School soccer stars rule Britannia

On Friday 23rd May 2014, Newcastle-under-Lyme College sponsored a Schools football tournament at the Britannia Stadium- home of Stoke City F.C.

The ‘Play on the pitch’ schools tournament featured local schools from across Stoke on-Trent, Staffordshire & Cheshire, giving pupils the chance to follow in their heroes footsteps on the famous turf.

The tournament was run over a three day period, with the first two days focusing on Primary schools, the third and final day involved pupils in Year 9 & 10 from the following secondary schools: Madeley High School, Wolstanton High School, COOP Academy of Stoke on-Trent, Birches Head Academy and Shavington High School.

The tournament was split into a Year 9 section and a Year 10 section, the Year 10 section was incredibly contested with Madeley narrowly defeating Wolstanton in the final. It was a tight game with few chances, until Madeley scored a breakaway goal to seal the win.

During the final itself, the Madeley pupils were unaware that they were being watched by their own Assistant Head teacher Mr Hope, who was enjoying the hospitality in the NULC School Liaison Executive Box.

Players from Madeley High school were also given the opportunity to be interviewed in the press area after their victory, with Aaron Robinson and Jack Kennedy answering questions. Jack commented ‘The day has been ace, very enjoyable and we won the tournament!’ Aaron added ‘It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play on the pitch at Stoke City and we loved it’.

 

The event was also very well received by staff at the respective schools with Mark Rogers Head of Physical Education at COOP Academy of Stoke on-Trent commenting ‘It has been a fantastic opportunity for the pupils to play on the pitch at the Britannia, a day they will never forget’.

 

The event was jointly sponsored by both NULC and Stoke City F.C goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and his charity The Asmir Begovic Foundation. All students that participated in the event were able to speak to NULC Academy of Sport staff to find out about what sports they can get involved in when they study at NULC.

School Liaison E-newsletter goes live!

On 15 May 2014 School Liaison sent our first Year 9 & 10 E-newsletter to school pupils.

The E-newsletter includes information on forthcoming events including the Year 9 & 10 Open Day on Saturday 21 June. Also, information on what is new for 2014 including our brand new Golf Academy and the purchase of Gradbach Mill, located between Leek & Buxton, which is to be used as an outdoor activity centre!

Future editions will include exciting information about the college, competitions, revision tips and much more!

If you haven’t received the E-newsletter yet and would like to, please send your Name, Email Address, School Name and Year to schools@nulc.ac.uk and use the subject: E-newsletter.
For more information on our Year 9 & 10 Open Day please click here.

Thistley Hough Academy welcomes construction roadshow

On Wednesday 7 May 2014, Newcastle-under-Lyme College Construction staff took to the streets to promote Painting & Decorating, Joinery and Bricklaying courses. 

The Roadshow at Thistley Hough Academy in Penkhull was aimed at raising awareness for the skilled trades. The Painting and Decorating department ran interactive demonstrations in the food hall where pupils got the chance to learn basic decorative effects such as creating a heartwood grain using a wooden instrument called a ‘rocker’. 

There was a lot of interest from the pupils, with Years 8,9,10 and 11 all asking the lecturers about full-time courses and discussing what jobs there are in the industry. NULC lecturers were on hand to discuss each trade and were able to pass on their advice to the enthusiastic pupils.

Amongst the many students attending Melvina Kearns, Year 8, was able to have a go at creating a heartwood grain using the wooden ‘rocker’. She commented "It was good to have a go at something different."

Thistley Hough Information Advice and Guidance (CEAIG) Manager Sue Greenhalgh was delighted with the response to the Roadshow "The demonstrations were stunning, insightful, engaging and pitched at the right level."

Search and Rescue

A group of Year 10 and 11 pupils from St. John Fisher Catholic College joined NULC for a taster in Public Services on Thursday 1 May 2014.

The pupils began the day with a relay warm up race followed by various fitness drills including isometric holds and core transitions. The session finished up with a Rounder's game to increase team building skills and prepare them for life in the forces.

Bryony Watkins, Year 10, commented; “This session was really interesting, it was great to experience something new and challenging.”

After a tour of the college facilities, everyone enjoyed a great lunch, getting their energy back ready for the afternoon’s activities. The pupils were put into three teams and were given roles of Police Investigators that were holding a search and rescue mission. Each team had a lead Inspector who was in charge of a certain area of land to search.

The teams were taught how to make a successful search and rescue and how important strong communication skills are when reporting back to the control centre. Team two worked fantastically well together and managed to find and cordon off evidence relating to the ‘disappearance of a 17 year old boy.’ All of the pupils worked extremely well together and communicated effectively  to piece together what had happened at the scene.

Katy Machin, Year 11, said: “The field search activity was really good and helped improve my knowledge of Public Services.”

When asked what he most enjoyed about his visit to NULC, Nathan Fuller, Year 10 pupil, replied: “I learnt some valuable information needed for a career in Public Services.”