What did you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
The hands-on projects and practical experiences were highlights for me, as we did a really great engineering group project (Prosthetic arm), whether it was a lecturer field linked to the relevant engineering industry, or guest lectures from professionals.
Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ provides ample opportunities for real-world learning, especially for engineering sections and renewable energy, including lots of equipment and devices that help us to develop our knowledge.

Have you got involved in any enrichment activities, if so, which ones, and what did you enjoy most about them?
Yes, participating in enrichment activities like academic societies or events, the most important activity was renewable energy events, and that enhanced my learning experience.

Did you undertake any work experience throughout your studies?
After graduation, I started my own business in the renewable energy sector in North Devon, which includes designing and installing Solar Photovoltaic Systems and battery storage and electrical charging points for domestic and industrial use.
Of course, the work experience opportunities provided invaluable insights into the practical application of classroom learning and what we did in the laboratory of experience and testing.
I chose this section as a completion of what I started learning through Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ college from level 2 of electrical installation up to level 6 or the full degree of Integrated Technology Engineering.

What are your plans now that you have graduated?
Post-graduation is one of my plans, or the High Voltage qualifications might be another option. Or any further education or qualifications might be an option to develop my business and make it up-to-date, as we all know there is always something new with engineering, and never stop.

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
Take advantage of all the amazing opportunities through our local University Centre with Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ. Also, don’t hesitate to seek mentorship and guidance from Ph.D. and professionals in the engineering field to maximize your learning journey.
The demand for an engineering career is highly required, and you will find yourself in a field making and developing yourself and all the society around you.

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What made you pick this particular course?
I initially wanted to study Psychology as I had already studied Social Science with the Open University and a year of Psychology. Unfortunately Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ did not offer that degree so I went to discuss the course content for Health and Social Care and realised it encompassed all of the elements that I was looking for.

What were the highlights?
Due to Covid the placement element was not possible which would have been enjoyable, however we all adapted really well. The highlights for me were the supportive lecturers and extended support network available. The range of modules made learning much more interesting and enjoyable and the lifespan module was the most amazing and interesting due to the learning element mixed with the freedom of expressing and incorporating the knowledge.

What did you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
The size of the classes and the lecturer and staff support.

Did you undertake any work experience throughout your studies?
Unfortunately due to Covid this was not possible during our course, however working in mental health for the NHS, my manager was so supportive of my request to incorporate experiences to assist my studies.

What do you plan to do when you leave Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
As quite a ‘mature’ learner, my learning journey was purely for personal development and to fulfil a personal ambition. This course encompasses all of my previous career experience so I have in effect done things ‘back to front.’

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
I would honestly recommend this course with Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ to anyone. The content is so varied keeping you engaged, the support from the lecturers far exceeds expectations and the extended support is available for all who want to access. Ultimately the onus is on the learner to put in the effort and work hard to achieve their goals but you are given the tools to do this effectively.

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What were the highlights?
Learning how to machine (turning/milling) – I really enjoyed it! Once I’d learnt this, engineering principles came naturally such as designing, drawing and manufacturing processes.

What did you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
I most enjoyed meeting people similarly minded with the same ambitions.

Did you undertake any work experience throughout your studies?
Yes, I did my apprenticeship at Pall, Ilfracombe at the same time as the course as it was part-time. Sometimes I found the experience tricky trying to balance work and education but it was all worth it in the end. This naturally helped me to progress into my next role.

What do you plan to do when you leave Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
Continue within my role at Pall Ilfracombe as a Manufacturing Projects Engineer to support the huge expansion of the site.

What’s the long-term plan?
The aim is to go as high up in the chain as possible within engineering.

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
Yes, specifically engineering – companies are pushing automation for obvious reasons and so if I was to do it again, I would probably look at positioning myself closer to this through my project choices.

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And what made you pick this particular course?
I wanted to fully immerse myself in Art after GCSEs and this course meant I could do just that – it was really wonderful.

What were your highlights?
We went to Venice via a 24 hour coach ride – it really was absolutely incredible. It was my first trip abroad without my parents and it felt freeing and exciting – having the trust from the lecturers helped us feel like adults and that meant a lot. Culturally it really made an impression on me, we fit so much into those four days.

