Elizabeth, who plans to study Civil Engineering at university, contacted main contractors BAM Construct UK and secured an internship shadowing senior figures on the site.

“It has been a wonderful opportunity and I would like to thank everyone at Stafford College and BAM Construct UK for making it possible,” said Elizabeth. “I have been able to work alongside a Quantity Surveyor, an Engineer responsible for design and management and the site supervisor. I’ve learned an enormous amount about the role of these functions on a big project like this. It will help me a great deal when I go to university.”

Elizabeth studied A-Levels in maths, history, physics and graphic design at Stafford College. Her internship was arranged by Phil Eves, Education Co-ordinator at BAM Construct who said that everyone working on the site had been impressed by the ambitious student. Site Supervisor John Buckley, who was one of those shadowed by Elizabeth, added that women like her are increasingly recognising the potential of careers in the construction sector.

The construction project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2012. It will provide state-of-the-art kitchens for hospitality students alongside new premises for the popular campus restaurant. There will be a new beauty salon which will be open to the public and impressive new library and information facilities for students. Landscaped external spaces are being created and care has also been taken to maintain high standards of energy conservation – indeed the first part of the development to be completed involved the construction of a new Bike Dock providing covered parking for dozens of cycles.

One of the central features of the site is a large tower crane and as Senior Site Manager John Buckley of main contractors BAM Construct UK explained, the safety of drivers working on this crane is of particular importance:

"The driver will typically be positioned at a height of 37m and if ever the driver was taken ill or injured, that would involve a highly specialised rescue procedure. Additionally, as Staffordians can hardly fail to have noticed, the crane has a jib extending out 60m which poses its own challenges for rescue workers. We always like to make our sites available for training by fire and rescue crews because it is hugely beneficial to all concerned."

On Sunday 22 January officers from the Fire & Rescue Service came onto the construction site to carry out a challenging training exercise using ropes to move a 'casualty' from the heights of the crane to the ground.

The construction project will provide state-of-the-art kitchens for hospitality students alongside new premises for the popular campus restaurant. There will be a new beauty salon which will be open to the public and impressive new library and information facilities for students. Landscaped external spaces are also being created on the campus.

The College said that 28 vacancies are within the engineering sector, ten in construction and a further two in administration.

Pauline Athersmith, Workforce Development Manager at Stafford College, said that the apprenticeships represented exciting opportunities for people who want to gain work-related qualifications as well as practical experience.

“There has been so much bad news in recent weeks; it is fantastic to be able to start the New Year on such a positive note. Anyone over the age of 16 is eligible for these Apprenticeships which offer training in the workplace along with tuition at Stafford College. I’m delighted that as a College which specialises in Apprenticeships, we can help school leavers and job seekers to take advantage of these opportunities and assist employers to invest in the future of their businesses.”

The College will be providing full details of the Apprenticeships at three special Apprenticeship Advice Evenings on January 16, 17 and 18 from 5.30 – 8pm.

“As well as telling people how they can apply for these vacancies, we will be providing further information about this kind of training. Our own Apprenticeship Matching Service helps local employers to identify outstanding candidates and for school leavers and job seekers to learn about apprenticeship opportunities in this area. So if you are interested in becoming an apprentice and earning while you learn, come along to one of the Advice Evenings and let us try to help you find an employer and apprenticeship,” said Pauline Athersmith.

The College will be welcoming applications and enquiries during all three Apprenticeship Advice Evenings. On Tuesday 17 January employers including Perkins, Alstom and Stafford & Rural Homes will also be present to talk to prospective Apprentices.

Pictured: Scott Hay, 17, is an apprentice mechanic at FMS, studying towards work-related qualifications at Stafford College.

The teams of students set up their own businesses, competing to raise funds by selling their products from a stall in the Guildhall Shopping Centre.

In a challenge similar to those set for candidates on The Apprentice TV show, the students were formed into teams and asked to design, promote and sell their own gifts. Profits from their enterprises were earmarked for the children’s charity, Barnardo’s.

