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Students from the Leyton Orient Trust College Study Programme were invited to The Breyer Group Stadium on Tuesday 17 September. The students watched the match against Crew Alexandra and had the opportunity to take part in pre-match and half time activities.
Selected students from the Level 1, 2 and 3 Diploma in Sport courses were invited to be flag bearers before the match, and take penalties on the pitch at half-time in front of a crowd of 4,289 fans.
Waltham Forest College Principal Dr Joy Kettyle and Deputy Principal Stella McManus joined Leyton Orient Chief Executive Neil Taylor and Head of Education Andree Selner, teachers and students for a photo on the O's pitch.
Andree Selner, Head of Education at Leyton Orient Trust said: 'Evenings like this, especially at the start of term, are a great opportunity to motivate and inspire our learners. We're able to provide this unique experience through our close partnership with Leyton Orient Football Club. This is also a great chance for us to welcome our partners at Waltham Forest College and celebrate another successful year working together.'
Over 600 students sat GSCE maths and English exams, with many also taking vocational qualifications designed to help them progress onto their chosen career.
Waltham Forest College is extremely pleased with the GCSE grades students have achieved this summer and thrilled to report an improvement in comparison to last year's performance.
Deputy Principal: Curriculum and Quality, Stella McManus said; 'We're so proud of our students celebrating their amazing achievement today. Not only is it proof of our students' commitment to succeed but it also reflects the high quality teaching and learning that takes place here at the College.'
She also commented: 'We've had some great success stories and we're very happy to see so many of our students progressing to higher level of study which includes progression onto university, apprenticeships and into exciting careers.'
BTEC student, Hadi Naboulsi, who studied Vehicle Maintenance alongside his maths will now be progressing to Level 2 after passing his exams. He said: 'I'm really excited about my results today which means I do not have to-do any more retakes. The College has helped to prepare me well for the next stage of my career.'
The College offers the opportunity for many adults to improve their literacy and numeracy skills and mother of three, Xiaoli Wang, celebrated with her children by her side after achieving a top grade 9 in her maths exams.
Mrs. Wang said; 'I cannot stop smiling; I will be using this day as a milestone in my life to inspire my kids to be successful in the pathway they wish to choose. I have the top grade and it's all thanks to the staff at the College.'
Another student, Yue Lin, will now be progressing to Accounting Level 3, after receiving a grade 7 in her GCSE maths. She said: 'I choose Waltham Forest College as a place to study to improve my career prospects. The teachers supported me extensively and I look forward to progressing to the next level of my course.'
Access to Social Sciences student, Lucia Monte, had a lot to celebrate today after discovering she had passed her maths exams just hours before commencing her first day in employment at a care home.
She said: 'It's been an overall great experience for me. I couldn't have asked for a better environment to create my future. My tutors have supported me all the way through my studies to securing employment and having another shot in passing my exams'
Waltham Forest College is now enrolling on all course starting in September 2019, and offer a range of options, no matter what GCSE results you achieved. For more information or to enrol please pop into Waltham Forest College or for more information visit www.waltham.ac.uk
The College awarded its exclusive recruitment contract for the provision of temporary and permanent staff to Morgan Hunt, a specialist recruiter to the public sector.
The contract was awarded through a tendering process with the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC). The CPC is a purchasing group designed to ensure organisations including Further Education Colleges can engage with suppliers who have already proven themselves to offer best value for money, provide efficiencies and demonstrate sector expertise.
Morgan Hunt has a long track record in attracting and finding professionals for Further Education institutions. From operational roles to academic and senior positions. This heritage and deep understanding of hiring for staff across all grades and functions was important for its appointment on this occasion.
The College has an enviable reputation as one of London's most successful colleges and in its most recent Oftsed inspection, the College was judged to be ' Good' in all that they do. It was important therefore to continue to access the best staff to uphold their great status and continue its journey to ' Outstanding'.
Luke O'Neil, Education Director at Morgan Hunt, said; 'Our recruiting and sourcing teams are not only working to ensure we attract those with the required skills but we are also mindful that we meet the important requirement of ensuring the institution remains as an ' inclusive college'. We work to attract candidates from neighbourhoods in the proximity of the College to reflect the diverse nature of the local community' .
Lynne Griffin, HR Executive at Waltham Forest College adds 'Employees are central to our organisation and having the right people in place, underpins our success. Our mission is to deliver outstanding technical and professional learning, which raises aspirations, develops skills and creates futures. Partnering with a specialist recruiter empowers us to efficiently and proactively attract talented people to our organisation' .
Lynne further comments; 'As a centre of learning and being amongst the top 3 biggest employers within the borough we have an active role to play by offering our students and employees access to opportunities that are both inspiring and beneficial. The College is a great place to work with benefits that appeal to people with different motivations and life circumstances. We work to enhance our employees' personal development, health, wellbeing and finances. After all, we are located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest who has been awarded the first ever London Borough of Culture, from the Mayor of London' .
