Travel beckons for ambitious young farmers

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Rachel Billington and Simon Bonner receive their John Platt Travel Scholarships from Keith Thomas and Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David at the Cheshire Show.

Rachel Billington and Simon Bonner receive their John Platt Travel Scholarships from Keith Thomas and Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David at the Cheshire Show.

Two ambitious young farming entrepreneurs are looking forward to global travel thanks to a scholarship run by Reaseheath College and the Cheshire Agricultural Society.

Rachel Billington and Simon Bonner were presented with £2,000 John Platt Travel Scholarships during the Presidents Lunch at the Cheshire Show on Tuesday. Rachel will use her scholarship to help her gain a professional qualification from Leith’s School of Food and Wine, London, and has a long term plan to  eventually  run a cookery school which will promote British agriculture and the food chain, from field to fork. She will also use her award to travel to other farm diversification schemes.

The 25 year-old is a product development technologist with Goodlife Foods, Warrington, a food manufacturer for major retailers. She previously studied at Harper Adams University for a BSc (Hons) Degree in Agri-food, Marketing and Business Studies and is current lady chairman of Congleton Young Farmers Club. Her family have a dairy farm in Siddington near Macclesfield.

Rachel said: “I am delighted to receive the scholarship. It will give me a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills and to meet others who are successfully running on- farm diversification businesses.”

Simon, 26, is assistant herdsman at Bankhead Farm, Broxton, a 240 cow, autumn calving, pasture-based dairy farm on the Bolesworth Estate. He will use his scholarship to visit New Zealand and Ireland to compare pasture-based dairy systems with those in the UK, in particular examining the opportunities and constraints for wealth creation and profit from grass.

Simon has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Agriculture with Countryside Management and worked on dairy farms in New Zealand after graduating. He also spent a year with Rhys Williams, one of the UK’s leading exponents of milk production from grazed grass, who farms near Aberdaron in north west Wales.

Simon comes from Hale Barns, Altrincham, and has always wanted to farm although he does not have an agricultural background. He said: “It’s an honour to be awarded this scholarship. I plan to use the opportunity to enhance my knowledge of the pasture-based dairy industry and learn how to get the best from grass.”

The John Platt scholarship is in memory of John Platt, a former Chair of Reaseheath Governors and former Chairman, President and Honorary Life Warden of the Cheshire Agricultural Society.

Presenting the awards, Cheshire Show Director Keith Thomas said that both Rachel and Simon had been outstanding candidates and had shown the drive, ambition and desire to seek out new information and technology which would benefit the Cheshire farming community.

The John Platt Travel Scholarship is awarded annually and is open to young people from a rural background who live or work in Cheshire. Applications are being taken for next year.

For further details see www.reaseheath.ac.uk/john-platt-scholarship  or email davek@reaseheath.ac.uk

 

Catching up with class of 2011 alumnus Lois Dalton

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Alumni Officer Katie caught up with former Reaseheath apprentice Lois Dalton earlier this week. Take a look below and find out more about Lois and the world of dog grooming.

Hi Lois,  it’s great to have the opportunity to talk to you, could you tell me what you’re currently up to in your work life?

I am the owner and founder of the company Vanity Furr Dog Grooming  and spend my working days managing the business and as a full-time dog groomer.

Fantastic to hear that you own your own business Lois, can you tell me a little bit more about your role as the owner of Vanity Furr?

On a day-to-day basis; I take grooming appointment bookings, groom and style of all breeds of dogs and provide them with relevant health checks, order stock and generally provide the best customer experience I can for the dogs and their owners.

 When did you start your business?

In August 2013.

 So thinking back to before August 2013, what led you to the creation of Vanity Furr?

After leaving school I completed an apprenticeship at a grooming parlour and boarding kennels as a trainee dog groomer along with gaining my Level 2 Work-based Diploma in Animal Care  qualification from Reaseheath. I went on to achieve my City & Guilds Level 3 professional grooming qualifications in September 2011, achieving distinctions across modules. I  was then awarded a scholarship with leading products brand Aesculap in March 2013, having been nominated by Groom Team England. These invaluable experiences helped develop my professional ability and knowledge of the industry, giving me the confidence to ‘go for it’ and open my own grooming salon, something I’m really proud to be doing.

Lois and THAT West Highland Terrier from the Cesar adverts!

Lois and THAT West Highland Terrier from the Cesar adverts!

And proud you should definitely be! On this point, what do you think has been the most exciting or rewarding moments of your career so far?

 Setting up and starting my own business has been the most rewarding part of my short career so far. I built Vanity Furr from scratch and within quite a short time period it has already developed into a well-known and very well supported little enterprise.

 What inspired you to, as you said “go for it” and create Vanity Furr?