“The students were incredibly creative, coming up with some brilliant ideas and selling a huge range of products,” said Tracy Thomas, course manager for the Level 3 Business course at Stafford College. “We had personalised wooden bracelets and baubles, scented candles and even printed mugs and coasters bearing slogans inspired by catchphrases from the cult television programme The Only Way is Essex.”

The students proved considerably more successful than many of the teams grappling with Lord Sugar’s challenges, not only making a profit but raising £1,000 for Barnardo’s.

“These young entrepreneurs did incredibly well. They brought their products to market in a very short time, worked as a team and achieved great results,” added lecturer Purbhinder Chana.

This week the saddle sore pedal-pushers handed over their sponsorship money to a representative of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).
The coast-to-coast cyclists all work in the sport and public services areas of the College. They decided to support the charity, set up to help former and serving members of the armed forces and their families, because some students on the Public Services course hope to progress into the armed forces and also because several members of the team have close links to the services.

“We were also pleased that the money we raised would stay in the County, helping service personnel and their families here in Staffordshire,” explained Mark Kent, who took part in the challenge.

The cyclists covered 170 miles in three days, pedalling from Morecambe to Bridlington. Every member of the team completed the journey, although there were some mishaps along the way.

“We did have a few setbacks, with a couple of falls and some problems with the bikes but fortunately we had a great back-up team and the knowledge that we were supporting a fantastic cause. We always knew we’d get there in the end,” said Mark Kent.

The cyclists handed over a cheque for £819 to George Steele, fundraising chairman of the Staffordshire branch of SSAFA.

Around 20 performances will take the stage at the Raqs Wombourne Show, from 7-8.30pm on Saturday 29 October. Among the stars are Ozgen, Dames Du Serpent, Shikidim and more. Students from a Thursday night class at the Centre will be performing a routine choreographed by teacher Karen Price.

“I am extremely excited about the show. It will be fabulous to showcase the skills of my students on the same stage as the internationally acclaimed male belly dancer Ozgen from Turkey. He is simply sensational, as are many of those taking part on the evening. I would urge anyone interested in belly dancing to come along and enjoy the event which demonstrates the diversity of this kind of dance,” said Karen.

The Raqs Wombourne show features demonstrations of different kinds of belly dancing including Egyptian and Turkesh cabaret, American tribal style, gypsy and Bollywood. It also includes a bar and a small souq. Tickets cost £10 and can be obtained from here: http://raqswombourne.vpweb.co.

Charlotte Fortescue, 19, was presented with the Haute Couture prize for her collection of dramatic, grand garments inspired by Cruella Deville.

Charlotte, who is in the second year of the Foundation Degree in Fashion Studies at the College, said that she was “Overwhelmed and excited” to win the award. “There was a lot of competition and I didn’t really expect to win.” She said that the designs showcased by models on the catwalk during the final of the event are striking, theatrically inspired styles: “They were entered in the Haute Couture category and to be honest, they are pretty out there. They aren’t exactly the sort of clothes you’d find on the high street but everything I do is about tailoring, about creating something that looks amazing on a woman’s figure.”

The Midlands Fashion Designer Awards celebrate new and emerging fashion designers from the region. Finalists were invited to show their collections in front of judges and industry insiders at an exclusive fashion show held at the Fazeley Studios in Birmingham. As an award winner, Charlotte says that she has already received a lot of interest and hopes that the connections she is making as a result, will help her future career. She will also be showing her designs at Clotheshow Live.

“I’ll finish my Foundation Degree next summer and then I hope to top-up my qualification to an honours degree at university. Meanwhile, I’ll keep improving my skills and developing my own style within design,” said Charlotte.

Stafford College lecturer Jayne Clough congratulated the award-winning student: “We are all incredibly proud of Charlotte and delighted that she has won this important award. She prepared her competition collection throughout the summer and thoroughly deserved to win after all the hard work and effort she put in to create a fantastic, dramatic collection of couture garments.

The pre-schoolers and toddlers compiled a list of traditional and modern nursery rhymes together with some Christmas songs. They were invited into the professional recording studios on the College campus to record their disc.

