NEW COLLEGE SHOWCASES ITS FANTASTIC NEW T LEVEL HUB FACILITIES WITH OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT

It was an evening of celebration as New College hosted a formal event for the official opening of the new T Level Hub at the Queens Drive Campus on Tuesday 29th March 2022.

An array of guests all gathered for the opening, which included traditional ribbon cutting and a tour to showcase the new Hub facilities.  Guests comprised employers, stakeholders, staff, students, and VIPs, including Councillor David Renard, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, and Paddy Bradley, CEO of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, who undertook the key role of cutting the opening ribbon. Speeches were delivered by Jason Clear, Assistant Principal and College T Level Lead and Carole Kitching, Principal and CEO of New College Swindon. Catering was provided by Food and Hospitality students at the College.

The College, which is the first provider in Swindon and Wiltshire to offer the new T Level qualification, has invested over £2 million in the T Levels Hub and equipment. This includes mock hospital adult and maternity wards, with triage rooms and birthing pool; a mock nursery; a cyber lab, and a wet lab with facility for biochemical lab work. Four T Levels are currently taught by the College in Health, Education and Childcare, Digital and Laboratory Sciences with three new ones launching from September in Accounting, Finance and Management and Administration. The two-year qualification prepares learners for a skilled vocational career and combines College study with an extended work placement of 45 days/315 hours. Employers have helped to shape the new T Levels and provide the all-important work placement opportunities.

The evening also saw the announcement of new names for the wards and nursery. These names had been submitted by students themselves, with prizes awarded to the winning ones as follows:  Zara Haque named the Maternity Ward “Rising Stars;” Marysil Fernandes named the Adult Nursing Ward “Blossom,” and Elena Bradley named the Nursery “Little Stars.”

Carole Kitching, Principal and CEO said,

“The College is continuing a long and proud tradition of technical and professional education in Swindon, and T levels are a contemporary stage of this tradition. They are all about training young people for employment in specialist areas or further training at higher levels and provide an excellent route into our new Institute of Technology. The Hub facilities allow them to learn in industry-standard environments which will really set them up with the practical and applied skills they will need for their careers. The students have been taught in them since the Autumn, and love learning in them.

It has been brilliant to host guests at this event from all of the areas that have made the T Levels happen;  employers, school partners, Swindon Borough Council, the LEP, our funding partners, staff and of course our students. We are really excited for September for the launch of our three new T Levels and there will be more to come after that.”

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