Dog grooming is all I have ever wanted to do. My love, passion and enthusiasm for the dog grooming industry paired with my obsession for perfection and drive for independence meant that having my own business seemed like the obvious path to take.

 

Do you have any advice for current students keen to pursue a dog grooming  related career?Dog-groomer-Lois-and-safe-grooming-environment

Be prepared to work extremely hard!  You don’t get anything in this industry without putting 100% effort into everything you do. The animals always come first no matter what. Never doubt your abilities, and ALWAYS strive to be bigger and better.

Great advice, thanks for that Lois. Just one final question now, you’ve already built up a successful business at just 20 years old, what’s the next goal?

I’m passionate to continue working hard doing the job I love with the intention of expanding Vanity Furr. My ultimate goal is to earn myself a place on Groom Team England.

Visit http://www.vanityfurr-doggrooming.co.uk/to find out more about Lois and Vanity Furr Dog Grooming.

Vanity Furr Dog Grooming

Summer ball is nearly upon us

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Alright guys,

Summer Ball is nearly upon us and we are very nearly sold out of tickets! So if you haven’t got yours yet, make sure you do soon. The meal tickets are also on sale now from the canteen. So if you want to be part of the biggest summer ball meal ever then book your tickets for only £7.00.

The Student Association for next year has now been selected and will be in post from September. You’ll get to know their faces as they will also be on the Fresher’s Crew this September. Elections will be in place from September for new students to assist the in-place SA.

Next week you will see some of the SA at Cheshire Show, where we will be stewarding for the event. In doing this we will gain a donation of £500 to add on to our RAG total for St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice. At the moment we have a projected total of £9700, so look out for events that we can raise £300 at to get to our total of £10,000!

Check in next week for another update.

Sam Norfolk
SA President

Coverage, Open Farm Sunday and the Summer Ball

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Alright guys,

The final issue of ‘Coverage’ for this year will be out soon so keep an eye on your inbox. The student magazine has been really successful and will hopefully continue through to next year as well. I’d really like to thank the members of the Student Association who have helped create the magazine alongside our Press Officer.

Open Farm Sunday was a huge success. It was great to see so many people go away inspired with what the farm and our agriculture department do.

Summer Ball tickets are selling rapidly, we have sold over half the tickets in three days so make sure you get yours fast. The meal tickets are also on sale now and you can purchase those from the canteen during its opening hours. This year we’re allowed 200 students for the meal so let’s make sure we finish the year with a bang and get a sell-out!

Check in next week for another update.

Sam Norfolk
SA President

Summer Ball flyer

Reaseheath College’s dairy technologists celebrate first year success

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Twenty four trainee dairy technologists reached a significant career milestone when they completed the first year of their Eden training programme at Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire, earlier this month.

The technologists work for leading companies in the dairy industry and attend the Eden International Dairy Academy for block release training, spending the rest of their time in their workplace. They will graduate with a globally recognised foundation degree in dairy technology on completion of their three year course. The education initiative is supported by key players in the dairy industry and is aimed at producing world-class staff. There are currently 75 trainees on the programme.

While at college, the technologists gain hands-on practical experience in Reaseheath’s industry-standard, food and dairy processing plant. The facilities enable the students to see food production from start to finish and also to carry out new product development.

Three of the first year cohort were in line for special honours as they celebrated completing their initial year of study.

Darius Barkunas, who works for Arla Foods, was selected as the Best Practical Student. The 27 year-old began working for Arla in Settle, Yorkshire, six years ago as an agency worker and has progressed to becoming a process technician. He was selected for his practical skills and for his ability to explain his practical knowledge to others.

He said: “Being offered a place on the Eden programme was like winning the lottery and I cannot thank my company enough for supporting me. Coming to Reaseheath is brilliant. The lecturers are totally dedicated to their job and the facilities are wonderful.”

Mike Reid, 29, a Dairy Crest employee, received the Best Academic Student award. for consistently achieving outstanding exam and assignment results and for his exceptional attention to detail. Mike has worked for Dairy Crest in Gloucester for 11 years and has immersed himself in the academic content of his course despite having done no serious studying since his ‘A’ levels in 2002.

He said: “Coming to college after such a long break was a big cultural challenge but everyone at Reaseheath has been extremely friendly and helpful. I am delighted that my company has chosen to support me through this qualification.”

Shaun McKenzie, 18, from Muller Dairy was voted the Dairy Culture Student of the Year after receiving the student vote for the way he supports his colleagues. The former apprentice is now a permanent staff member at Muller’s Market Drayton base and is mentored by Eden graduate Mitchell Tullett.

Presenting the awards, Adam Brazendale, Business Development Manager for the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink said: “Eden students are at the forefront of an exciting future for the UK dairy industry. This is a unique training programme aimed at supporting and developing skills within the dairy processing industry.