What did you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
I loved the encouragement we had to be as expressive as we wanted, some of the lecturers were very kind and encouraging and you need someone to show they believe in you. One of my lecturers called my parents one day just to compliment a piece I had worked hard on, it was just a quick call but it really meant a lot.

What do you plan now you’ve left Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
It has been nearly 20 years since I left – I went on to University straight away and lived in London for a while. I recently moved back to North Devon and now work as an Artist around my family and have co-founded a working studio and gallery space with three other local artists in Damien Hirst’s old gallery in Ilfracombe – it’s lovely to be back.

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
Study all the art – but also get as much information as you can about current trends and careers that you can lend your creative skills to. Whether it’s graphic design or textiles or animation – find the roles where you can earn a living wage, get yourself established doing those and then you have the foundations to indulge in the Art making you really feel passionate about. If you love it, you will find time to nurture it.

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And what made you pick this particular course?
Bookkeeping and finance roles have made up the majority of my CV for many years, however I felt that I wanted to progress my career and I was aware that this qualification was mentioned in several job adverts for roles that had interested me. I wanted to gain this qualification so that alongside my experience in the workplace, this would make me a stronger candidate in the job market for the roles I wanted to pursue.

What have been highlights so far?
I couldn’t recommend a classroom environment for part time study high enough. Yes, it meant one day a week off work and for me having to do a two hour round trip come rain or shine! But the advantages of being with a group of people, all working towards a common goal and being able to support each other was definitely worth it. When you are in a classroom environment, I think you achieve a greater understanding of the subject as you are able to listen to those around you, have constant interaction and contribute your understanding to the class. Being taught face to face by a lecturer and being able to talk openly, I felt enhanced my understanding of the syllabus. Different students in the class were able to apply the topics we were taught to their own individual circumstances, which I think added depth to our understanding and this would not have been experienced if I had undertaken this course through distance learning.

What do you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
I have to say the support given by my lecturer was second to none. Even outside of our college day, the support was always there. All the resources I needed were provided, I always had plenty of material to practice the topics being taught. Study time for me often fell during the evenings and weekends and my lecturer was just an email away from answering any questions, showing great support and encouragement, even through the trickier times such as the lead up to exams and during lockdown. I felt that our lecturer appreciated that we all had roles to fulfil outside of being a student as well!

Our student group changed somewhat with each level, but I made some great friends along the way. We came from different job roles and had different goals to achieve and were on different paths but came together with our enthusiasm for accounting, desire to learn and improve our skill set. The atmosphere in the classroom was great!

Did you undertake any work experience throughout your studies?
I didn’t undertake any work experience throughout my studies, but I did change jobs part way through so was working in an accountancy practice when I began Level 4, this job change was made possible by my achievement already in gaining Distinctions at Level 2 and Level 3.

What do you plan to do when you leave Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
I am currently working within an accountancy practice so I have plenty of scope to utilise my qualifications within this role. Through my improved knowledge from completing this course, I am also interested in pursuing a career in management accounting. I now have a greater awareness of my strengths and how they can apply to this area of accounting.

What’s the long-term plan?
I would like to continue to add to my qualifications and am interested in management accounting and completing the CIMA (or similar) qualification next.

Any advice for someone thinking of choosing the same course as you?
Go for it! I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 years and it went by so fast! It was easier than I thought to study again after a long time away from the classroom and it’s fantastic to have the certificates now to support my experience in the workplace. I didn’t think I would ever achieve 3 distinctions, in the beginning I wasn’t even sure if I would complete all 3 levels, however, for me it was made possible with the combination of commitment from myself and the support and quality of teaching from Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ. I left Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ with more confidence in myself and my abilities, I learnt so much more than just the course content, alongside this came an increased level of motivation for the future and where I want it to take me.

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I have my amazing teachers to thank for encouraging me to believe in myself and achieve the best grades that I could.

I loved all three of my A-levels, but English Literature has always been my favourite subject and I enjoyed the interesting discussions we had in class, which challenged my thinking and made me see texts in a different light every time. Applying to Cambridge is not something I’d ever even considered before it was suggested to me by my English Literature lecturer, and I’m so grateful for all the help and support I received from Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ that enabled me to get an offer from such a prestigious institution.

