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

 

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.

 

Reaseheath burgers get top marks for taste

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Innovative burgers made by food technology students from Reaseheath College in Nantwich have won bronze awards in the first round of the EBLEX ‘England’s Best Burger Challenge’

The recipes for the minted lamb and chilli beef burgers were designed by Level 3 Diploma in Food Technology and Management students as part of their studies in meat science. The burgers were then made by Foundation Level 1 Food Preparation and Cooking students.

EBLEX represents the beef and lamb industry in England and runs the prestigious competition biannually as part of its campaign to boost quality and innovation. The aim is to find the most succulent, tender and tasty burgers in the country.

The contest is open to any catering or butchery establishment and this year attracted record entries from throughout England. This was the first time that Reaseheath had submitted an entry.  The students had to follow strict guidelines and control measures and the burgers were tested in raw and cooked form.

Butchery lecturer Doug Ewen, who oversaw and submitted the entries, said: “This was a fantastic result for the students as there is no guarantee that you will receive any award, especially on the first attempt. It was an excellent achievement which the student can add to their CVs and which will help them as they progress into their chosen careers.”

Competition organiser Hugh Judd, EBLEX Food Service Project Manager, said: “The quality of entries this year was very high. Reaseheath students did extremely well, particularly as they were competing against entries from the whole of the burger sector.” 

Reaseheath is launching a new Level 2 Diploma in Professional Butchery course, aimed at school leavers, in September. The college’s Food Centre 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 £7.3million facilities include a butchery production area.

Find out more about our new Butchery course here.

Reaseheath College building dedicated to visionary governor

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Reaseheath College’s newest halls of residence have been officially dedicated to the man who helped to make the college a leader in vocational training.

Platt Hall has been named in memory of John Platt OBE, the former chair of the Nantwich college’s Board of Governors, who died two years ago at the age of 82. John was Chair of governors for 14 years and a governor for 20 years, during which time he spearheaded over £50m of capital investment on campus

Platt Hall, the latest new build to be completed, opened to students in September. The £6 million building, which has 150 en suite bedrooms including special provision for students with disabilities, bring the total of student rooms on campus to 685.

Construction of the next project, an £8.5 million national centre for horticulture and environmental management, starts shortly.

Describing John as a visionary and inspirational leader, Chair of Governors Emily Thrane said: “John was a true gentleman and a lovely person. He left an enormous legacy at Reaseheath and his spirit will remain in these wonderful facilities. John planted seeds and ensured his vision would endure by giving us self belief and perseverance. He also inspired great loyalty from everyone who worked with him.”

A plaque was unveiled by John’s daughter, Joanna Lomas, and an oak tree germinated by Reaseheath’s horticulturists was dedicated by his son Jeremy Platt.  The building was blessed by the Rev Peter Mascarenhas.

Joanna, of Tarvin, said: “Platt Hall is very impressive. Dad would have been so proud.”

In addition to his support of Reaseheath, John ran a dairy farm at Lostock Gralam and was a leading light in Cheshire’s agricultural community. He was Chairman of Cheshire Agriculture Society for almost 30 years and played a leading role in running the Cheshire Show.

His legacy lives on in the John Platt Travel Scholarship, which enables young people in Cheshire’s agricultural and land based industries to widen their experience through travel.

RHES fundraise for Crocodiles of the World

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Since the Reaseheath Herpetological & Entomological Society was founded in 2010, one of our main objectives has been to fundraise for an annually chosen charity.  Last year we raised over £500 for North Wales Raptor & Rescue, a facility in North Wales that cares for abandoned reptiles and birds of prey. This year we set our sights on supporting the charity Crocodiles of the World.

Crocodiles of the World is a facility based in Oxfordshire and is the only crocodilian specialist zoo in the country. The zoo boasts 13 species of crocodilian as well as a large number of other reptile species. RHES originally visited their first establishment in Crawley and were thoroughly impressed with the facilities and the level of passion and dedication demonstrated by the staff.RHES Crocodiles of the World 2

Pete Brassington - head shave fundraiser

Pete Brassington – head shave fundraiser

In late 2012, Crocodiles of the World announced that they were moving facilities and were in need of donations to be able to make the new facilities the best they could be. RHES members and supporters organised a number of events to raise money for Crocodiles of the World. Events included; cakes sales, our annual sponsored “Leap of Faith” – in which members ascended on a 40ft pole leapt off a tiny platform into thin air with the aim of hitting a target, a talk from the crocodilian specialist Colin Stevenson and a head shave from Pete Brassington – raising in excess of £250 from his brave feat!

