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

 

Star Alumnus: Lois Dalton

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IMG_178644106635898The Reaseheath Alumni Association are keen to keep in touch with former students and support them on their career journeys. It’s inspiring to hear about the wide ranging career paths our students have gone on to undertake.

Reaseheath alumnus Lois Dalton and now proud owner of Vanity Furr Dog Grooming contacted us to let us know how she has been getting on since leaving Reaseheath.

Here’s what she had to say…

“I started attending Reaseheath College in 2010 when I was sixteen. I already had a work placement at a local kennels and grooming salon but wanted to further my training and gain a qualification, so where better to go than Reaseheath!

“I was part of a day release course, this meant I trained on campus on certain days and spent the rest of the week out in industry. This structure of training  ensured I gained all the hands on work experience whilst also working towards a qualification at the same time.  At the end of the course I gained a Level 2 Diploma in Animal Care and a basic first aid qualification.  Both of which are vital when doing a job like mine.

“Now I’m twenty, I’ve gained lots more experience with the help of training scholarship from Aesculap and as a result of entering and winning a number of dog grooming competition awards. With this all under my belt, in 2013 I achieved my dream and opened up my own dog grooming business and couldn’t be happier. Working with animals is a perfect career for me and I feel so lucky to be involved in such a fantastic industry. I would like to thank all the tutors and staff at Reaseheath College for being a part of my journey and for all their help and support.

“I hope my story (which has been shortened dramatically for this little article!) Can show other Reaseheath College students that by working hard, getting experience and working alongside truly supportive tutors at, in my opinion one of the best colleges, you can achieve your goals!”

 

Lois Dalton
Owner, Vanity Furr Dog Grooming

If you’d like to know more about Vanity Furr Dog Grooming or would like to have a look at some of Lois’s work, please visit the Vanity Furr Dog Grooming website.

February 2014

 

RHES visit and receive a talk on Manchester Museum’s Live Vivarium

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On the 17th February, the Reaseheath Herpetological and Entomological Society (RHES) travelled down to Manchester for a talk and live amphibian display by Adam Bland, the Assistant to Head Curator of Herpetology at Manchester Museum.

RHES Members listening intently to Adam

RHES Members listening intently to Adam

Upon arriving at the museum we were invited into the conference room by Adam where the talk would take place. RHES and Adam discussed at length the conservation work done within the museum as well as abroad, with members asking a barrage of questions throughout the event hoping to further their knowledge of international conservation and amphibians.

Throughout the talk Adam displayed a remarkable knowledge of tree frogs in particular a subfamily of tree frogs known as Phyllomedusinae, more commonly known as leaf and monkey frogs. There are roughly 45 species within the subfamily Phyllomedusinae, the large majority of which are endangered or threatened due to disease, habitat loss and climate change.

All the frogs Adam displayed during his talk were from this subfamily and included well known species such as the Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) and Monkey Wax Tree Frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii) as well as more obscure species such as the Lemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur), Splendid Leaf Frog (Cruziohyla calcarifer) and the Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) all of which were beautiful and full of character.

Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog

Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog

Lemur Leaf Frog

Lemur Leaf Frog

Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Splendid Leaf Frog

Splendid Leaf Frog

After the talk Adam lead us to the Live Vivarium itself, here Adam showed us the other species housed here including a multitude of other frogs, several species of reptiles and a variety of butterfly species. Adam also answered some more of our questions and gave members some advice on getting a foothold in the animal industry before ending the tour.

I’d like to thank all the members who attended and hope you all had a great time, as well as a huge thanks to Andrew, Adam and Manchester Museum for being such great hosts and taking the time to meet with us, Lauren for helping me organise the event and James, Dan and Annabella for photography.

Fiji Island Iguana in live planted display

Fiji Island Iguana in live planted display

Behind the scenes enclosures

Behind the scenes enclosures

 

 

 

International recognition for Reaseheath College’s Food Centre

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Reaseheath College’s Food Centre has become the first and only educational institution in Britain to achieve an internationally recognised British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification.

