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Reaseheath students make a wheely good impression for Tour of Britain

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Reaseheath College sports performance, adventure sports and public services students made a special effort to mark British Cycling’s Tour of Britain by getting involved in a giant piece of aerial artwork alongside the competitors’ route.

About 80 students formed the moving wheels of a 100 foot long bicycle laid out on a field opposite the college’s main entrance on the Worleston Road, just outside Nantwich. The event was timed to coincide as the elite athletes, who included Sir Bradley Wiggins, passed the college during Stage Three of the prestigious road cycling event.

Liam Salt, a Reaseheath Sports Performance course manager and keen cyclist himself, organised the aerial artwork after seeing similar events marking premier international competitions abroad.

He said: “This was the students’ first day at college and it was a great opportunity for them to take part in a team building activity with a difference. Reaseheath’s Farm manager Mark Roue kindly gave us permission to use the field and also allowed us to use plastic haylage wrap to make the bike frame.

“Awareness of all types of sport is growing thanks to the Rio Olympics and it was a great way for the students to be part of a premier event. The aerial artwork looked amazing and was an exciting activity to mark the race as it passed through Cheshire.”

Watch our video to see the aerial artwork in action!

Image header caption: Students from Reaseheath sports department form a giant cycle as riders in the Tour of Britain pass the college’s entrance

Public Services learn about life behind bars

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Our public services students found out about the harsh realities of prison life during a day of insightful workshops with national educational charity The No Way Trust.

The Trust’s core aim is to raise awareness among young people about the causes, consequences and penalties of crime and the effects of antisocial behaviour. Its work is of particular interest to our students as some are considering careers in the police or armed forces.

Our Level 2 and Level 3 Diploma students heard presentations from National Co-ordinator Malc Parkes, a former prison officer, and from ex offender ‘Matthew’ and took part in some lively discussions.

Said Malc: “We set out to dispel the myth that prison life is easy and hopefully to stop young people getting into prison. We also need to show them that crime is not always related to gang culture, drugs and guns. Anyone can go to prison if they break the law.

“We’ve also used the opportunity at Reaseheath to explain how the prison service works, what jobs are available and what they entail. The students were very interested, particularly in Matthew’s story, and asked a lot of questions.”

Level 3 Diploma student Chris Powell, 17, said: “The talks were really interesting and made me realise that you can’t judge offenders  until you know about their background and circumstances. I want to go into the police so it was also very useful to understand how the service works.”

The No Way Trust has reached over 4.5 million young people by holding awareness days in colleges, schools and youth groups.

Find out more about studying Public Services at Reaseheath here.

 

Searching for Narnia?

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While the rest of the country fights the winter weather Reaseheath Uniformed and Public services students put into practice the Search and Rescue skills they have developed with Matt Daily-Hunt, Lecturer and Search and Rescue Technician.

“Despite heavy snow and dense woodland the students acting as Search Controllers managed to co-ordinate their teams to search each block of forest. It made for realistic search conditions and tested the search teams ability to work in close woodland with heavy snow.” described Matt, “They managed to find the Missing Person, who was found in one of the remoter blocks that the Student Controllers sent their teams to last.”

DSC_0115 (PS 1)

DSC_0035 DSC_0089 (PS 2)

Practice Search Sweep of the Peak District

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Reaseheath lecturer Matt Daily-Hunt, who is a Search Technician with Staffordshire Search and Rescue, took the Level 3 Uniformed and Public Services students on practice Search Sweep of a remote moorland area today in preparation for a much bigger rescue exercise next week.

Matt has spent several sessions briefing and training the students in Search Skills as part of the build-up to the exercise.  Mick Keeling, former Warrant Officer and Simon Wells, Mountaineering Instructor assisted.

“This is what we are about at Reaseheath, our students are getting a real preparation for working in the Public and Uniformed services. From remote moorlands to our sailing trips over Easter we offer so much more”

“Next week, the students will be  Search Control for a much bigger incident with ‘causalities’ a communication HQ and all the aspects of a big rescue.” explained Matt.

Public Services Search Sweep

Public Services Search Sweep

Public Services Search Sweep

Public Services Search Sweep

Adventure Sports lecturer volunteers with Rescue Team

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Adventure Sports lecturer and instructor Matthew Daily-Hunt uses his outdoor expertise as a member of Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team.  SSART is a team of dedicated volunteers with specialist training to locate and rescue missing people anywhere in Staffordshire.  They train and work with the police and ambulance service to enhance their search and rescue efforts.

During the recent heavy snowfall Matthew and other SSART volunteers used the team’s 4×4 vehicles to support West Midlands Ambulance Service in the Staffordshire Moorlands where they helped recover stuck ambulances, transported essential medical personnel to hospital and responded to 999 emergencies in remote locations.

Tim Reeves, Head of Adventure Sports, Uniformed and Public Services said, “Matthew’s skill as a mountaineer, mountain bike leader and rock climbing instructor make him valuable to the Rescue Team. With his Rescue training he brings a whole new level into our college team.”

For more information on the team go to www.SSART.org or ask Matthew, who wears his badge with pride!

ssart adventure sports matthew daily-hunt

Survival School Skills and then the World!

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Mick Keeling used his international expedition skills and two decades of army experience to teach Reaseheath Public and Uniformed Services students survival skills.

Survival skills“The students paddled canoes along a flooded river”, explained Mick, who taught Survival Skills in Bavaria for the army. “Then they made emergency shelters using only the equipment they had and learnt how to light fires. They even made some simple food using a stove.”

“Despite the floods and wet weather the students managed to deal with every incident and learnt how it’s not just about surviving but doing it comfortably”.

Mick’s skills are much in demand. While not working at Reaseheath he trains leaders for World Challenge Expeditions who have just asked him to fly out to Peru to train Expeditions Guides. Reaseheath students benefit from Micks skills and qualifications, he leads student trips on rivers and mountains in Scotland, Wales and Cumbria, this year he is leading a student expedition to North Africa.

“We’ll be climbing the highest peak in North Africa and traveling through desert regions, even though we’ll only be a few hours flight from Europe it’s a different world, high mountain huts, ancient markets and the ruins of lost cities”.

Greg Houghton, Public and Uniformed Services Course Manager added, “Experienced NCO’s and Expedition Leaders like Mick are brilliant on courses like ours. Those decades of experience,  rank and qualification  make a real difference to our students giving them the real skills you need to work in a public or uniformed service. No other college can offer students experience like this!”

survival skills

survival skills