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Waltham Forest College Higher Education and Access students celebrate in style as they embark on the next steps as graduates.
The College held its 16th Graduation Ceremony on the 11th July and the auspicious occasion transformed the campus into a lavish venue, attended by friends, family members, College governors and staff. Approximately 150 students graduated from higher education and Access courses and celebrated in style with their ' I Did It' attitude.
Special guests at the graduation ceremony included The Worshipful Mayor of Waltham Forest Cllr Christopher Robbins CBE, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith and guest performers which included the winner of this year's Britain's Got Talent, Colin Thackery and The London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC), who performed during at the Brit Awards this year and supported acts such as the 1975 and Pink.
Guest speaker, Lou Mycroft took to the stage as she inspired the audience with her message themed ' Joy'. Lou, a facilitator, writer, public speaker and working-class single parent from South Yorkshire commented during her speech saying: 'You've got to look inside yourself to find your silver lining sometimes. I hope you can always carry-on in the joy of tonight's celebration' .
Principal, Dr. Joy Kettyle said; 'This is the pinnacle event of the year where everything we have all worked towards comes together. There is nothing I enjoy more than celebrating great achievements and today I am proud to be able to congratulate all our graduates and their remarkable journey.'
Students shared their stories on how they overcome personal barriers to learning and how the College has supported their journey to pursue the next stage of their career.
Students' Union President and valedictorian, Nancy Kuforiji delivered a powerful and emotional speech, she said: 'This is not just a graduation ceremony but a dream that has taken me 15 years to pursue. Unfortunately, I never had this opportunity when I was younger for reasons beyond my control. Waltham Forest College gave me a second chance to improve my life-chances and today I can confidently look back and say it was one of the best decisions ever.'
Nancy, concluded her speech by saying: 'Congratulation to all of us all for making it this far; also a greater well done on the ability to bounce back on your feet despite all the obstacles and challenges faced when making that crucial decision to further our education' .
Waltham Forest College has demonstrated a consistent improvement in the achievement of its students since 2016, with achievement for HE reaching the highest this year at 90%.
Waltham Forest College is amongst a handful of organisations that have not made the new register for the Office for Students which acts as the regulator for the higher education sector in England.
The College which serves predominantly the north east of London attracts just under 5000 learners per year and has a small but growing provision for higher education with a current cohort of 56 students.
After an exhaustive waiting period, a final decision was shared with the College and was notified as the next casualty in OfS's new registration process.
Data as far back as 2014 was used to form the final outcome. Unfortunately, the college was still on the road to improvement at that time. With key changes in leadership appointments over the last four years, Waltham Forest College has demonstrated a consistent improvement in the achievement of its students since 2016, with achievement for HE reaching the highest this year at 90%.
Principal, Dr. Joy Kettyle said; 'Whilst our higher education provision is small, we are disappointed with the final outcome. The London Borough of Waltham Forest is very diverse ethnically and socially and amongst the top 10 per cent most deprived in the country, the OfS have failed to fully appreciate the challenges some of our students face and their personal journey to overcome them' .
Dr. Kettyle said 'Our achievement rates this year is something we are proud of and we remain fully committed to supporting our students in making the transition onto other institutions to continue higher levels of study' .
The College held its 16th Graduation Ceremony on the 11th July and the auspicious occasion transformed the campus into a lavish venue, attended by friends, family members, College governors and staff.
Students shared their stories on how they overcome personal barriers to learning and how the College has supported their journey to pursue the next stage of their career.
Students' Union President and valedictorian, Nancy Kuforiji delivered a powerful and emotional speech, she said: 'This is not just a graduation ceremony but a dream that has taken me 15 years to pursue. Unfortunately, I never had this opportunity when I was younger for reasons beyond my control. Waltham Forest College gave me a second chance to improve my life-chances and today I can confidently look back and say it was one of the best decisions ever.'
Nancy concluded her speech by saying: 'Congratulation to all of us all for making it this far; also a greater well done on the ability to bounce back on your feet despite all the obstacles and challenges faced when making that crucial decision to further our education' .
Special guests at the graduation ceremony included The Worshipful Mayor of Waltham Forest Cllr Christopher Robbins CBE, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith and guest performers included the winner of Britain's Got Talent, Colin Thackery and the London Community Gospel Choir.
The partnership agreement allows learners to get to grips with top of the range industry motorbikes worth just over £20,000.
Yamaha UK has agreed to work closely with Waltham Forest College to provide training materials and equipment for the students enrolled in the Automotive Engineering programme. Alongside donating a range of £20,000 worth of cutting edge motorcycles, Yamaha also donated a diagnostic tester, software, workshop and operator manuals for all motorcycles.
Franco Boscarelli, Business Development Manager at the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said: 'It is extremely exciting to see how our introduction of Yamaha UK to Waltham Forest College has provided access to state-of-the-art equipment that gives students hands-on experience. The students will now benefit from leading edge technology, thus furthering their career prospects by engaging more widely with Yamaha UK.'