RHES "leap of faith"

RHES “Leap of Faith”

In total RHES raised £1008.8 for Crocodiles of the World, an amazing total and a testament to the hard work of all the fundraisers.

 

Shaun Foggett, founder of Crocodiles of the World heard of the RHES fundraising efforts and invited members visit Crocodiles of the World to present the money in person. RHES members were given a private tour of the new facility, now based in Brize Norton. As an extra special thanks from Shaun and the team, RHES were treated to a crocodilian handling session, where they got hands-on with some juvenile crocodiles, alligators and caiman.

A huge thank you to all the RHES members, anyone who supported the fundraising events throughout the year and the staff at Crocodiles of the World, who continue to be as passionate and hard-working as ever. A extra special thanks is to made to Lauren and Joe who made all of this possible.

Want to keep up-to-date with what the RHES are up to? Like Reaseheath Herpetological & Entomological Society (RHES) on Facebook.

If you would like to visit, learn more about or donate to Crocodiles of the World visit their website: www.crocodilesoftheworld.co.uk.

Reaseheath Herpetological & Entomological Society

 

 

RHES Crocodiles of the World

Bumper crowds enjoy Reaseheath College Festival

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Devils Horsemen Daniel Naprous and his black stallion perform.

Devils Horsemen Daniel Naprous and his black stallion perform.

Bumper crowds flocked to Reaseheath College on Sunday to join in the college’s annual Family Festival.

Thousands of visitors spent the day at the college’s Nantwich campus, enjoying the warm sunshine and carnival atmosphere.

Headline acts included a daring display of trick riding by The Devil’s Horsemen stunt team and displays by Titan, a giant robot whose latest appearances include the opening of the Winter Olympics at Sochi. Both acts had returned to Reaseheath due to popular demand.

Families also had the chance to see a replica of Bloodhound SSC, the supersonic car which will attempt a 1,000mph land speed record in 2016. The car was part of a technology theme running through the festival and had a simulator so that visitors could experience the thrill of driving the fastest car on earth.

Titan meets the crowd

Titan meets the crowd

Another world record was attempted during the day when 300 visitors got down and boogied on Reaseheath’s lawn to ‘Oops Upside Your Head’. The evidence is still under scrutiny, but it is hoped that the dance will earn Reaseheath a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The challenge was masterminded by members of Reaseheath’s Student Association to raise money for the college’s RAG (raising and giving) appeal, which this year goes to St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice.

The World War I was a supporting theme of the festival, with Reaseheath Food Centre putting on a WWI field kitchen and displays by North Staffordshire Military Vehicle Trust and Cheshire Land Rover Club.  The Devil’s Horsemen team brought an original WWI canteen carriage, which was paraded round the college grounds pulled by two draft horses.

BBC Radio Stoke presenter James Watt with Bloodhound SSC

BBC Radio Stoke presenter James Watt with Bloodhound SSC

The many other highlights included a calf show which was won by Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture student Becky Harper with fellow student Harley Sneyd as Reserve Champion. Families also enjoyed sheep shearing, a farmers’ and craft market, student horse riding displays, tours of the college’s zoo, a fun dog show, a tea garden and demonstrations ranging from tree climbing and chainsaw use to butchery and cheese making.

The many ‘have a go’ activities included the chance to try archery, climb the college’s indoor wall and tackle the high ropes course.

The Voice contestant Joe Keegan

The Voice contestant Joe Keegan

The main stage hosted guest artists including Celtica Irish Dancing, ‘The Voice’ contestant Joe Keegan and local band Hex. Younger visitors enjoyed an old time funfair games, miniature train rides, face painting and local ice cream.

Reaseheath family festival has been running for over 20 years and is one of a number of college events to attract a growing number of visitors from the region. A recent independent economic assessment revealed that Reaseheath contributes around £85.7 million in additional income per year to the local business community.

