City Times (Winter 2011/12) - City College

City times
Winter 2011/12
College honours its
City Achievers
In a memorable year which has included
being graded as ‘Outstanding’ in key areas
by Ofsted and success rates confirming it
as one of the top 6% highest achieving
Further Education colleges in the country,
City College recently held its City Achievers
2011 student awards ceremony at its
Main Hall in Pelham Street. From a cohort
INSIDE
City Achievers 2011 P.2
New stadium restaurant P.6
City Travel relaunch P.7
Prince’s Trust work P.8
of around 12,000 students, the College
chose forty-one winners in areas as diverse
as Visual Arts, Business, Hairdressing,
Carpentry, Sports and Catering. “While
our Ofsted results and success rates are
fantastic for the reputation of the College,
our City Achievers night reminds us that it’s
our students who bring about our success
Higher Education Special P.10
City Jobs 1st birthday P.12
Jess scoops ‘A’ award P.15
Awards for Boxing Academy P.16
and shows that what we do here genuinely
transforms lives”, said Principal Phil Frier.
“Aside from being an event that is uplifting
for all the students and their families, it
also reminds everyone connected with the
College why it’s so vital for us to keep
providing an outstanding learning experience
for our students.”
P.12 City Business • P.15 City Arts • P.16 City Sports www.ccb.ac.uk
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special inside
Tel: 01273 667788

Editorial
Student Success Celebration
Welcome to the winter edition
of City Times, the magazine
dedicated to bringing you the
latest news from City College Brighton
and Hove.
City Achievers 2011
The stories behind the awards
With the 2011/2012 year well under
way, far from resting on our laurels after
the excellent Ofsted report in June,
we are confidently focussing on our
success rates increasing again.
Also, rather than succumbing to the
widespread gloom about the economy,
the College is proactively seeking new
commercial opportunities and, to
provide a highly visible outlet to promote
the excellence of our training provision,
we’ll be opening a new ‘Skills Shop’ in
Queens Road in the New Year.
What’s more, the College’s success
is increasingly being recognised.
Nationally, we were shortlisted in the
TES FE Awards in the ‘Outstanding
Contribution to the Local Community’
award for our work on programmes
for the unemployed and our City Jobs
employment bureau. Regionally, in the
Sussex Business Awards, we’ve been
shortlisted in both the ‘Business in
the Community’ and ‘Sussex Company
of the Year’ categories, reflecting
the overall success of the College in
contributing to the local economy and
community.
As you’ll read in this edition, our
highest-achieving students and their
families recently celebrated their
success at our annual ‘City Achievers’
awards ceremony which is one of the
highlights of the College calendar. These
students’ stories serve as reminders of
how education transforms lives, which,
after all, is the fundamental reason
why we’re consistently striving to be an
outstanding College.
Best wishes
Phil Frier
Principal & Chief Executive
About City Times
City Times is produced by the City
College Marketing Department.
If you have any comments about this
publication please contact Brian Bell
on 01273 667788 Ext. 488 or email
bb1@ccb.ac.uk
The overall winner
Catering & Hospitality
City College’s overall ‘City Achiever’ was
named as 17-year-old Catering student
and former Brighton Aldridge Community
Academy pupil Asha Phelps, a hard-working
and highly-committed learner who has
also been a carer throughout her teenage
years. Both her mother and younger sister
have a chronic condition resulting from
disturbances in the body’s immune system
and she also helps care for her three year
old brother. Asha’s family also suffered from
racial abuse and were temporarily forced to
move to Eastbourne which had detrimental
effect on her education. Despite all these
difficult circumstances, Asha’s catering
skills have developed strongly with high
achievements in Functional Skills, practical
and theory coursework and she’s been a
much-valued member of the team at both
the College’s training restaurants. Asha had
previously been shortlisted for an Argus
Achievement award in the ‘Carer of the
Year’ category and she’s received a £1,000
bursary from the Savoy Trust alongside her
City Achiever Award.
“I had the pleasure of teaching Asha last
year and she was outstanding in every
way”, said her tutor, Jonathon File. “You’d
never have guessed there were any external
issues that she was coping with that would
have impeded her studies because she was
100% focussed. I couldn’t have asked for a
better student.” Teaching Support Assistant
Linda Paul added: “I’m absolutely delighted
that Asha’s won the overall prize because
the whole of our department and everyone
who knows her can really say she deserves it
because she’s such a lovely girl.”