Ben Kingerley, Team Leader for STEM said: 'Our partnership with Yamaha UK provides our learners with the opportunity to work with the latest cutting-edge motorcycle technology which means our young people and adult learners can be confident the knowledge they have gained will put them at an advantage in the UK's jobs market.'
With so much uncertainty within the UK Motor Industry following the close of the Honda production plant earlier this year; this comes as a great confidence boost for the Motor Industry amidst plans to grow its stake in the UK employment market share.
Learning Manager, Nick Cocks, spoke of his delight of the new partnership stating, 'Looking forward to working with Yamaha UK as we are extremely grateful that in such hard times, this kind of support has been offered to the College.'
'These partnerships arrangements are vital to the teaching and learning experience and we actively look to collaborate with employers that dominate the market, as it aligns with our strategic and ambitious growth plans.'
The College will aim to replicate Yamaha's bronze training programme, to help students have access to valuable employment opportunities and apprenticeships with Yamaha UK. The bronze training programme will run to the standards of The Institute of the Motor Industry and will showcase the high expectations in which Yamaha UK require.
Today, marks the fourth annual UK Employability Day and Waltham Forest College joins a host of organisations to emphasise the challenges surrounding employability in the UK.
Employability Day is the UK's largest celebration for organisations supporting local people to gain, sustain and progress in work.
Coordinated by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), hundreds of businesses, charities and public bodies will throw open their doors to raise awareness about how they support local people.
Waltham Forest College is one of London's most successful FE colleges with a yearly intake of 4500+ students from 31 London boroughs and counties across the UK. Every day, the College and thousands of organisations across the country help transform the lives of individuals and their communities.
The ESF funds projects that support disadvantaged people into work. Britain will lose access to the fund ' worth £3bn between 2014 and 2020 ' when it leaves the EU. Waltham Forest College supports the ERSA led campaign to safeguard investment for employment and skills support post Brexit and ensure there is no loss of funding for disadvantaged communities.
This year's Employability Day theme is ' closing the gaps'. Despite record employment, there are still significant disparities between groups in terms of employment rate, pay and career progression. For example, disadvantaged young people are three times less likely to stay in education or find a job after school. Waltham Forest College is helping to close the gaps by providing opportunities for young people to gain key employability skills necessary for increasing their career prospects and creating their own future.
Amir Ahmed, College Director, said 'Our students are making a real difference in the UK's economy and we are proud to provide London with a skilled workforce that closes the skills gap across various sectors'
'Our growth plans are ambitious. Key to this is maintaining high quality and increasing agility so that we respond quickly to opportunities. We want to be future proofed, not just as a financially viable organisation, but one that is able to invest for growth and sustainability.
Read more about how Waltham Forest College supports students with employability skills in this blog: https://www.f54db463750940e0e7f7630fe327845e-gdprlock/pulse/employability-day-2019-supporting-young-people-develop-marketing-wfc
On Wednesday 5 June 2019, Leyton Orient Trust College Study Programme held an awards ceremony at The Breyer Group stadium, the home of Leyton Orient Football Club. The event recognised and rewarded the outstanding achievements of learners throughout the year, in particular, to celebrate the success of the college football team. The College Study Programme is delivered in partnership with Waltham Forest College.
The event celebrated learners from BTEC Level 1 Diploma in Sport and Active Leisure; NCFE Level 2 Diploma in Sport; BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Sport; and BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport.
In attendance was Martin Ling, Director of Football, Leyton Orient Football Club; Ross Embleton, Assistant Coach, Leyton Orient Football Club; Neil Taylor, Chief Executive, Leyton Orient Trust; Hafiz Haque, Lead Development Coach, Leyton Orient Trust; Steve Embleton, Development Coach, Leyton Orient Football Club; Trevor Duberry, Head of Neighbourhoods, Leyton Orient Trust; alongside Leyton Orient Trust teachers, Joshua Seal, Chris Middlemas, Alex Leslie and Lloyd Boateng.
The Leyton Orient Trust College 1st team won the Association of Colleges (AoC) London Men's League Invitation A-League. Players were presented with medals for their achievement by Martin Ling. Award winners included:
- Learner Voice Award - Alecsandru, Ben and Alfie
- Jack Petchey Achievement Award - John, Eugene
- Players' Player of the Season ' Samuel
- Most Improved Players of the Season ' Ousmany and Shakim
- Player of the Season ' Drey
- Coaches Choice Award - Bruno
Hafiz, Lead Development Coach, Leyton Orient Trust said: 'It was a great occasion to celebrate the students' fantastic achievement throughout the season - on the pitch and in the classroom. Winning the AoC, English College Regional League, a first for the College Study Programme, is a great testament to the all the players, the coaching team and the teachers. We hope the awards ceremony inspired and motivated the students to make that last push towards the end of the academic year.'