Twenty-six children took part in the recording. The young stars, aged between two and five, were divided into two groups, each spending half a day in the studio helped by Butterflies staff, Music technology lecturers and students. Nursery Manager Sue Tatler said that the experience had been a great adventure for the children:

“They loved every second of their visits to the recording studio and had so much help and support from the experts in the Music Technology team. The children had a wonderful time recording their favourite nursery rhymes and other songs that they sing at Butterflies”.

Inspiration for the recording came from requests by parents who enjoy singing along with their children but were unfamiliar with some of the latest hits at the nursery.

“We originally thought of writing down the lyrics for parents but decided it would be a lot nicer for them to hear the songs performed by the children. We always try to raise money to support Children in Need and felt that this could be a fun way to raise some funds for a fantastic cause,” said Sue Tatler.

Jenny Addison, a student on the Foundation Degree in Contemporary Art Practice course at the College, was chosen to design the cover for the CD. Jenny specialises in illustration and hopes to forge a career as an illustrator of children’s books.

The CD will receive an official launch in the College theatre at 10.30am on 3 November. Some of the young singers will be performing live versions of tracks from the disc and Jenny Addison’s illustration will be projected onto the walls of the theatre. The launch will be hosted by students on Performing Arts courses at Stafford College.

Butterflies Day Nursery sing for Children in Need will be offered for sale for the first time at the launch event at a price of £6. It will be available to buy from the Nursery and the main Reception in Earl Street, with all proceeds going to Children in Need.

The students were invited onto the large wetland area close to the town centre, to create some new wildlife environments and survey the extent to which the urban reserve is attracting mammals and invertebrates.

Course leader Andy Taylor said that the students, who hope to work in conservation or estate management, have spent several days on the reserve this term. “We have been working on the reed beds, clearing willow scrub which was threatening to dry out sections of the marsh and creating new habitat spaces to encourage additional wildlife,” he said.

The students also carried out a survey of small mammals as part of a national count and found healthy populations of four different species of these creatures. There were encouraging results, too, from an invertebrate survey which highlighted the success of the reserve in attracting dragonfly.

“This was a really valuable experience for the students. We would like to thank Stafford Borough Council for inviting us onto Kingsmead Marsh and for generously providing tools to help the group to engage in a wide range of environmental projects,” said Andy Taylor. “This course includes a great deal of practical experience in different locations. This was an excellent means of understanding the important role of an urban wildlife haven on the edge of a busy town centre. The students gained a lot in terms of having a direct involvement in current work to promote biodiversity.”

Councillor Frank Finlay, cabinet member for environment and health, praised the contribution of the project, saying: “This is a good example of partnership work by the college and ourselves and the students did an excellent job at the nature reserve.

The Russian language for business people is a five-week evening course which promises to give students the confidence they need to embark on a business trip in the country.

The Russian course is being taught from 6.30 – 8.30pm on Tuesday evenings, starting on 1 November. As a College spokesperson explained, it is one of the leisure courses offered on the campus and does not, therefore, lead to a qualification.

“This course is aimed at beginners and learners won’t have to face an exam at the end of it. Although the course is designed for business people, it would be just as suitable for someone who is planning to travel to Russia for a holiday and wants to get more out of their visit to this fascinating country.”

The course includes an introduction to the Russian alphabet and teaches students how to order from a menu or buy food from shops in the country. Concentrating on useful skills for travellers, it also covers buying tickets in Russian train stations and airports, booking accommodation and understanding local signs as well as key business and social vocabulary.

“We already offer a wide range of other language courses as part of our leisure courses at College. Our learners tell us that when they travel after having attended these courses, they are able to do far more than the average tourist or business traveller. Local people are always delighted that our adult students have made the effort to learn a little of their language and as a result, go out of their way to welcome them to their country.”

The importance of Russia as a trade partner was underlined in November 2010, when Business Secretary Vince Cable made a three-day visit to the country with the largest-ever British delegation. Nearly 40 companies were represented during the trip, including JCB, Rolls Royce and BP, which has a 50 percent stake in one of Russia’s largest oil producers.

“The 2014 Winter Games and the 2018 World Cup will both will be held in Russia,” said Nigel Southall, who will be teaching the new course. “There is going to be a huge amount of interest in Russia in the next few years and there has never been a better time to learn a little more about the country and its language.