“City College has done so much for me and
really helped me mature as a person”, said
Asha.”Being here has made me feel really
confident that I’ll find success in the catering
industry.” “I’m so proud of her”, said her
mum, Kim.”It means that everything we’ve
achieved with her at home has paid off when
you see how she’s approaching her College
life.”
Asha Phelps & Phil Frier
“City College has done so
much for me and really
helped me mature as a
person. Being here has made
me feel really confident
that I’ll find success in the
catering industry.”
www.ccb.ac.uk

College helped Nick to land his dream job
Work-focussed Training
Work-focussed Training City Achiever Nick Anastiades’s award
was due to his outstanding work on an 8-week intensive Customer
Service course which he completed while he was unemployed. He
was strongly focussed on gaining employment at American Express
and work his way up the company. He therefore used his time on
the course to explore avenues of employment with Amex, eventually
approaching their representatives at a Jobs Fair and convincing
them with his sheer enthusiasm to offer him an interview. Nick’s
now an apprentice with Amex and looks destined for success with
the company. “Nick was a keen participant in all activities, did any
extra curricular credit he could and was generally an incredibly
pleasant person to have around”, said Simon Dyer, Skills Support
Advisor. “This award is a fantastic way of recognising Nick’s hard
work and also shows how these courses can help people turn their
lives around.”
John Barradell, Diana Rossi
& Phil Frier
Art brings new lease of life
to Diana
Art and Design
Sonia’s road from
disillusionment to success
Building Trades
Nick Anastiages & family
Mature student Diana Rossi who won the Art & Design
‘City Achiever’ has been suffering with ill-health but
has found a whole new lease of life studying for her
Introductory and Intermediate Certificates in Art and
Design at the College. Inspired by artists such as Lucien
Freud, she now plans to progress to University with
ambitions to paint on a large scale. Diana also managed
to attend the awards ceremony despite having recently
broken a rib in a bad fall but still insisted on wearing her
6-inch stilettos while using a walking stick! “Winning
this award is the biggest achievement of my life apart
from having my daughters”, said Diana. “I’ve never won
an award apart from a ten-yard swimming competition
so I absolutely can’t believe it and am over the moon.”
Jeanette’s
entrepreneurial skills
reap rewards
Intensive Support
Intensive Support City Achiever, Jeanette
West, who accesses City College’s services
for Deaf learners, has retrained and
achieved her hairdressing qualification while
putting her learning into practice by finding
employment at local salon, Giovanni’s.
Her strong entrepreneurial skills led to her
identifying a gap in the market for Deaf
people wanting the services of a hairdresser
from the Deaf community who can use a
variety of communication methods. She has
now set up her own hairdressing business
which is attracting a loyal clientele. “I didn’t
expect to achieve something like this so I
was really surprised and it felt really good’,
said Jeanette. ‘Level 2 Hairdressing was
difficult but I learnt quickly with the support
of my tutors.”
Building Trades City Achiever Sonia Allagui started
her education in France where, due to her parents’ ill
health, she was forced to stay off school and look after
them. She fell behind at school and was cruelly ridiculed
by teachers whenever she attended. She left France
with little education, feeling disillusioned because of
Sonia Allagui & Chris Pate
how badly she’d been treated. Sonia enrolled at City
College and despite language difficulties, she excelled
and obtained numerous courses ending in a Level 3 Painting & Decorating advanced craft
certificate. Sonia was also awarded the College’s Braybon bursary. Her tutor Chris Pate said:
“Sonia has told me that City College changed her life and she makes it clear how highly she
regards the place but the feeling is mutual. Her approach to the course and quality of her
work was absolutely superb. She’s been an amazing student.”
John Barradell & Jeanette West
www.ccb.ac.uk

Student Success Celebration (Continued)
City Achievers 2011
The stories behind the awards
Brighton’s celebrity tailor wins
‘Golden Alumni’ award
Foundation Art
Former City College Foundation Art
student Gresham Blake was honoured
with a ‘Golden Alumni’ award for
how his success has proved to be
an inspiration to current students.
