Best of SkilledUp Final

Pupils from colleges across Kent converged upon the Tunbridge Wells campus at North Farm on Wednesday 23rd June for the Best of SkilledUp Final. SkilledUp is a competition for construction craft students to complete a specific project, competing against each other and against the clock. The final showcased the work of each college’s finalist in the four trades: Brickwork; Carpentry; Joinery; Painting & Decorating. The five colleges participating were: West Kent, South Kent, Mid Kent, Thanet and North West Kent.

The 20 competitors worked tirelessly throughout the day to produce excellent examples of their trade. Winners were: Brickwork – Adam Rigden, Thanet College; Carpentry – Charlie Connor, North West Kent College; Joinery – Chris Ward, MidKent College; Painting & Decorating – Aron Baker, North West Kent College.

Thanks go to the fantastic local employers and sponsors of the event: Wates Group, Makita, Brewers, Simpsons York and Galliford Try for supplying judges, prizes and awards presenters.

The Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Councillor David Jukes, visited the event and commented: “I was very impressed with the standard of work being produced by the students today and by the traditional construction industry skills that they have acquired. Although things have moved on since I was a craft apprentice, it was encouraging to see that the skills required to produce items of quality have not diminished. Well done to all of the students and also to the staff, whose enthusiasm is infectious and encourages the students to be proud of their achievements. Well done also to the companies still offering apprenticeships, as without these dedicated people the depth of skills that we still harbour in this country will be lost."

LRC Photography Competition Winners

The Learning Resource Centre held a photography competition this term and the winners have now been announced.

There were 56 entries into the competition and they were judged by Bill Fearon, the Principal, Nik Guyatt, ILT Trainer, and Leonie Paris, the Marketing Manager. Entries were within four categories: Everyday Objects from a New Perspective; Self-Portrait; Landscape; and, Food and Drink. A first, second and third place was awarded for each category. Here are the winners:

Everyday Objects from a New Perspective: Tina Chatfield-Keller

Self-Portrait: Lindsay Riordan

Landscape: J Harvey

Food and Drink: Sharon Hall Shipp

All photographs are currently on display in Goudhurst Learning Resource Centre and will be there until the 26th March. Thanks to everyone who entered and look out for the LRC Student Poetry competition which is currently calling entries.

Construction students get SkilledUp at West Kent College

West Kent College held a heat of the regional SkilledUp competition on Monday, 1st March. The event was a competition for carpentry and brickwork students to complete a specific project, competing against each other and the clock. SkilledUp takes place in colleges across the county, with the top three from each college in each trade going on to compete against each other in the regional SkilledUp ‘Best of’ final on June 23rd, which will also be held at West Kent College. As a demonstration of the links between the colleges in Kent, the judging was carried out by South Kent College staff, with West Kent College staff having judged at South Kent’s Ashford and Folkestone campuses during the previous week.

Our winners were Josh Armer-Court in Carpentry, with Nick Keeling taking second place and Jamie Mason coming in third. In Brickwork, Richard Hoadley took the prize for first place, with Barney Eastwood second and Dean Sales third. Prizes were kindly donated by Makita and trophies by Wates.

Mark Taylor, a carpentry lecturer at the College, said: “The students were really eager to take part and compete against each other. I’ve seen some good work from all of them.”

The event was also attended by family and local employers, including Glen Lester of Lester Building Contractors, who has two West Kent College carpentry apprentices - one of whom being third-placed Jamie Mason - working for him. Glenn said: “I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen – not just Jamie and David’s work but all of the students. I would say to any employer taking on an apprentice to consider them as part of the team and a worthwhile asset – they have both added to our dynamic as they are young and full of enthusiasm.”

Diversity Bookmark Competition

The LRC recently ran a very successful diversity bookmark competition, which invited learners to design a bookmark depicting what diversity meant to them. There were over 70 entries which demonstrated a real engagement with the subject of diversity. Many of the themes focused on understanding difference, such as people’s faith, politics, race, culture or economic status. The message from learners was quite clear: we are all different, let’s learn from each other and celebrate this.

The judging was tough but Sharon Hocking, Elaine Scutt, Nick Guyatt and Sharon Corden managed to pick their winners. Sharon Hocking, Quality and Diversity manager, commented, “I was really impressed with the range of themes explored in the competition. Diversity clearly means many things to many people. It was difficult to choose two winners from such a wealth of material.”

The panel awarded first place and £30 to Elizabeth Samms (Childcare and Education) who depicted a jigsaw of different, diverse pieces coming together as a strong and cohesive whole. Second prize and £15 went to Kerrie Chamberlain (Alternative Curriculum) who designed a simple and striking bookmark on the theme of racial diversity, with the powerful message of “Make things change”.

The panel would also like to offer special commendations to Scarlet Wilson (Childcare and Education), Matt Daly (Alternative Curriculum) and Lisa Rogers (Early Years) for their excellent designs (which won them a box of chocolates each!). Two other entries were praised for capturing the Diversity theme very well and they will be used for posters within the College: Jade Brazier and Emily Kift.

An awards ceremony was held on Monday 16th November in The Gallery Restaurant where all the winners were present. Bill Fearon, Principal, presented the prizes and said, “I’m very impressed with the wide range of styles, colours and shapes with Equality and Diversity as a strong theme.” The catering students also provided a delicious feast of Asian food with curries, kebabs, breads and dips which everyone enjoyed.

Copies of the winning bookmarks are available in all of our LRCs, where all the entries will also be on display.