RAG…it’s coming!

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Alright guys,

I attended the Ultrabeat social last week and it was good to see some new faces there. If anyone has any photos from this night then please send them to me via my email – samn@reaseheath.ac.uk. I will put some of the photos up on the Facebook page.

We are now in the final planning stage for our RAG week. We want an all-time high attendance for our events to make this year the best yet!  So far we’ve been planning some of our big events like the beer barrow race, raft race, and RAG Ball.  We also have some new events like the slip ‘n’ slide and Stranded. If you want to take part in any of these events or help organise them then let a member of the SA know.

The second lambing weekend has just gone and we are hoping to have raised a total of £1500. For any students that helped out over either I would like to thank you on behalf of the SA.  You have all done a great job and we want this spirit to carry on through till the end of the year.

Check in next week for another update.

Sam Norfolk
SA President

Bluebell meets her Beau!

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February is adopt a rescue rabbit month so we are encouraging owners of single rabbits to go out and find a companion for their rabbit.

Rabbits are social animals and should  be kept with a companion but unfortunately many spend their lives in solitary confinement stuck at the end of the garden in a hutch lonely, bored and ignored once the novelty of the new pet has worn off!  Rabbits are often recommended as good pets for children when in fact they are not as they can be difficult to handle and kick out with their large, powerful back legs resulting in the rabbit being dropped and injury to the animal.  Its always best to interact with your rabbit on ground level and leave the handling for important health checks, grooming, nail clipping and vet visits.

Rabbits love to snuggle together, groom each other, run and binky (a joyful leap into the air, with a twist of the body) together.  A lot of rabbits are denied these social interactions.

Rabbits are social and inquisitive animals that should have much more than a hutch to live in.  The minimum requirement  for two rabbits is a 6x2x2 hutch with an 8×4 run but garden sheds and play houses are often much better as they are much more spacious. Unfortunately many pet shops sell accommodation way too small and many rabbits become obese and  develop health problems due to lack of exercise and stimulation in these ‘prisons’.

Rescue centres are full of rabbits looking to find loving homes and rabbits from a good rescue centre will already come neutered and vaccinated. In 2012 the statistics stood at 67,000 rabbits passed through rescue in the UK.  This problem comes from the casual breeding of rabbits by owners, breeders and some pet shops.

You should never attempt to introduce two rabbits that are not neutered and the introduction should be done on neutral territory with supervision and a male/ female combination is best.  Rescue centres will normally help with the bonding process as it can be difficult.

Bluebell and Beau are a great example of two lone rabbits that have found friendship with each other.  Beau came to us from the RSPCA, he was a stray bunny who had probably been abandoned or escaped from someone’s garden.  Introducing bunnies can be a difficult process but with Bluebell and Beau it was pretty much love at first sight.  Both Bluebell and Beau were neutered before the introduction which  was done on a neutral territory as this stops the rabbits wanting to defend their own territory.  After a little bit of chasing each other round Bluebell and Beau seemed to accept each other’s company and become firm friends.  It’s great to see them snuggled up together and enjoying each other’s company.  It’s important to mention though that not all introductions go this successfully and can take a lot longer, that is why it’s important to seek advice before attempting it.

Reaseheath College supports the neutering and vaccinating of rabbits and does not support the casual breeding of rabbits. For further information about rabbit care email Emma Hunt on emmah@reaseheath.ac.uk or contact your nearest animal rescue centre 

 

Revisiting Reaseheath: 1946

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Eric & Gervase0002 cropped

A huge thank you to Simon Thomas for sending Reaseheath Alumni Association a picture of the 1946/47 Cheshire School of Agriculture year group; featuring his father Eric Thomas (dark blazer on the right, back row) and his best friend Gervase Brown (directly below the balcony pillar).

The picture was presented to Simon by Gervase’s daughter Frances and son David.

Please contact Katie Burt, Reaseheath’s Alumni Officer if you can identify more faces in this picture.

Reaseheath College’s home baking challenge hots up

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Reaseheath College’s challenge to find the region’s best Year 9 baker is hotting up as the semi finals draw to a close.

Nick Blakemore and Hannah Morris with her heart shaped engagement cake

Nick Blakemore and Hannah Morris with her heart shaped engagement cake

The 45 entries which made the second round of Reaseheath’s Year 9 Schools Bake Off Competition have been whittled down to ten finalists. Teams of food technologists from the Nantwich college’s Food Centre made the selection after visiting 15 schools throughout Cheshire, Staffordshire, Manchester, Wirral and mid Wales to view and taste the cakes and to test the knowledge of the young bakers.