Gresham is one of the UK’s most
acclaimed contemporary designertailors,
specialising in bespoke and
made to measure suits. Gresham’s
reputation for outstanding tailoring
has attracted celebrity clients such as
Hollywood star Christian Slater, Little
Britain’s Matt Lucas, Steve Coogan,
Gresham Blake
Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook and rock
aristocracy such as Led Zeppelin’s
Jimmy Page and Status Quo’s Francis Rossi. Gresham has also
launched a ready-to-wear women’s collection and female stars such
as Davina McCall, Melanie C and Rachel Stevens have all worn
clothes by the Brighton designer. He is also opening a new branch
of his business in London’s Shoreditch. ”I was a bit of a wrong
‘un before I came here and had no direction”, said Gresham upon
receiving his award. “It really did turn my life around and I’m very
thankful for my time here.”
‘Employer Contribution’ award for
local estate agent
Business Administration Apprentices
Uden Lettings, an independent local
estate agent based on Dyke Road, has
been outstandingly supportive of the two
City College Business Administration
apprentices that they’ve taken on as part
of their staff. Their assessor has been
deeply impressed by these apprentices’
professional and personal development as
part of the company. What’s more, Uden
Lettings has been extremely supportive of
the City College assessor when it comes
to achieving their own ‘assessor award’
James Mortimer & Jean
Travis
professional qualification through their work with the Uden Lettings
apprentices. With micro businesses making up 86% of employers,
City College felt if was important to recognise the contribution of
small businesses such as Uden Lettings and their contribution not
only in supporting apprenticeships but also the vital role they have
in the local economy. James Mortimer, Partner in Uden Lettings
said: ‘It was really lovely to get this recognition for the work we’ve
done supporting our Business Administration apprentices and
their assessor from City College. The College has been so helpful
in guiding us through the whole apprenticeship process and their
support has been phenomenal.’
City Achievers 2011: Full list of winners
Catering (and overall winner) - Asha Phelps
Access to Higher Education - David
Harbinson
Acting, Drama and Dance - Adam Butcher
Adult English and Maths - Luke Ellis
Intensive Support - Jeanette West
Visual Arts - John Ingle
Art and Design - Diana Rossi
Art Foundation - Terrence Brett
Digital Arts - Luke Campion
Electrical - Luke Sonnessa
Childcare - Brianna Clough
Computing - Dawid Hetmanczyk
Beauty - Paula Harman
Carpentry - Cameron Bettany
Engineering - Matt Gray
ESOL - Saif Mahdi
Hairdressing - Clare Kent
Health and Social Care - Nikolai Holden
14-16 - Jake Thew
International - Lucy Sangodiran
Journalism - Claire Smyth
Language, Literacy and Numeracy -
Kisanet Haile
Learning Development - Daniel Westmore
Media - Kevin Otiem
Motor Vehicle - George Chaplin
Music Technology - Nikolajs Varlamovs
Photography - Michael Addison
Plumbing - Jordan Nashe
Prince’s Trust - Jess North
Professional Business - Max Carter
Public Services - Ella Bewley
Sports - Archie Hutchins
Teacher Education - Chris Williams
Travel and Tourism - Mary Drrias
Apprenticeship - Charlotte Burns
Work-focussed Training - Nick Anastiades
Business - Jordan Brake
Building Trades - Sonia Allagui
Brighton University scholarships
Charlotte Moss - Hospitality & Events
Management
Rahaf Issa - Biological Sciences
Charlotte Skinner - Biological Sciences
Staff Awards
Outstanding Achievement for Business
Support - Mark Mortern
Outstanding Achievement for Teaching
- Gaynor Brown
www.ccb.ac.uk

College News
College makes its
mark on Argus Awards
City College’s Boxing academy star, Archie Hutchins, already
crowned the ABAE National Junior Middleweight Champion during
the summer, had further cause to celebrate when he was named
‘Achiever of the Year’ in the Argus Achievement Awards. City College’s
profile during the Awards ceremony was high, with Principal Phil Frier
on the shortlist for the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sussex’ Award
as well as presenting
the School of the Year
award, which the
College sponsors, to
Moulscoomb Primary
School. The College
also had Head of
Carpentry Tom Dowds
shortlisted for the
‘Local Hero’ Award
and veteran Motor
Vehicle tutor Brian
Lawrence shortlisted for the ‘Teacher of the Year’. Catering student
Asha Phelps was shortlisted for the Carer of the Year award, while
ex-Catering students Ben McKellar (The Gingerman restaurant) and
Luke Southby were shortlisted for the Business of the Year and
Achiever of the Year awards respectively.