Said Principal Meredydd David: “Once again the Reaseheath team delivered a fabulous family festival for thousands of people. In my opinion it was the best ever festival and a phenomenal success, allowing our visitors to celebrate with us what’s best about Reaseheath.

“As well as being a shop window for the skills of our students, the festival also makes a fantastic contribution to our local community and has become a not to be missed event for many people.”

 

  • Bloodhound SSC, accompanied by its education team, has remained at Reaseheath this week and is being visited by 120 pupils from local schools each day. On Saturday 24th May the car will feature in the launch of the Cheshire Science Festival, which runs until June 1st and aims to encourage more pupils into science, technology, engineering and maths.

 

Young entrepreneurs impress with their business idea

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Future business leaders from Reaseheath won an amazing four awards in this year’s Young Enterprise competition with their quirky idea to recycle glass bottles by turning them into household items.

Aptly named ‘New Generation’, the Level 3 Diploma in Business Studies students attracted praise for their idea of converting used glass bottles into candle holders, flower vases, pen pots and sweet holders. They won awards for the best overall company and for the best trade stand in the Cheshire East leg of the competition and went on to collect two more for innovation and creativity at the county stage.

The team organised a display, prepared a presentation and took sales orders from staff and students, families, friends and local outlets to prove that their business was financially viable.

Said Managing Director Shannon Tew: “The competition was very exciting and we learned a lot about running a real business. The judges gave us some really good comments and tips.”

Business Studies lecturer Julie Boulton added: “I’m very proud of the way the team worked together to come up with an attractive product and produce a business plan. Their presentation was excellent and they did really well to get as far as they did.”

The annual Young Enterprise competition encourages business talent in young people. Reaseheath business students regularly take part in competitions, visit companies and go on study tours to increase their industry and commercial experience.

 

Chancellor applauds plans for cutting edge Food Futures Centre

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George Osborne cuts the first sod for the National Centre for Food Futures and the Environment, watched by Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David, MP Stephen O’Brien, MEP candidate Kevin Beaty and Martin Smout, executive chairman of construction partner GB Building Solutions.

George Osborne cuts the first sod for the National Centre for Food Futures and the Environment, watched by Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David, MP Stephen O’Brien, MEP candidate Kevin Beaty and Martin Smout, executive chairman of construction partner GB Building Solutions.

Chancellor George Osborne has congratulated Reaseheath College’s efforts to help food producers meet the challenge of world population growth and climate change.

Cutting the first sod on the site of a £8.5 million National Centre for Food Futures and the Environment, Mr Osborne said: “Reaseheath College is rightly renowned for the quality of the education it provides, especially in the agriculture industry. I always want to try to provide funding for projects like this.

“One of the key elements of our long-term economic plan is to deliver the best schools and skills for young people  in all sectors so the next generation can succeed in the global race.”

The Chancellor chats to members of the Reaseheath’s Student Association.

The Chancellor chats to members of the Reaseheath’s Student Association.

The industry-led project will enable the Nantwich, Cheshire, college to support the government’s agri-tech strategy, which aims to make the UK a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills, through the Skills Funding Agency, has allocated £5.8m of capital grant for the project.  The remainder has come directly from the college.

The building will provide a national centre for horticultural production, environmental management and conservation and renewable energy, and will be the leading one of its type in the country. It will include a visitor and interpretation centre and a schools unit and is the latest of a string of world class facilities to be built on campus.

In a second project, the college, in partnership with Cheshire East Council, is to develop a state-of-the-art centre for students with learning difficulties and disabilities. This £1.5m project, funded by the Education Funding Agency, will develop desperately needed specialist facilities for students from the Cheshire East area.

Both developments are to be sited on the former college golf course. The buildings have been designed with considerable input from industry advisors and are planned to be open for students and the public by September 2015.

George Osborne chats to arboriculture students.

George Osborne chats to arboriculture students.

The college also intends to reconstruct its existing turf based sports pitches and build new 3G and multi-use artificial sports areas. A sports centre for use by both students and the local community is also planned. This will cater for grass based team sports and sports requiring an artificial playing surface such as hockey, as well as offering  a six court sports hall, team changing facilities and a fitness centre.

Space released by the relocation of the horticulture department has been earmarked for further halls of residence, with construction planned to start this summer.
 