The finalists will recreate their cakes in front of a panel of celebrities in a grand finale at Reaseheath’s Food Centre on Thursday March 20. The judges will include professional chef Brian Mellor, Cheshire WI judge Mary Hignett and Peter Wright, Chairman of Wrights Pies Food Group, which is sponsoring the competition.

The winner will receive £100 and two ipads for their school, and there are cash prizes for the second and third prizewinners.

Nick Blakemore and Julie Bent look at Bryony Bell’s Prince George christening cake

Nick Blakemore and Julie Bent look at Bryony Bell’s Prince George christening cake

Styled on the hit tv programme ‘The Great British Bake-Off’, Reaseheath College’s home baking competition has been a great hit and attracted initial entries from 42 secondary schools. Contestants had to produce a cake or pastry with a royal theme. The first round consisted of a mood board with photos of the finished product.

The competition has proved so popular that there are already plans to repeat it next year, this time with a savoury meat theme.

Food Curriculum Manager Nick Blakemore, who led the project, said: “We have been amazed by the novel ideas which the pupils have come up with. It has been a very hard job to select the final ten entries because each one had something to bring to the table.

“Apart from being fun, we hope that our competition will also introduce young people to the many career opportunities within the food industry.”

Reaseheath’s Food Centre was opened in 2011 and is one of the best equipped food processing teaching and practical facilities in Europe. Built to industry standards and staffed by a team of specialist food technologists, the facilities include dairy processing halls and production areas for butchery, bakery and confectionery.

Two of its most popular courses are its Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Professional Bakery. A Level 2 Diploma in Professional Butchery launches in September.

Dia Alwaa shows off her Victoria sponge cake to Nick Blakemore and Reaseheath’s Food Training and Communications Co-ordinator Julie Bent

Dia Alwaa shows off her Victoria sponge cake to Nick Blakemore and Reaseheath’s Food Training and Communications Co-ordinator Julie Bent

If you would like more information about our Professional Bakery and Butchery courses please click on the links below:

 

 

Lambs herald Spring at Reaseheath College

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Hundreds of families flocked to Reaseheath College in Nantwich over the weekend for the first of two lambing events.

Spring has arrived early in the college’s lambing sheds with the arrival of the first lambs of the season. Visitors were able to meet the newborns and some were lucky enough to experience a live birth. The campus zoo, which is one of the best at any educational institution in the country, was also open to the public. Both attractions will open again next weekend – March 8 and 9.

Reaseheath’s lambing weekends have been a community highlight for over 20 years. The college has a flock of 500 sheep which are expected to produce 1,000 lambs over a three week period.

As well as meeting the ewes and their new families, visitors were able to watch a big screen showing highlights of the action and watch experts demonstrating the special care required for the delivery and care of the lambs.

Reaseheath’s sheep unit manager Ollie Bagley, 21, a former Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture student, has been overseeing the births helped by lambing assistants Chris Adamson and Callum Pitchford and a rota of students who are gaining practical experience in the lambing sheds.

Ollie said: “Lambing is traditionally the first sign of spring and this event is always very popular, with some visitors returning year after year. Opening the lambing sheds gives us the chance to show what we do here and it’ll be even better next weekend because we’ll have even more lambs. As well giving the public the unique experience of seeing lambs being born, it is also a great opportunity for us to educate them about the farming calendar.”

Carys Williams, aged 8, from Sandbach, has been to Reaseheath’s lambing event for the last four years. She said: “It’s been really fun. I love coming to see the lambs and it’s just the best when you get one to hold.”

There were also plenty of activities at Reaseheath’s zoo, which houses over 1,000 animals including meerkats, lemurs, tapirs, otters, birds of prey, companion animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs, reptiles and amphibians. There were children’s arts and craft sessions and other fun activities along with educational talks by Reaseheath zoo keepers.

 

Reaseheath appeals to businesses to take on an apprentice

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Reaseheath College is appealing to employers to get in touch during this week’s National Apprenticeships Week (March 3-7)

The Nantwich college is currently training 537 apprentices, most of whom spend one day a week in lectures and the rest of the week gaining skills and experience in a paid job.

The programme is so popular with young people that the college needs more businesses to take them on.

Peter Knight

Peter Knight

Peter Knight, Welfare Officer for Reaseheath’s work based learning team, is holding a drop-in apprenticeships surgery every day this week between 12 noon and 2pm in Centrepoint, the college’s main reception.