“Archie’s success in this award is a great testament to how sporting
achievement at City College has really come into its own since our
Sports department was launched two years ago”, said Principal,
Phil Frier. “I was also
delighted to see our
teaching staff and
current and former
students so strongly
represented in the
awards shortlists
which I think is
indicative of how
the College is at the
heart of the local
community.”
National recognition for College’s
employment initiatives
City College was recently shortlisted in the Times Educational
Supplement’s FE Awards in the ‘Outstanding Contribution to the
Local Community’ category for its work on programmes for the
unemployed and its City Jobs employment bureau. There are
currently nearly fifteen hundred unemployed young people
aged 18-24 in Brighton & Hove alone and the College has
shown commitment to tackling this blight on the community
in ways that have attracted praise from national government.
The College established an effective partnership with
Jobcentre Plus who refer jobseekers to the College so that it
can provide them with the skills and training they need to get
back into work. John Hayes, Minister for Further Education,
Skills & Lifelong Learning, said on a visit to the College:
“City College has formed that partnership and understands
that in the move from disengagement to reengagement, skills
are critical and the College is in a pivotal position to provide
people with those skills to add to their employability. In terms
of the relationship with Jobcentre Plus, they’re providing a
fantastic example that can be followed by others.”
The College is a founding partner of brightonandhovejobs.
com, which like its link with Jobcentre Plus, has proved
to be a highly significant one in regards to helping young
people back into work. Through these partnerships, in the
last year, the College has got 120 unemployed young people
into employment and has also found part-time work for 100
of its 16-19 year-old students.
Saturday College
Enrich your weekends with our exciting and diverse
range of competitively priced one day and short
courses covering areas such as:
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Accountancy
Arts, Crafts, Textiles & Photography
Creative Writing
History
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Languages
Massage & Treatments
Make-up
Emotional Health & Wellbeing
For more information call 01273 667759 or email info@ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk

College News
College launches
new training
restaurant at
the Amex
City College has launched a new training
restaurant, ‘City College @ East Central
Brasserie’, at the Amex Stadium. The
College is renowned for producing such
top local chefs as Ben McKellar (The
Gingerman) and Simon Duncan (Sam’s
of Brighton) and the new restaurant
is designed to help train the next
generation of chefs to achieve similar
culinary excellence in a real working
environment under the supervision of
trained chefs. The restaurant is open
for lunch Monday to Friday during term
time, caters for over 100 covers and
gives students the opportunity to train
towards delivering an express lunch
service so that busy customers on their
lunch-break can be in and out within
thirty minutes.
For bookings at the City College @ East
Central Brasserie, call 01273 648 095
News in Brief
College’s IT expert represents UK
at International conference
Richard Brown, Systems Engineering Team Leader at City College,
was in Salt Lake City in the United States recently to share his
expertise with delegates at Brainshare, an international technical
conference run by Attachmate, the world’s largest privately-owned
software company. Representing all the UK schools, colleges and
universities who use Attachmate products, Richard was the first ever
speaker from a Further Education College to present a Brainshare
session, with previous speakers from UK Academia all being from
Universities such as Cambridge. City College uses a range of
Attachmate products such as Novell software, the Groupwise email
system and NetIQ identity software.
Health & Social Care students’
fundraising success
Health & Social Care students recently got involved in a range
of fundraising activities to help local community organisations.
Thanks to their efforts, the Salvation Army have been able to
buy new kitchen equipment and Circus Pre-School have bought
much-needed new children’s books. “The students really threw
themselves into the fundraising and it’s clear that their efforts were
really appreciated”, said Gaynor Brown, Curriculum Team Leader
of the Care Department. “This fundraising has really helped the
students connect with the local community in a way that is relevant
to the type of careers they’ll be pursuing once they’re qualified.”
www.ccb.ac.uk

City Travel agency re-launched
City College has re-launched its travel
agency, City Travel, in new premises on
the second floor of Pelham Tower, Pelham
Street, Brighton. The agency, which is
open to the public, is owned and run by
the College in partnership with Hays Travel
and gives students on Travel & Tourism
courses the opportunity to get real life work
experience within a live travel agency. City
Travel’s offer includes short breaks, low
cost flights, package holidays, cheap luxury
cruises, long haul flights and tailor-made
getaways. All educational/College trips are
booked through City Travel and all profits
from the agency are fed back into the
College to support students in their studies
and enrichment activities.
