Students at Waltham Forest College help support World Aids Day

01/12/09

On Tuesday 1 December 2009, the School of Vocational Care at Walthamstow Forest College hosted their first fund-raising event in support of World Aids Day. World Aids Day has helped raise awareness and support the 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS today.

Students studying Childcare, Hospitality & Catering and Hair & Beauty hosted this event in the student common room. Their enthusiasm for this cause was demonstrated by the highly organised display of products available for purchase on their stalls.

Russell Joseph – Head of School for Vocational Care said, “The event has worked well for both students and staff who have helped put together today. The students raised a fantastic £277!”

Each department showed a high-level of creativity in designing, preparing and selling Christmas gifts which included Clarins beauty products, handmade satin Christmas socks, hand-crafted candles and donations of clothes all in the colour red, the official World Aids Day colour. Other stalls included nail art and hair styling.

Ruma Aktar, Entry Level Student, Certificate for Preparation for Working with Children, organised one of the stalls, selling small chocolate gift sets. Ruma said, “I feel great about the event because it is for charity and a good cause. It is exciting to be taking part and I have found the whole experience really interesting. I am grateful to be given the chance to take part.”

Members of staff from the Terence Higgins Trust (THT) were present at the event to help support the students throughout the day. Seminars were hosted to build awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and the reality of AIDS today. This was a great opportunity for the students at Waltham Forest College to access information about sexually transmitted diseases, which they may not otherwise be aware of.

Michelle Harewood, a representative from the Terence Higgins Trust, said, ‘As someone who works closely with people living with HIV, it is refreshing to see so many young people coming together to help a worthy cause”.

Waltham Forest College student Ayrton Shaka Sukul reaches regional final of Future Chef competition

02/12/09

A schoolboy is making his mark as a budding chef after reaching the regional finals of a competition.

Fourteen-year-old Ayrton Shaka Sukul served up pan fried pollock and tarte tatin in the local finals of the Future Chef 2010 competition, and his dishes came out top in the taste test.

He now goes onto the regional finals of the cooking contest in which thousands of pupils from more than 700 schools throughout the UK are taking part.

The teenager attends Frederick Bremer School in Siddeley Road, Walthamstow, and spends a day and a half a week at Waltham Forest College in Forest Road, Walthamstow, where he is studying for a diploma in hospitality.

He said: “I am a big fan of Gino D’Acampo and I love watching him cooking on television. He is my inspiration and I want to go all the way in this competition so I can follow in his footsteps.

“I would like to own my own restaurant. I love cooking and always cook at home with my family.”

Mary Jo Hoyne, head of school for hospitality, travel and tourism at Waltham Forest College, said: “His success in this competition will allow him to explore many other aspects of the hospitality industry.”

The local finals were the second stage of the four stage competition organised by the national youth charity Springboard.

The four finalists had to prepare a hot main course and hot or cold dessert for two people, with a budget of £6.

Ayrton is one of nine pupils from four secondary schools studying for a higher level diploma in hospitality, which is the equivalent of seven GCSEs.

Pupils from Tom Hood, Kelmscott, and Rushcroft schools in Waltham Forest, as well as Frederick Bremer School, are studying for the diploma at the college.

In addition to cooking, the course covers business, kitchen design, and front of house operations.

Axed pool could re-open

The borough's axed premiere training pool may re-open in January, it has been confirmed.

The pool, at Waltham Forest College, in Forest Road, Walthamstow, was closed in September as operator Greenwich Leisure Ltd was not prepared to fund it any longer and the college is unable to divert cash needed for teaching.

But another company, Active Leisure Management (ALM), is now in talks with the college and the Friends of the Pool (FOTP) about re-opening the facility in January.

ALM believes it can keep costs down by opening the pool for six to eight hours and charging groups including FOTP and Walthamstow Tritons to use it.

John Allan, ALM director, says it would be too costly to open it to the general public, but swimmers could join the groups to use the pool.

He said: “ I had a look at it and it is a quality building, the pool is fit for use, everything is ready to go. It is such shame it is not being used. We are trying our best to come up with a plan, we don't need to make a lot of money from it because we don't have shareholders.”

FOTP, which has been paying £300 a month for the maintenance of the chemicals in the pool, says the facility is unique in Waltham Forest in offering unrestricted lane swimming.

Nick Wadham-Smith, FOTP member, said, “The college has been supportive and we are delighted that the hard work of a community group and a college may have a fantastic result for the community.”

Peter Glasgow, Waltham Forest College vice-principal, said he was “pretty confident” the pool will re-open soon. He said, “We see it as a community resource. We were not happy about it closing and if we can bring other people in to work with them to get the pool used that is great.”

The college intended to close the pool two years ago but a council-brokered, part-subsidised deal with Greenwich Leisure Ltd, which expired in June, gave it a reprieve.

An expected redevelopment of the college, which would have seen the pool demolished, did not happen for financial reasons.

Council leader Chris Robbins has ruled out any further subsidy from the taxpayer.

Waltham Forest College supports Colleges' Week

09/11/09

Waltham Forest College offers free pamper sessions to Support Colleges Week

Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy students from Waltham Forest College provided free pamper sessions during Colleges Week. Approximately 30 employees at the Haven House Children's Hospice had the opportunity to enjoy facials, manicures and pedicures over the course of the week.

Staff and volunteers at the Hospice, located in East London, care for children and young people between the ages of 0 to 19 who have life-limiting conditions and who are unlikely to reach adulthood.

Alex Le-Vey, Assistant to the Chief Excutive at the Hospice, said: 'The College is doing a really good thing, I don’t know of anything like this taking place since I've worked here. It's good that our staff and volunteers are being given a chance to relax when you think of all the good work they do day in day out.'

Roohi Mirza, Salon Operations Manager at the College said: 'We often provide this kind of service to the local community and our students really find it rewarding.'

Jane Waller, a student on the Fast Track Beauty Therapy Programme said, 'I am really pleased that our group was chosen to offer these treatments because we will be able to do something worthwhile as well as gain experience at the same time.'


Waltham Forest College Hosts Diploma Exhibition

Waltham Forest College hosted an exhibition to showcase the New Diplomas, on Monday 9 November from 2.00 pm - 5.30pm. The event was organised in conjunction with the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

The Borough’s Year 9 pupils and their parents had the opportunity to obtain information about the teaching and learning involved in these innovative new programmes. They were able to speak to teaching staff and watch practical demonstrations.