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The termly magazine Summer 2015

Painshill Park Photoshoot. Stunning shots from a joint Fashion and Photography assignment, page 8.

The Rolls Royce of jobs.Former West Thames student Cherica lands a top job, pages 6-7.

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Welcome to West Thames College.

Guest editor and Head of Integrated Employer Solutions at the college, Adam Sage, welcomes you to this summer issue of Making Waves.

Dear Reader,As a college we take great pride in our employer links. We use these links to bring in the very best speakers and industry experts to inspire our students, source apprenticeship and work placement opportunities and ultimately, to help our students into rewarding careers.

In this issue:• We roll up our sleeves with HSS Hire and

Sky during Apprenticeship Week. • L’Oréal partners with the college for our

hairdressing competition, the Hair Factor. • Cherica Haye discusses life at Rolls Royce in

our Proud of You feature.

We strive to ensure our students are well prepared to step confidently into the world of work.Thank you for your interest in West Thames College and we hope to see you at one of the many events we have coming up this term.

Yours Sincerely,

Adam Sage

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Welcome to West Thames College.

As part of Apprenticeship Week, Feltham Skills Centre students visited Sky and took part in their apprenticeship fair. The fair gave students the opportunity to talk to companies contracted to Sky’s building project in Osterley and find out more about what it would take to work in the engineering and construction industries. Exhibitors included: Lucas, Wingate, LMOB, HSS Hire, H&K Fire Engineering, CMF and Hotchkiss Group. The students also toured the new Sky Academy and its training facilities.It wasn’t just our Feltham students who benefitted from our Apprenticeship Week activities. In the afternoon, an apprenticeship fair dedicated to Isleworth students was held in the Atrium. Local businesses spoke to students about their apprenticeship roles and what it means to be an apprentice in their organisation.

National Apprenticeship Week

Visit the West Thames College website to view the latest apprenticeship vacancies. Business owners that take on an apprentice may be eligible to receive a Government grant of £1500 for each apprentice aged 16-24 employed. For more information on apprenticeships visit west-thames.ac.uk/en/apprenticeships/

TheHair-factor

Our Isleworth campus Endeavour Theatre was host to annual hairdressing competition,

The Hair Factor, in association with L’Oréal.

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Students worked on models in our professionally-equipped salons with themes ranging from Disney characters to The X Men. The event was sponsored by various businesses such as The Fantastic Hairdressers Group and judged by stylists from local salons as well as our partners from L’Oréal, represented by Sara Eardley.Judges commented during the event, “The work being displayed here is wonderful. The technical ability, creativity and passion on show are a joy to see and giving these students a platform to show their work will only increase their confi dence.”

Alumni“ My training at West Thames College and my teachers played a HUGE role in who I am and what I’m doing today”. Mihaela Isabela Padurariu Level 3 Beauty Therapy, graduated in 2009.

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In this Proud of You feature, we meet Cherica Haye, our exceptional ex-West Thames College student who has since worked with both Jaguar Land Rover and most recently, luxury car manufacturer Rolls Royce.

How did your journey begin? I started by studying Art and Design at West Thames College. I would have originally taken Maths, but a careers advisor suggested the course. Design quickly became second nature. I particularly liked fi ne art, pattern cutting and fabric manipulation and I remember our course was really well rounded.What’s it like working in your role at Rolls Royce? Considering where I’m at in my career, it’s tailor made for me (excuse the pun). Initially it was all a bit overwhelming, however the team is great and I have a design director who really believes in me and gives me creative freedom. What’s next? I would love to work on sportswear and manipulating performance fabrics. Strangely enough we look to sportswear for inspiration when sourcing materials for our car interiors.Any last words? West Thames College gave me the foundation and confi dence to be able to get to where I am. I met some great people and great teachers, and commend the passion that the teachers have in equipping us for work within the industry.

The Rolls Royce of jobs.

Cherica went from this college to St. Martins to study Textiles before undertaking a Master’s Degree in Fibre, Textiles and Weaving Art at the Royal Arts College. She is now one of the most sought after designers in the automotive industry, and is part of the design team working on one of the best cars in the world.

Cherica making fi nal adjustments before a fashion show during her BTEC Level 3 course at West Thames.

AlumniOur alumni have progressed to work in some of the most innovative and exciting industries. Join our alumni group on LinkedIn to stay in touch.

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Level 3 Year 2 Photography and HND Makeup students came together to produce stunning shots for a Fashion and Portrait Photography shoot in Painshill Park, Surrey.

Painshill Park Photoshoot

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Young Scientists

St. Marks, Isleworth & Syon, The Heathland School and Cranford Community College all jostled for fi rst place as they took part in a borough-wide science competition. The competition was part of the college’s activities for STEM Week, a ten-day national programme of science, technology, engineering and maths events and activities across the UK.Students from neighbouring schools were able to take advantage of the colleges state of the art science laboratories.

If you are interested in any of our science courses, visit our website to fi nd out more.

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West Thames College recently hosted an inspirational speaker competition on behalf of TEDx Youth Hounslow.Students from local schools as well as West Thames College came together to explore the theme “Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations for the future”. Students from Heathlands School, Lampton School, Isleworth & Syon School and Cranford Community College were among the speakers.West Thames College student Golu Singh Gaba (photo, above) spoke poignantly about his experiences in Afghanistan and our need to live together peacefully. College dance acts Harry Parr and Asantewa Cotterell Dancers also delivered a moving performance.

Sharing Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations.

…DID YOU KNOW? TEDx is a programme of local, self-organised events that bring people together to speak about a range of topics and interests. This was the first TEDx Youth event of its kind in Hounslow.

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Brentford Griffins crowned champions of the league.West Thames students from the Brentford FC Elite Development programme rose to the occasion, gaining a title-winning 3-2 victory over rivals Watford FC in their final league match of the season.

Sport

Basketball and NetballThe basketball team (photo, right) completed their highly successful season, which will be a great building block for next year. The netball team has also played a large number of fixtures this year and can now be seen as a fully-fledged part of the competitive sports offer at the college.

Sports tutor Neil Harrowing commented “It has been an amazing season but the most important thing is what the guys have got out of the Elite development programme so far; training with brilliant coaches and learning about the science behind sport and fitness. Winning the league isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Bring on next season!”

CricketWest Thames College held their first competitive cricket game at Uxbridge College. It was a great occasion for the boys to showcase their skills and talents by playing an established academy team.

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30th June Aspire 2015 Skills Show Experience is at the Feltham Skills Centre, 10am-4pm.

• Meet top employers, such as Sky, Mace Group, Premier Inn, Heathrow Airport and many more with job and apprenticeship vacancies.

• Sectors covered include logistics, construction, engineering, motor vehicle mechanics, catering, hospitality, travel and tourism.

• Try your hand at Have a Go activities.

• Receive specialist one to one careers advice and guidance. Have an on the spot interview and get help with job searching and CV writing skills.

1st to 19th June Creative Arts Festival17th June College tour for returning adult learners. See website for details.24th June HE Graduation ceremony

25th June Student Awards ceremony

2nd July Introductory Taster Day For those off ered places on our courses. Remember to apply now if you have not already done so!

Monthly tours On the fi rst Wednesday of every month. Please book on our website - tours are for Isleworth or Feltham.

Future Events

2015See our website

for more details.