“Students and staff are delighted with this
bright, fresh and funky new look for City
Travel”, said the College’s City Travel Coordinator,
Clare Embleton. “Not only will
the agency continue to give students the
opportunity to fine tune their skills and
expertise, it’s also committed to providing
an excellent service to staff, students and
the general public alike.”
For more information, contact City Travel
on 01273 232638 or email:
citytravel@ccb.ac.uk
Student Café success
at City College
A group of students on a short course at City College aimed at
helping the participants develop skills to prevent them from
becoming NEETs (not in employment or education) successfully
ran their own café at the College and raised £100 for charity
with their efforts. The ‘Enterprise Café’ Project was structured
around the interests of the students while aiming to develop
employability skills, confidence, team building plus awareness
of their training and education options. The College now aims to
repeat the success of Enterprise Café with plans to run two new
projects along similar lines in the summer.
www.ccb.ac.uk

College News
College supports
Brighton Pride
City College played an active part in
supporting this year’s Brighton Pride by
having a stand in the Community Village and
sponsoring the Pride website. The College
wanted to highlight the very active LGBT
community at the College, the support it can
provide and its links with support groups in
the community. The event was the busiest in
Pride’s history after tens of thousands lined
the streets to watch a celebration of the LGBT
community and city partners in the parade
which culminated in a celebratory event at
Preston Park. Despite being a ticketed affair
for the first time, the event was attended by
an enthusiastic and passionate audience
of over 30,000. City College spoke to an
incredible 1,000 people over the course
of the party and received over 40 course
enquiries making it an enjoyable and highly
worthwhile day.
Working in partnership with
The Prince’s Trust
For more information
Prince’s Trust Team programmes
email: princestrust@ccb.ac.uk
or text ‘TEAM’ plus your name
to 07552 446724
Prince’s Trust Teams making a difference
Groups of young people on City College‘s
Prince’s Trust Team programme have
been helping a range of local community
organisations recently. At the Green Centre
in Manor Hill, they undertook a variety of
gardening tasks in the centre’s garden and
children’s allotment. Aside from getting
stuck into the physical tasks of clearing
debris, weeding and helping to complete the
building of a wildlife pond, the team used
recycled materials to make colourful garden
decorations and also painted the garden
shed. The Prince’s Trust Team programme
is a 12-week personal development course
which helps unemployed young people gain
the skills and confidence to move into work
or training. ‘What the team did in five days
would have taken me five months’, said The
Green Centre’s Project Co-ordinator, Kate
Chamberlain. ‘They were really mature,
hard-working and had a great team spirit.
I’d have them back any time.’ Teams have
also transformed school playgrounds and
gardens at Fairlight Primary School and St
Christopher’s School in Hove while a Prince’s
Trust team also helped the Bevendean
Community Garden project to create a pond,
social area and new fire pit. The garden was
very overgrown and uneven but the team
have improved it dramatically, adding new
compost bins, flower beds and pathways.
For those aged 16-25 and unemployed,
there are opportunities to join the Prince’s
Trust Team programme in January 2012.
It’s free, won’t affect benefits and travel
expenses are covered. In 12 weeks,
participants gain a qualification, go on
an action-packed residential week, take
part in challenging community projects
of their choosing and make new friends.
For more information on Prince’s Trust
Team programmes with bases in Brighton,
Hove and Shoreham please email
princestrust@ccb.ac.uk or text ‘TEAM’ plus
your name to 07552 446724.
www.ccb.ac.uk

New Year’s Resolution #1
City College Brighton and Hove has a wide range of vocational
courses starting in the New Year - these courses and
qualifications are well-regarded by employers and match the
requirements for many jobs being advertised right now.
Whether you’re interested in a career in the arts, hair &
beauty, business, construction or computing there is no
need to wait until September to start your course and fulfil
your first resolution of the New Year.