“The Eden programme is an excellent qualification and we are proud to have Reaseheath as our Dairy Champion for Food and Drink.”

Read more about the Eden programme here.

 

 

 

Reaseheath construction students build on skills for competition

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Three Reaseheath College, Nantwich, construction students proved they have outstanding skills by impressing judges at an Olympic style competition to find the nation’s most talented young tradespeople.

Advanced carpentry apprentice Matt Williams, 18, won the senior carpentry and joinery section in the north west regional round of Skillbuild and qualified for the national final in September. Winners from there may go on to represented Britain in WorldSkills International, a global event which in 2015 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advanced bricklayer Dave Ford came third in the senior bricklaying section and remains in contention for the final while advanced bricklaying apprentice Leonard Thomas impressed the judges but missed out on a place in the same section.

The regional round, held in Burnley, was for college trainees aged 21 and under and attracted entries from colleges from throughout the north west. The contestants had to interpret a drawn plan and demonstrate a range of skills on different challenges over a five hour period.

Matt, who attends Reaseheath on day release, is a site joiner for Ewson Contractors of Malpas and lives in Whitchurch.

He said: “A lot of good joiners took part in the competition and I was really surprised to win. I just tried to remember all the tips that my tutors had taught me.”

Dave Ford, 19, of Northwich is currently a full-time construction student at Reaseheath while Leonard, 19 is a bricklayer for Farmer and Tapley Ltd of Market Drayton and lives in Childs Ercall.

Construction Instructor Danny Collins, who has organised Reaseheath’s Skillbuild teams for the past seven years, said: “The students represented Reaseheath extremely well and the whole department is very proud of their achievements.

“The competition was very stiff but they all gave a very good account of themselves and gained valuable experience at the same time. We were delighted that the outstanding quality of their work was recognised by the judging panel.”

Find out more about Construction courses at Reaseheath here.

 

Reaseheath rowers to raise funds for cancer charity

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Forty staff from Reaseheath College in Nantwich have signed up to take part in the Chester Dragon Boat Festival to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Two teams of Reaseheath rowers will take on other dragon boat teams in the charity race, which takes place on Sunday June 22 on the River Dee at Chester.

Rowing the 40 foot long boats, the teams will complete three timed races over a short course of around 250 metres, with their single fastest time used for qualification into the grand final.

The volunteers are now busy collecting for Macmillan Cancer Support at www.justgiving.com/reaseheath-dragon-boat

Reaseheath Student Services Assistant Manager Greg Otto organised the teams after being contacted by Carl Fisher, a Cheshire volunteer for the charity. College staff previously took part in the dragon boat festival five years ago, successfully raising £550 for BIRD (Brain Injury and Rehabilitation Development).

Greg said: “We really enjoyed the 2009 event and everyone is looking forward to this year’s challenge. Every department has a staff member who is taking part, so it’s a truly cross college effort. Our new gym has just opened, so hopefully our team members will be using the new facilities to prepare for the big day.”

Sarah Page, Senior Fundraising Manager for Cheshire, said: “We love this event because it really puts the ‘fun’ into fundraising and we are delighted that Reaseheath has nominated us as their charity. Macmillan needs to raise over £1million for cancer services across Cheshire each year. Our mission is to support local people and fund raising efforts from companies like Reaseheath is vital to our work.”

There are boats still available in the Chester Dragon Boat Festival. Other companies who would like to get involved and support Macmillan Cancer Support can email fundraising@macmillan.org.uk or call 0300 1000 200. Alternatively businesses can choose another local charity to support.

 

Speedy learning curve for future engineers

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Future engineers from local primary and secondary schools learned about the science and technology behind a 1,000 mph record attempt during a visit to Reaseheath College in Nantwich.

Twelve schools from Nantwich, Crewe, Sandbach, Haslington, Stoke and Cannock were invited to take part in activities involving the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC), the vehicle which will attempt the 1,000mph land speed record in South Africa in 2016.

Georgina Hardy and Adam Caunt, both 13, from Brine Leas School with their Kinex car

Georgina Hardy and Adam Caunt, both 13, from Brine Leas School with their Kinex car

A replica of Bloodhound SSC, along with its education team, was a key attraction at Reaseheath’s Family Festival in May and remained on campus for a week to allow local pupils to learn more about the exciting project.

The event was run in support of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths), a national education initiative to inspire young people to consider engineering as a career. The UK needs to attract 100,000 new engineers into the industry each year and currently recruits just 30,000 annually.

Up to 120 pupils at Key Stages 2 and 3 visited Reaseheath each day to learn about Bloodhound SSC’s development, which is being supported by some of the world’s leading engineering companies including Rolls Royce.