Although anyone interested in applying for apprenticeships is welcome, Peter is particularly keen to talk to employers about the benefits of recruiting an apprentice and about the financial incentives available to qualifying businesses.

He said: “Taking on an apprentice can benefit a business in many ways. Having an enthusiastic and newly skilled person on your team can increase productivity and the quality of output. Training up a young person with the specific skills required by your business means you can avoid skills shortages later on. And for the apprentice it means earning and learning at the same time.”

Reaseheath offers apprenticeships in agriculture, animal care, horse care, construction, construction plant, motor vehicle, parts sales and marketing, mechanical engineering, food manufacture, horticulture, floristry and trees and timber.

Further information: 01270 613242, E: enquiries@reaseheath.ac.uk or see www.reaseheath.ac.uk/naw

Equestrians take on Olympic style challenge at Reaseheath

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Arena party Steph Hamilton, Becky Erskine, Sonia Laughton, Amelia Kenyon, Hannah Luke and Emily Cockerill join Bob Ellis and Geoff Billington

Arena party Steph Hamilton, Becky Erskine, Sonia Laughton, Amelia Kenyon, Hannah Luke and Emily Cockerill join Bob Ellis and Geoff Billington.

Two World class equestrian personalities offered a unique insight into Olympic sport during a masterclass at Reaseheath College’s Equestrian Centre last week.

Several hundred visitors and equine students from several colleges watched as Nantwich based showjumper Geoff Billington, who has represented GB at two Olympics and three European Games, pitted his wits against international and Olympic course designer Bob Ellis.

Bob, who was the leading course designer for the London Olympics 2012 and regularly designs courses worldwide, challenged Geoff to jump Olympic size fences on his advanced show jumper Cruise Control.

Geoff, who was an individual and team medal winner with his horse of a lifetime, Virtual Village It’s Otto, also demonstrated the early training of a novice show jumper. Both equestrians described their life story and Olympic experiences, outlining the hard work and dedication it takes to compete on a world class stage.

Earlier in the day they gave a lecture to 80 equine students in Reaseheath’s dedicated Higher Education and Business Centre. As well as describing their own journey to the top, their presentation described the development of show jumping and the career opportunities available in the equine industry and the skills which the students would require to get a rewarding job.

Reaseheath’s equine department has strong industry links and the lecture was just one of a number of events aimed at giving students an insight into potential careers. Reaseheath equine students have worked with Bob Ellis for several years to provide the arena party at the Horse of the Year Show and Bob regularly visits the college to inspire the students and help them run their own shows.

Equine event specialist Alan Beaumont Management, which organised the event, is a supporter of Reaseheath and mentors the students at the Bolesworth Classic showjumping event where they provide the arena party. Geoff Billington has also shown interest in developing training opportunities with the college.

Said Geoff: “I very much enjoyed working with Reaseheath College. The students were very enthusiastic, took an interest in the subject and were keen to learn. I was delighted at the number of visitors who said that they had enjoyed the event. We tried to offer something which was a bit different and brought fun to a serious subject.”

Visit to Llandyrnog Creamery

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Arla_logo_CMYKOn the 9th January 2014, Toni-Anne Harrison, Penny Masters, Debbie Heritage-Brill and myself, visited Llandyrnog Creamery. It was a great day and proved to be very informative.

Llandyrnog originates back to 1921, where only milk and butter were produced onsite. Whereas cheese was made at the local farm, which was only 500 yards away. The site was originally owned by a private farmer cooperative. After major upgrades in 1974 and 1989 the site was acquired by Milk Link in 2009. This eventually led to a merge with Arla in 2012.

The creamery at Llandyrnog operates 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The pasteurisation flow rate is 47,000 litres per hour which produces 5 tonnes of cheese. The site holds up to 12,000 tonnes of cheese which all are at different stages of maturation. The site is able to store up to 1.4 million litres of milk at any one time. Llandyrnog primarily makes cheddar cheese including Anchor and Cathedral City and has won many national and international awards for their cheeses.

The systems that are in place and the machinery used, ensures the Llandyrnog Creamery has minimal wastage.

From the visit, we increased our knowledge on cheddar cheese making, how this is produced on an industrial scale and through automated processes. This is very different to how cheese is made at Reaseheath College.

We would like to thank Eden Trainee Dairy Technologist Sue Twist for hosting us.

Laura Broome

Food Technologist