Further Education newsletter

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Writtle College officially good!

Writtle College is celebrating after Ofsted rated us as good!

Inspectors visited the College over four days in January to observe lessons across the range of our Further Education courses and to speak with students, staff, governors, managers, parents and visitors.

The inspectors credited the achievement of students, with success rates increasing by 10% since the College was last inspected just over two years ago. They praised our ‘highly specialist and enthusiastic staff’ for developing learners’ practical and employability skills. The guidance and support offered at the College was commended for leading to high standards of conduct and social development in students.

Andy Sparks, Head of Further Education at Writtle College, said: “We are delighted with the good rating from Ofsted. This is a reflection of the hard work and professionalism of our staff, who aim to inspire and engage our students through innovative and industry-focused programmes that prepare them for work or further study.

“The number of learners at Writtle College who successfully complete their qualification is at an all-time high – we have a 93% headline success rate, which puts us in the top performing 5% of colleges in the country.

“We were particularly pleased with the inspectors’ comments that ‘learners develop excellent practical skills in lessons taught by highly specialist and enthusiastic tutors’ and that they recognised students’ high standards of behaviour, teamwork, conduct and punctuality – essential components to a good work ethic."

FE Agriculture students to the rescue of flooded farmers

Writtle College Further Education students have gone to the aid of stricken farmers affected by the flooding in Somerset.

The students decided to act after hearing the heart-breaking stories of farmers who have seen their livelihoods destroyed by the flooding.

They have carted straw, silage and hay donated by Essex farmers down to Somerset through the Essex Young Farmers’ Forage Aid response. The forage was taken in convoy down to the Sedgemore Auction Centre, where it was distributed to Somerset farmers.

Horticulture students unveil design for Ideal Home Show competition!

The Writtle College student team entering the Young Gardeners of the Year competition at the Ideal Home Show next month have unveiled their inspiring design.

The entry has to be a 5.5m by 4m sustainable garden to inspire city dwellers, which will be seen by a quarter of a million people during the show.

The team of 14, with their lecturer Ben Wincott, have come up with an unusual and innovative design in their bid to beat the five other UK colleges to win the title.

The design centres on the urban space of a pub which has been abandoned and taken over by nature. There will be a water feature made from a piano, a fireplace featuring logs that are a bug hotel, reclaimed floorboards and a grass carpet, a broken window with hops growing through it, chairs made from old pallets, a beer barrel containing compost and pints made from compost with plants on top for the froth.

Six students at a time will construct the garden from scratch within a matter of days inside the show in Earls Court, London, which opens on 14 March.

Elements of the garden can be built in advance and are taking shape in the College’s Amenity Building.

Ben, lecturer and course manager for FE Horticulture, who specialises in construction and design, has designed several show gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Shows.

He said: “This is a really exciting project that has filled the students with enthusiasm; they have been developing their ideas and the design over the last few weeks and I think it will be inspiring, thought-provoking and a showcase of what they can achieve.

“We want to create a fun garden - a design that will be enjoyable to build as well as, hopefully, an award winner.�

The team, who have appeared in various newspapers and on BBC Essex, are being supported by local independent builders’ merchants Collier & Catchpole, which has supplied timber, Provender Nurseries, in Swanley, and John Woods Nurseries, Norfolk, which have supplied plants, as well as Carbon Gold, which has provided a specialist soil additive.

Farm machinery showcased at College

FE Agriculture students had the opportunity to see the latest farm machinery at the College at a special event for the industry.

Four John Deere tractors, Kverneland fertiliser spreaders and drills were among the equipment brought to the College as P Tuckwell Ltd held a showcase to 60 farmers.

Tuckwells opened the Precision Spreading and Seeding event to Agriculture students so they could learn more about the equipment and the training needed to operate it.

FE Sports student competes at the World Cyclo-cross Championships!

FE Sports student Sean Dunlea has recently competed at the World Cyclo-Cross Championships in the Netherlands.

The 17-year-old competed in the junior men’s world title race which opened the championships last month.

Writtle College Higher Education lecturer Mark Walker (pictured cheering on Sean) went to the championships as a coach for him and Helen Wyman, who won a bronze medal in the elite women’s race - the best performance by a British rider since 2000.

Floristry students produce arrangements for Sports Awards

Level 2 Diploma Floristry students designed and created floral arrangements for the Essex Chronicle Sports Awards 2014.

Art and Design students take part in studio workshop

Students from FE Art and Design were involved in a printmaking workshop at the Curwen Print Studio in Cambridge – working with artists to explore callograph and dry point etching techniques.

Animal Studies student qualifies for Young Kennel Club Handlers competition!

Level 2 student Rae Bibb has qualified for this year’s Young Kennel Club Handlers competition at Crufts.

Rae worked hard through a gruelling qualifying process to get to the finals of this national competition.

Crufts 2014 takes place from 6 to 9 March 2014 at The NEC, Birmingham.

Performance artist visits Art and Design students

Performance artist Mike Dodsworth used his art of storytelling to embrace the medium of drawing and art. HE and FE Art and Design students worked alongside each other for a very productive day.

Come to our next Information Event!

Information Events are the perfect opportunity to find out all you need to know about the courses, application process, finances, student life and what Writtle College is really about.

The next Information Event will be on Wednesday 5 March from 6pm to 7.30pm. Pre-event registration is required, to avoid disappointment. To register, please contact Admissions on 01245 424200, email openday@writtle.ac.uk, or apply online.