Braden Jones, Ben Jackson and Bloodhound ambassador Claire Stewart watch Joshua Malkin on simulator

The young people had a chance to look at the car and those who asked the best questions were rewarded with a drive on a simulator. Other activities included constructing and testing an air driven Kinex car, 3D printing and planning a specially prepared desert base for the car and its support teams.

Brine Leas School, Nantwich, Year 8 pupil Georgina Hardy, 13, who had just tested the aerodynamics of her Kinex car, said: “I don’t know what I’m going to do for a career but this has definitely given me an insight into engineering. The whole day has been very interesting and a lot of fun.”

Reaseheath FE Marketing Officer Stephanie Owen explained: “We invited our local schools into college so they could make the most of the wonderful opportunity offered by Bloodhound and its team. Reaseheath totally supports STEM projects and we hope that some of our young visitors will be inspired to become the engineers of the future.”

For more about careers in engineering and science see www.reaseheath.ac.uk/engineering and www.bloodhoundssc.com

 

Summer Ball 2014

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Alright guys,

This years Family Festival was a great success, our Principal said it was probably one of the best ever!  The Student Association managed to get 297 people for the world record attempt for the largest ‘Oops Upside Your Head’.  Hopefully our evidence will get accepted and we will have broken a world record.  The weather definitely helped us out as it was warm and sunny all day. To all that attended, thank you for showing your support to the college.

Decorations and materials are now being ordered for our summer ball, these will all incorporate the theme of a festival.  So look out for wellies, daisies and sunglasses everywhere. Tickets have gone off for printing and will be with us in time to start selling on the 1st June. SA members will be going around halls promoting and selling tickets for the Ball so make sure you get yours before they sell out… and they will!

Can I please remind all students thinking of attending summer ball, the dress code is black tie, which is a tradition every year, clean wellies are optional for the ball but not for the meal. The night will be the best of the year, most people regret the things they don’t do rather than the things they do, don’t miss out.

Check in next week for another update.

Sam Norfolk
SA President

Results prove Reaseheath makes a huge difference to students and to its local community

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Reaseheath College contributes £85.7 million in additional income per year to the local business com­munity, a new report shows.

This was one of the key findings in a recent independent analysis of the social and economic impact of the Nantwich, Cheshire, college by Economic Modelling Specialists International (emsi).

Figures from the report show that Reaseheath generates income equal to 0.3% of Cheshire and Warrington’s total economy, a figure which represents 3,426 average wage jobs.

Statistics show that the skills and qualifications acquired by former Reaseheath students bolstered Cheshire and Warrington’s economy by enabling employers to increase outputs. This added £65.7 million in income to the regional economy per year.

The analysis also found that the expenditure of Reaseheath and its staff generated approximately £19.6 million in new income to the total regional output per year. In addition, non local students attending the college brought in over £407,000 in new income by spending on goods and services.

Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David

Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David

Summing up, the report states: “Reaseheath College makes a significant positive impact not only on its students but on society, taxpayers and the local business community. Not only does the college spend money within Cheshire and Warrington and employ a large staff, it also trains students to be valuable employees in the region’s workforce. These roles all add value to local businesses by increasing their level of outputs and generating a need for further jobs, creating additional income.”

Students also benefit financially from studying at Reaseheath. The report found that every £1 students paid for their education yielded £7.30 in higher wages in the future – an 18.9% annual return on investment

Statistics showed that students paid a total of £2.5 million to cover the cost of tuition fees, books and supplies in 2012 -2013 and that they also lost £21.9 million which they would have earned had they been working instead of learning. In return they should expect to receive £178.1 million (present value) in increased earnings over their working lives.

The report declared: “Reaseheath’s mission is to deliver excellence to its students. The experiences they receive at college have the power to shape the rest of their lives and put them on the path to becoming happy and productive members of their ommunities. Reaseheath also plays a key role in helping them increase their employability and achieve their individual potential.”

Another key point to come out of the report was that the general public will receive £6.00 in return for every £1 invested in Reaseheath – an annual return of 18.4%. The gain was through added income and in savings to society

Figures showed that society in general invested £66.8 million in Reaseheath through direct outlays and the loss of potential output from students who were studying rather than working. In repayment, society received £401.3 million (present value) over the course of the students’ working lives through higher taxes and social benefits such as reduced crime, lower unemployment and increased health and well-being.

Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David commented: “We are delighted that this independent report highlights Reaseheath’s major input into the economy and particularly the way we are able to support and stimulate income for our local community. It also underlines what we have long believed – that high level education and skills is a hugely important economic driver.”

He emphasised that, to ensure that its students had the competitive edge in the jobs market, Reaseheath has invested £40 million into specialist facilities and resources. A further £23 million of investment was planned over the next two years to provide a national centre for horticulture and environmental management, further halls of residence and additional social and recreational facilities.