The £7million Food Centre, which is on the Nantwich, Cheshire, college’s campus, has been awarded a Grade A BRC, the highest possible quality mark within the food industry’s global standard for food safety.

The unique certification was approved after a robust two day audit showed that the department’s food manufacturing systems were operating under highly controlled conditions and to the highest industry standards. Areas inspected included hygiene procedures, cleanliness of the facility, food safety controls, quality systems and the traceability of food ingredients.

The accolade is particularly prestigious as many food businesses strive, but never achieve, the elusive BRC standard at Grade A. The successful bid was led by Reaseheath Technical Manager Katharina Vogt.

Food Centre Head Toni-Anne Harrison said: “This was a tremendous achievement, gained through hard work and dedication and by an understanding of how these procedures and practices underpin everything that we do in the Food Centre.

“I am extremely proud to head up such a fantastic team, where individuals from both the commercial and educational worlds work so tirelessly together to move the department forwards.

Our students are now fully immersed in industry standards and practices, and understand the value that is placed on ensuring these standards are both maintained and continuously moved forwards.

“This certification will lead to increased exposure to  blue chip companies, many of which are already clients and partners, and this will create enormous opportunities for our students. It will also further strengthen Reaseheath College’s reputation for being at the forefront of teaching and learning within the food sector.”

Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David added : “This has been a tremendous achievement, as only the very best companies achieve BRC Grade A status. This certification proves that our Food Centre has a deep understanding of the industry it serves. It will bring the department tremendous credence and will heighten our standing 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 the exacting standards required by industry and staffed by a team of specialist food technologists, the facilities include dairy processing halls and production areas for butchery, bakery and confectionery. Many local, national and international food and drink manufacturers use the bespoke food halls for new product development or staff training.

For further details see www.reaseheathfoodcentre.com or contact (training enquiries) Julie Bent E: julieb@reaseheath.ac.uk or (commercial enquiries) Katherine Tunnicliffe E: katherinet@reaseheath.ac.uk

Valentine message from Reaseheath florists

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Reaseheath College floristry students made floral messages to present to their loved ones on Valentine’s Day.

Level 1 Certificate in Floristry students at the Nantwich college enjoyed making heart shaped designs from fresh flowers during a Valentine themed practical lesson on Friday.

Said Louise Birks: “It’s been really good fun because we’ve been able to choose our own flowers and make our own designs for Valentine’s Day. Being a floristry student is great if you like art and design, because you work with colour and texture. And everyone loves getting a bouquet of flowers as a gift.”

 

Love is in the air for Reaseheath rabbits

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Every bunny needs some bunny to love! This is the Valentine’s Day message from Reaseheath College’s animal management department in support of a national campaign encouraging owners of lone rabbits to find them a companion.

True love is definitely in the air for Bluebell and Beau, two of 25 rabbits kept by the Nantwich, Cheshire, college to educate students about their correct care. The former unwanted pets have become inseparable after being introduced by keepers.  In a far cry from their singleton days, Bluebell, a female Beveren Blue rabbit, and Beau, a white cross bred male, spend most of their time snuggled up together enjoying each other’s company.

Reaseheath’s rabbit keeper Emma Hunt, a member of the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund, believes that every rabbit deserves a companion.

She says: “Rabbits are social animals but unfortunately many spend their lives in solitary confinement in a hutch at the end of the garden. They are bored, lonely and ignored, and this can lead to behavioural and health problems.”

In line with Britain’s leading animal charities, Emma is urging rabbit owners to look on February as ‘Adopt a rescue rabbit month’ and contact their local rescue centre to find a buddy for their bunny.

But she warns: “You should never attempt to introduce two rabbits unless both are neutered and the introduction should be done on neutral territory under supervision. Rescue centres will normally help with the bonding process, as this can be difficult. Don’t be too disappointed if it’s not love at first sight – not all introductions work.”

Emma also suggests housing the rabbits in a garden shed or playhouse with an attached run rather than a conventional hutch, as these offer more space for exercise. In Reaseheath’s tailormade rabbit room another love match is in the offing. Leonard, a newly rescued rabbit, is about to be introduced to lonely Tilly.

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