Vice Principal Dave Kynaston, George Osborne, Stephen O'Brien

George Osborne with Reaseheath Vice Principal Dave Kynaston and MP Stephen O’Brien.

Welcoming the Chancellor’s visit, Principal Meredydd David said that Reaseheath was delighted to be involved in the development of another world class educational facility.

He said: “I am thrilled that the government has identified Reaseheath as their preferred location for investing capital to develop this national Food Futures Centre. This will ensure that Reaseheath can continue to deliver specialist technical and educational training to next generation leaders.”

Mr Osborne was accompanied on his visit by local MP Stephen O’Brien and  MEP candidate for the north west Kevin Beaty.
 
 
 
 

Old Hall Field Sumo Subsoiler Demonstration

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Earlier this month our Agriculture Department received a machinery demonstration from SUMO UK Ltd. Richard Hales, sales manager for Sumo, brought the machinery on-site for a demonstration and to start a trial on one of our fields.

Staff and final year Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture students were involved in the machinery demonstration. As well as being able to see what the machinery is capable of, the demonstration linked in with the grassland module our students are currently completing.

Anthony Jones from Agriculture, along with Farm Manager Mark Yearsley, have teamed up with Richard Hales from SUMO to organise this grassland trial. The trial will investigate the possibility of more consistent grass growth, extended grazing season and reduced chemical fertiliser costs as well as better soil health and structure.

The trial is expected to lead on to further research of the improvements that the subsoil machine can bring to the grazing grassland at Reaseheath.

The field was split into three areas. The first strip has been treated with the subsoil machine provided by SUMO at a depth of 8 inches. The middle strip was left untreated. The final strip, at the far end of the field, was aerated to a depth of 4 inches by first year Level 3 Extended Diploma students on one of their practicals. This enable staff and students to compare and contrast the different treatments available to existing swards.

This research will be ongoing in Field 7 over at Old Hall and will be repeated in the autumn through to next spring 2015.

The public will in fact be part of this trial as in May Field 7 will be used as a car park for our annual Family Festival. This will put pressure on the field and compact it. Following the Family Festival the recovery of the field will be monitored and hopefully the area which has been treated with the SUMO machine will hold up to compaction the best.

 

Reaseheath undergraduate wins chance to join USA horse research project

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Reaseheath undergraduate Charlotte Woolley has won a prestigious internship at the world’s leading equine breeding and research centre.

Charlotte, 21, who is in the final year of her BSc (Hons) in Equine Science, will spend this summer working and studying at the Virginia Tech State University, USA. The university specialises in breeding and producing top quality sports horses. Charlotte will be trained in veterinary techniques and will assist with research into nutrition, reproduction and parasitology.  She will also help to prepare youngstock for the show ring.

The three month internship is offered through the British Equestrian Federation and is open to all veterinary related institutions  in Britain. Charlotte was judged to be the top candidate after writing a 3000 word paper on equine obesity and discussing its welfare implications. The final selection was held at the BEF headquarters in Hertfordshire in front of a panel of industry leaders.

Charlotte flies out in June and will return in September in time for Reaseheath’s graduation ceremony. Aiming for a career as a veterinary research scientist, she then plans to study for a Masters in research or a PhD in veterinary science.

She says: “This is a very exciting opportunity which is perfect for my future career. I enjoy learning and my ambition is to have a job that is continually challenging and mentally stimulating. My passion is research – it genuinely fascinates me.

“The opportunity to visit leading equestrian events and stud farms in a beautiful part of America will be an unforgettable experience. I am also looking forward to putting the theory I learnt during my degree into practice.

“This internship will build on both my academic and practical skills and broaden my horizons in terms of my current knowledge of the equine industry. I know that it will be a truly life changing experience.”

Originally from Buxton, Charlotte completed ‘A’  levels at Leek College before becoming a Reaseheath student three years ago. She has ridden from a young age and has successfully  competed at show jumping and showing including a HOYS qualification.  She currently lives in Nantwich.

She adds: “I really enjoy studying for my degree at Reaseheath. There’s a great atmosphere and you get lots of individual support from your lecturers if you need it. I definitely made the right choice when I decided to come here.”

You can find out more about our Equine degrees here.