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I’m now off to Exeter University to study Business Economics with a year abroad and a proficiency in German.

My lecturers taught me that anything is possible if you go for it, and that’s what helped me achieve my dreams of getting into University.

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And what made you pick this particular course?
I wasn’t sure on what I wanted to do for a career, so I chose a versatile subject.

What were the highlights for you?
I really enjoyed the community based project. I also won the University of Plymouth academic partnerships ‘Outstanding Student Prize’ for the academic year 2019/20. For this, I was awarded a certificate and a £50 Amazon voucher.

What did you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
I loved my time at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ – I particularly enjoyed the content on my course, specifically the community based project where we collaborated and designed an early intervention programme which was successfully used.

Did you undertake any work experience throughout your studies?
I volunteered at NDADA, a women’s refuge- where I mentored in advocacy.

What’s the long-term plan?
I’ve actually done a complete 360 and now work as a Health and Social Care and Early Childhood Studies lecturer at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ.
In time, I would like to do a Masters in Health and Social Care or Education.

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In school I always loved playing around with my hair and other people’s hair and had found that I was naturally better at the more practical subjects rather than the academic ones in which I had struggled a lot at and so I decided to study hair.

The highlights this year so far have been passing my English Functional Skills exam and being able to practice on live models, making them love their hair.

What I most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ is being able to study a subject I love and have a passion for rather than having to study a subject in which I have no interest in. I also enjoy the independence you have.

All of the work experience I have had has been in a salon. The first type of experience I had was in Year 10 for a week, in a salon called ‘Love Hair’ that was the first time I tested out my hair skills and found that I naturally picked it up quite quickly so from there I knew hairdressing would be the perfect job for me. In Year 11, I then applied for a Saturday job at ‘Golds Hair and Beauty’ and from there I progressed into a full-time apprenticeship and have loved it ever since. When I leave college, I am hopefully going to carry on working at Golds to become a full-time hairdresser.

As of right now my plan is to go on and apply for a barbering course after completing my Level 2 and then in the future, I may think about becoming self-employed and travelling.

I’d say if you love being creative then go for it, hairdressing is a great way to show off your creative side and to express yourself, there’s no one way of doing things and that’s what makes hairdressing great, it’s also a great way of meeting new people as it’s such a social job.

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And what made you pick this particular course?
I come from a big family with lots of children and have always babysat and looked after little ones. I have always wanted to be a children’s holiday rep – which is why I nearly did the Travel & Tourism route at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ, but then found out more about what the course had to offer, and thought it would suit me.

Which elements of your course do you particularly enjoy?
The 750 hours in work placements have been my favourite part of the two year course. You do three weeks in college, then three weeks in a work placement. You have to do it in three areas: 0 to 2 years, 2 to 4 years, and 5 to 8 years old. And then choose your favourite area to do the rest of your hours. I did placements in Muddyboots, East-of-the-water Primary School and Early Birds Nursery. My favourite is the 2 to 4 year old age group. They are amazing, and they come out with all sorts of things!

What do you most enjoy about studying at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ?
The course and the lecturers gave me the direction and opportunity to decide what to do next. My tutor and lecturer showed us a virtual open event for Norland – world-renowned, TEF gold-rated training college. It looked amazing, and I liked that only 100 students got in every year, you get lifelong training and get guaranteed employment opportunities! I made the decision in the summer before my second year at Ó£»¨ÊÓƵ that I wanted to go to Uni, and Norland suited what I wanted, particularly the fact I could get a job which included travel, like what I wanted to do in the first place.

What do you plan to do when you leave college?
I have been accepted at Norland and am really looking forward to looking around the college in Bath – we haven’t been able to look properly and in person yet because of Covid. Norland offers all sorts of things alongside the normal childcare modules, like skidpad training and self defence!

What’s the long-term plan?
Norland College is a three year degree, after that, I’ll be a Newly Qualified Nanny, and go into a one year placement in an area and family home of our choice, I’ll probably stay close to Bath so I can still get support from college. Once that’s done, I’ll apply for a position with a family who travel a lot, or a family living abroad, or Royalty! One day I’d like to have my own nursery. As Norland does lifelong training, I’ll probably go back there and do any further training with them.

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