 | Faye is First in Her Class |
Faye Roantree, a former student at City College Coventry, has graduated this year from the University of Warwick with a first in Social Studies BA (Hons).
Faye left school when she was 14 with no qualifications because she fell pregnant and even though people would constantly tell her she would not amount to anything, she still had the determination to succeed. She started at City College Coventry in 2004 when she enrolled on what was then known as the basic Maths and English courses. From there she went on to complete the Intermediate Access course followed by the Access to Higher Education course. Faye was really happy with her decision to come to City College Coventry and spoke about her time here: "I left school with no qualifications and was told I wouldn’t amount to anything, but then I started at the college and they gave me the belief in myself that I could do it. Not only am I dyslexic, but I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks and the college were always really supportive. They accommodated my needs and gave me piece of mind. The lecturers couldn't have done more to help me and it was a really positive experience being at the college."
Faye successfully applied for a place on the 2+2 in social studies, which meant she did two years of study at City College Coventry and then two years of study at the University of Warwick, where she worked incredibly hard to achieve a first class honours degree. It was a great achievement showing that all of the hard work and effort had amounted to something of such high regard. Faye was absolutely delighted with the result: "This opportunity has changed my life and my kids' lives. I have six children in total, four of which have special needs, and it is a great feeling to know I can always support them and inspire them to work hard and achieve no matter what."
Now that she has received her first class degree in Social Studies BA (Hons) Faye is going to continue her studies and is planning on completing a masters in Social Work with the hope of eventually specialising in mental health and disability or examining policies and procedures.
Faye has proven that it does not matter where you start from. As long as you have the determination to succeed you can achieve anything and she has been a real credit to the college. |
|  | City College Coventry Sparks Career for Young Student |
Steven Lynch was on the BTEC National Diploma Electrical/Electronic Engineering Level 3 course and since finishing this year is now on a foundation degree programme with National Grid, which is a very highly regarded company within the industry.
On the course Steven learnt a mixture of digital and analogue electronics, computing, fault finding, PLCs and some maths, which has prepared him to begin his career at National Grid. He found the best part of the course was being able to apply what he learnt to something real with lots of practical situations. Steven explained the reason behind his decision to come to City College Coventry: "Before I even contemplated coming to college I was going to go to sixth form and do a load of subjects that I wasn't really interested in and I didn't really want to do. But then I found out about the courses the college was offering and after speaking with the lecturers and seeing all of the facilities on offer I knew that I wanted to come to City College Coventry."
It's a great achievement for Steven as the National Grid is a prestigious place to work within the industry and he will be based at the company's head office in Warwick, where he will be involved with on-the-job training and site visits. "I'll be going to Aston University in Birmingham to do the theory part of the foundation degree, the best thing about this job is that you can earn and learn. So I can still get a monthly wage whilst gaining a qualification at the same time. Hopefully this will end up not just being a job, but an actual career." |
|  | Art Week Makes a Stylish Impact |
City College Coventry's Art Week kicked off on Monday 28th June and included an exhibition of all the creative students work along with 4 fashion shows, which saw a huge turn out of people eager to see the students' work.
Months of hard work and preparation were contributed by all of the students involved, with huge amounts of support from the course lecturers who were always available for advice for the students and on hand to help them. The fashion show is a major event for the college and this year it was a little different as City College Coventry collaborated with Barnardo's the children charity. Vintage and couture styles were combined as the group displayed high fashion designs using unwanted clothes from the Barnardo's shop to create brand new garments that could be sold. The students wanted to give something back to their community and donated the clothes they created to the Barnardo's store with all the profits being given to the charity. Julia Fallon, the course organiser, explained how the students thoroughly enjoyed the challenge: "The students found interesting ways of using the clothes, stitching jackets together and turning items upside down. Their take on the clothing was completely individual and unusual and the result was fantastic."
This was a great opportunity for the college to build a relationship with Barnardo's, especially as both share the same mission statement. Amanda Smith, manager of the Barnardo's Coventry store, explained more: "Our equal opportunity statements are exactly the same. It is very important to us that we give opportunities to all children and City College Coventry does the same for its students."
The event helped to raise awareness for Barnardo's and the clothes are expected to fly off the shelves when they go on sale at the store in Daventry Road, Cheylesmore. The project was a huge success and really made an impact at City College Coventry's Art Week. |
|  | Travel and Tourism Students Are Flying High |
16 Travel and Tourism students headed down to the British Airways Training Base near London Heathrow Airport to experience what it's like to undergo the intense cabin crew training that everyone in the industry must do.
The day began with an introduction by training staff from British Airways, who discussed all of the activities the students would be doing, along with why this training is so essential for anyone wanting to work as a member of cabin crew. It was made clear to the students that becoming a cabin crew member is not just about handing people dinner and drinks, but also being constantly aware of what is happening inside and outside of the aeroplane, with safety being a priority.
When it came to the practical work the students threw themselves into it with plenty of enthusiasm. They had to learn how to properly use the slides that appear at the doors of an aeroplane in the event of a crash and how to remain safe and calm in a smoke chamber. They practised opening the door of an aeroplane, role played the best action to take in the event of an unplanned landing, and finally they got the chance to go on the aeroplane simulator. They had to put everything they had learnt into practice by carrying out all of the safety procedures whilst ensuring all of the passengers got out safely from the crash. All of the students really enjoyed the trip and it was a great success. One of the students, Jess McFetridge, was told that had she been 18, then they would have put her forward for a job with British Airways: "I'm so chuffed that they would have put me forward for a job with British Airways. It's such a respected company within the industry and it's great to know that after finishing this course I've got a real chance of getting my dream job. Before I came here today I had thought about becoming a cabin crew member, but after today I now know that this is the only job for me!"
Annalea Coleman, a lecturer on the course, was really pleased with how the visit went: "I'm so proud of the students. They really did both me and the college proud. The training base is where professionals within the industry are trained and the students were very lucky to have the opportunity to go down there and see what part of the process for getting a job is. It means they are one step ahead of the competition and today has proved that these students can make a real success of themselves." |
|  | Lecturers Take on the Coventry Half Marathon |
Two of City College Coventry’s lecturers took part in the Coventry half marathon last Sunday to raise money for Cancer Relief.
June Glackin and Maxine Chapman ran the 13 miles on one of the hottest days of the year so far, all in aid of raising as much money as possible for their chosen charity, Cancer Relief. The pair trained for about 8 weeks prior to the event by completing two 5 mile runs and one 9-11 mile run each week leading up to the run. Nothing could have prepared them for the heat they had to face on the day, which was quite a struggle for both runners. Maxine found it difficult to keep her cool en route to the finish line, and June managed to just about cope by constantly thinking about her dad’s ice-cream van that would be waiting for them at the end. It was a great achievement for both lecturers to beat the heat and complete the course, June in two and a half hours and Maxine in two and three quarter hours.
So far they have managed to raise £300, which has made all their hard work and effort worthwhile and both have claimed that the heat hasn’t put them off. Both said they would definitely run the half marathon again. |
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