Chairman of the Student Association, William Marshall, who is on the Vocational Skills course explains, “The Student Association at Coleg Powys in Llandrindod Wells raised £253.50 for Welsh Air Ambulance at their Christmas Fayre. All the students in Llandrindod participated by making cards, calendars, cakes, sweets, gift boxes, table decorations, etc and helping to sell them.”

Students from colleges all across Wales have been working hard and showing off their skills in preceding rounds to reach these finals. The excellent new salon facilities at Coleg Powys will now host the best students in Wales in these three fields.

Good luck to all the finalists!

THE FASHION SHOW IS BACK, BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!

Thursday 8th March 2012, 7.30pm

Following the success of ‘The Ultimate Collection’ fashion show in 2011, the BTEC Business students from Coleg Powys have been commissioned to produce another fashion extravaganza for 2012.

As last year’s show was so highly acclaimed it has been a tall order.  However, the students have been working tirelessly to make this one even bigger and better. Some of the favourites are back but there will also be some new retailers joining the ranks with a couple of surprises in store.

Again, there will be a huge involvement in this production from many other staff and students from across the college. The catering students will be offering a drink and canapés on arrival to every guest, whilst the hairdressing students will be working hard to give the models some funky hair creations and spectacular make up. The Performing Arts students will be performing one of their dance routines as well as taking part in the modelling and the Media and Arts students will be filming the show and taking photographs. Travel and Tourism students are organising a raffle and helping behind the scenes with models coming from a wide range of courses including Health and Social Care, Sport, ILS, Travel and Tourism, Child Care, Performing Arts and Welding.

Many staff and their children will also be in the modelling line-up and there will be a guest appearance by Body Poppers, who are a very successful dance team who have won many titles.

During the interval there will be food available to purchase, stands to browse and a fashion competition taking place to make the evening exciting, non-stop entertainment.

The show this year is supporting the cancer charity Lymphoma.

Tickets are priced £8, £7 concessions, £5 Coleg Powys students (student ID card required) and £3 for children 12 and under. Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start.

Tickets available from The Hafren Box Office, online or by telephone.
Tel: 01686 614 555
http://www.thehafren.co.uk

The group studying the BTEC Level 2 Construction included students from Newtown High School, Llanidloes High School and John Beddoes School. They were accompanied by Carpentry Lecturer George Stewart, Construction Technician Dennis Buttery, Tutor Teresa Davies and Welsh Language Officer David Jones. The group thanked Mick Cunningham for taking the time to provide “an excellent and informative visit” which they all enjoyed.

Get with Apprenticeships!

Guests were invited from the engineering, manufacturing, motor vehicle, construction and catering and hospitality industries.

This event was also attended by Representatives from Welsh Government and Careers Wales, who gave a presentation about the Apprenticeship Matching Service, as well as CSkills, Semta and People 1st, the sector skills councils for construction, engineering and hospitality.

The event provided guests with an opportunity to talk to employers who currently employ apprentices, discover how apprentices can help create a productive workplace, make business stand out from others, improve staff retention and reduce recruitment and training costs.

Get with Apprenticeships!

The Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire held a lively Question and Answer session with Motor Vehicle Pathways to Apprenticeship learners. Subjects discussed included Low Carbon Footprint, Hybrid, WG Green Agenda and WG Apprenticeship Policy.

Russell then had his vehicle checked by Level 1 and 2 Motor Vehicle students as part of their ‘Winter Vehicle Check’ scheme, which was running for the duration of Apprentice Week. During the checks students found that Russell’s car was almost entirely out of oil, which came as something of a surprise to our local Welsh Assembly member.

Get with Apprenticeships!

The day included a number of presentations and displays which included a crashed car at the college entrance, hourly presentations and discussion by the Fire Service; a simulator showing the effects of drink driving and using mobile phones whilst driving; a Dyfed Powys Police display stand as well as various information points providing free leaflets.

Stephen Rowlands, Mid and West Wales Community Safety Manager said: “We were asked to speak to the students due to a number of complaints about a minority of drivers around campus who were demonstrating poor driving skills. The day exceeded all of our expectations, with some frank discussions taking place around the subject of risk perception and driving standards.

