “The guided tours and presentations about some of the top staycation spots in the UK really helped our students put their learning into practise and build their confidence - and they’ve also improved their knowledge about the stunning Amalfi Coast. “It was a great day and the students did a fantastic job as ambassadors for the college.”
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.Escape plans Happy new year! What’s coming up in the first part of 2020 we hear you ask...
January
March
Wednesday 1st - Friday 31st January - VEGANUARY Since 2014, Veganuary has inspired and supported more than half a million people in 178 countries to try vegan for January. Why not take the pledge this year?
10th, 12th, 24th, & 25th March - COLLEGE INTERVIEWS - EASTBOURNE, HASTINGS & LEWES (16:30 - 19:00) We’ll be hosting another round of college interviews at each of our campuses during March. Please check the college website for full details of dates, times and locations.
Wednesday 22nd January - COLLEGE INTERVIEWS LEWES - (16:30 - 19:00) We start the New Year with college interviews, and first up is our Lewes campus. If you’re in year 11 and have applied to us then we’ll be inviting you in so you can meet your tutor and let us know why you want to become an ESC student! Saturday 25th January - CHINESE NEW YEAR 2020 is the year of the Rat. The Rat is the first of the 12 animals in Chinese astrology which means 2020 is considered a year of new beginnings. Wednesday 29th January - COLLEGE INTERVIEWS EASTBOURNE & HASTINGS - (16:30 - 19:00) Next up are the interviews at our Eastbourne and Hastings campuses. If you are in year 11 and have applied to a course at our Eastbourne or Hastings campus, then we’ll invite you in to chat to your tutor and find out why you want to study with us.
February
ESC LIVE OPEN EVENT Thursday 12th March - Eastbourne Thursday 19th March - Hastings (Station Plaza) Thursday 26th March - Lewes Join us from 16:30 - 19:30 The ESC Live Open Events return in the spring to give you another chance to come an enjoy all that ESC has to offer. If you’re in year 10 then this is the perfect opportunity to help you make up your mind about your Taster Day choices. If you’re in year 11 then why not use this as a chance to help you make up your mind about which campus to study at in September. Sunday 22nd March - MOTHERING SUNDAY Mother’s Day is the perfect chance to celebrate and honour all the fantastic mums out there. Sunday 29th March - DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME Daylight Saving Time - the sign that summer is on the way! It’s the time of year that the clocks ‘spring’ forward, meaning more daylight each day. It’s not all yay though, it means we lose an hour of sleep!
Sat 1st - Sat 29th February - LOVE TO LEARN MONTH We’re making February ‘Love to Learn’ month. Don’t just celebrate Valentine’s Day, love learning for the other 28 days too. Check out the website to see what’s on offer. Friday 14th February - VALENTINE’S DAY The day when people show their affection for another person by sending cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love. Ahhhh. Monday 17th - Friday 21st February - HALF TERM Time for a little break during half term to think about revision for mocks and exams. Tuesday 25th February - SHROVE TUESDAY Get your eggs, butter, sugar and lemon juice at the ready... Shrove Tuesday signals the start of lent so it’s only right that you stuff your face with pancakes before the fasting period.
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.veganuary curry As January is now Veganuary we wanted to find a simple and delicious vegan recipe for you to try. We searched the internet and found Meera Sodha’s Sri Lankan curry on theguardian.com and boy is it good!
Leek, potato and cashew nut curry serves 2
YOU WILL NEED: 2 tbsp coconut oil 1 sprig curry leaves, fresh or frozen, plus a few extra, fried, to garnish 600g leeks, topped, thinly sliced into circles and well washed 3 fat garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated 1 green finger chilli, finely chopped ¼ tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander 1 tsp salt 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk 400g baby new potatoes, quartered 60g cashew nuts, toasted, plus a few extra to garnish 1 handful frozen peas
Recipe: Meera Sodha, chef, food writer and author. Photography: Louise Hagger, The Guardian
METHOD Heat the coconut oil in a deepsided frying pan on a medium heat, then add the curry leaves and wait for them to crackle and pop. Stir in the leeks and cook for five minutes, until soft, then add the garlic, ginger and chilli, and cook for three minutes.
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Stir in the pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and salt, then add the coconut milk and potatoes; half-fill the now empty coconut milk tin with water and tip that into the pot, too. Bring the curry to a simmer, cook for five minutes, then add the cashews and peas, and simmer for
a further five minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Check the curry for seasoning, transfer to a serving dish and squeeze over some lemon juice to taste. Garnish with a few fried curry leaves and extra cashews, and serve with freshly steamed jasmine or basmati rice.
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.COMPETITON TIME! WIN two tickets to see viva la coldplay Enjoy an evening of Coldplay hits with VIVA LA COLDPLAY – you simply won’t believe your eyes and ears! You’ll have ‘A Head full of Dreams’ whilst singing along to the greats like ‘Yellow’, ‘Clocks’, ‘The Scientist’, ‘Viva La Vida’, ‘Something Just Like This’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ to name just a few. Our good friends at the White Rock Theatre have given us two tickets to giveaway to see Viva La Coldplay on Friday 20th March at 7:30pm.
For your chance to win, please answer this question: Who is the lead singer of Coldplay? Think you know? Email your answer to: comms@escg.ac.uk with ‘Viva La Coldplay’ in the subject box. Don’t forget to leave your name and contact details. Closing date for entries: 1st March 2020
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