“Unfortunately far too many 17-24 year old drivers and passengers are killed or seriously injured on our roads in Powys. This peer group are a historically difficult group to engage with and the RTC day gave us a captive audience. The session provided the students with information that will hopefully shape their driving habits for the future. It is also important that passengers also take responsibility in motor vehicles and communicate with the driver to ensure that he or she is aware of the aftermath of any risks that they take behind the wheel of a car.”

Student Association Committee member Ryan Waters, who is on the Painting and Decorating Course, said, “The day was really good and it was surprising how many students got involved, especially on the car simulator and being breathalysed and were surprised how long alcohol takes to get out of your body. The video clips were hard hitting and I was amazed how every student in the room thought about the serious consequences of not driving safely, the whole room went quiet.”

Ian presented an overview of Sector Skills organisations and the part that they play in employer engagement and responsiveness. The conference was a great success with Chinese delegates and key politicians agreeing to pilot a UK style apprenticeship scheme as an experiment in some of their technical colleges. In addition, Chinese Principals will be freed up to come and shadow some of their counterparts in the UK.

Ian said, “It was a great experience and great news that Colleges Wales International was represented at the talks. No other devolved government was represented in the delegation, so it was important we were there. I gained a real insight into the challenges that the Chinese are facing. They are moving their economy on to a new stage in its development and require a more highly trained and creative work force. Unfortunately, the education system does not easily lend itself to the development of free thinking creative challenging minds. They highly value British design which is regarded as ‘chic’. There are all sorts of possibilities for collaborative activity and I can see a range of opportunities for the Colleges Wales consortia.”

[click photo for larger version]

When she arrived at Coleg Powys she already had two years of experience as part of the Welsh Judo team. In the last four years she has taken part in the UK Schools Games, attending events in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. She has maintained her interest and has recently competed in Holland and Poland as part of the squad. She will be taking part in the Commonwealth Tournament next week in Cardiff.

Kirsty has also been selected to play in the Welsh Colleges Netball squad. She attended two trials before Christmas and earned her position as Goal Attack. She also plays on behalf of the college and the county.

In addition to these contributions, Kirsty plays hockey and football on behalf of the college. Her tutors are hugely impressed by the tenacity and determination she shows when taking part. She is a team member who always gives 100%. She was part of the 5-a-side team which won the Welsh Colleges Indoor Tournament and will represent Coleg Powys at the National Championships in Bath.

In the little time that she has left, Kirsty is a lifeguard in Builth Wells, coaches children at her local Judo club and is undertaking work experience with the Five Times Sixty Officers in schools as part of their spring activities. She also recently took part in the Dragon Sports Coaching Event in Brecon Leisure Centre which staged athletic indoor events.

Kirsty has already attained her Level 1 Football Leader’s Award and will complete her Level 1 Awards in Netball and Judo this academic year. Her tutors expect her to achieve (at least) a triple distinction in her sports course. Kirsty is currently deciding whether to go to University or join the RAF after taking a year out to pursue her sporting interests.

The Cougars were down to just eleven players whilst Gower College is always able to field a strong squad of at least twenty players. Undeterred the Cougars were up for the game and determined to do their best.

The game began evenly with both sides opting to play wide open hockey with the intent on attack. Gower started to take control and pressed forward at every opportunity. This led them to be a little exposed at the back and when the Cougars broke Gower were most fortunate to not go a goal down, the goalkeeper denying Carley Williams’ shot. Although Gower maintained the pressure the Cougar defence of Gemma Jones, Bronnie Jones and Angharad Meredith were outstanding.

Ffion Mills, the Cougar goalkeeper, had a busy afternoon with some fantastic saves to frustrate Gower College. The midfield worked tirelessly with Kirsty Powell leading the way with a fine performance and up front Hollie Thomas made some good runs.

As the game continued tired legs allowed the play to open up but neither side could find the net and so the 0-0 draw was probably a fair result.