We also have a huge range of adult evening classes
covering areas such as Arts and Crafts, Counselling, DIY,
Holistics and many more....
Apply now and make your
New Year’s resolution today
Call us on 01273 667788 for course advice
or visit our website for comprehensive information
City College’s Danny wins
NCTJ Award
Danny Bell, who graduated from City College
last summer, has won the NCTJ Public
Affairs Award for 2010-11. Danny received a
certificate and a cheque for £250 sponsored
by Oxford University Press, in recognition of
his exceptional performance in the Essential
Public Affairs exam. Speaking about his
win, Danny said: “I’m delighted to have won
this year’s prize. The Public Affairs module was challenging and
gave everyone in my class a thorough grounding in current affairs as
well as local and central government. Karen Dugdale, our teacher,
was first class.’” Danny gained communications experience prior to
taking the course working for an environmental NGO in Brussels.
It was this which inspired him to complete his NCTJ training after
considering it for a quite a long time. He has previously worked in
the legal and financial services sectors and is now working as a
researcher for The Legal 500.
The NCTJ has also recently confirmed re-accreditation for
journalism courses at the College, which in recent years, have been
acknowledged as delivering one of the top performing courses in
the country.
For information on journalism courses starting in February, contact
Vicki Mann on 01273 667788 x 461 or email vm@ccb.ac.uk
New City Employment and Skills
Plan aims for job creation
There was a packed conference room recently at the Amex Stadium
for the launch of the City Employment & Skills Plan 2011-2014.
City College Principal Phil Frier explained how the City Employment
and Skills Steering Group which he chairs will concentrate
on three areas of potential job creation - Apprenticeships, the
development of an Eco-tech business park to exploit and support
emerging environmental industries and also attracting higher value
employment to the city.
The steering group, established by Brighton & Hove City Council,
includes key personnel from the Council’s main strategic partners in
the public, private and community and voluntary sectors including
representatives from both Brighton and Sussex Universities, Brighton
& Hove Albion Football Club, Jobcentre Plus, ICP Recruitment Group
and Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership. “I want this to be a
dynamic and responsive plan for the City which becomes a living
document as we now develop the actions which will be required to
achieve its overall objectives”, said Mr. Frier. “I believe that it’s a
great time to be living and working in Brighton and Hove.
I know of few other cities in the UK where so many key people are
working together in close partnerships to improve city life for all of
our communities, and I am really looking forward to chairing the
City Employment and Skills Group as we build the action framework
required to deliver this plan.”
Train to become
a qualified journalist
Join one of our award-winning NCTJ Multimedia courses
Previous students have gone on to work for BBC, Channel 4,
Daily Telegraph and more.
Recruiting now for our fast-track course starting Feb 2012
For more info call 01273 667788 ext. 461
or email vm@ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk/journalism
www.brightonlite.wordpress.com
www.ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk

Higher Education
Special feature:
Higher Education
in the heart
of Brighton
With the advantage of being based centrally
in the heart of one of the most dynamic and
cosmopolitan cities in the UK, City College
provides foundation degrees and degree topups
in Arts and Creative Industries, Service and
Business Management, Computing and Science.
The courses are validated by the University of
Brighton, so students graduate with a University
qualification. Our degree subjects blend
academic and work-related learning to prepare
students for progression to employment or
further University study with the aim of helping
them succeed in their chosen career. Here are
just some of the stories of students who have
benefited from our degree courses.
“The College helped me
most by providing me with
the tools and support to
create great work that I
was proud to show to
potential employers”
Gareth Halsall
Foundation Degree in Music Production
Since completing his Foundation Degree at City College, Gareth has
been able to move into employment in the music industry with the
internationally-renowned Brighton-based company Loopmasters, a
sound design label which also functions as an online store for music
composers, producers and DJs. Gareth originally came into contact
with the company thanks to the work experience module on his
course. “Organisation is huge in this business and that’s something
I’ve taken from City College”, says Gareth. “My job at Loopmasters
mainly consists of online marketing and advertising strategies that my
tutor Matt Hodson was always interested in, pointing out interesting
and inspiring things that he’d come across on the web, one being
FXpansion Synth Squad that I now work closely with. Aside from
time management and file management, the most useful things I
learnt on the course were the use of sequencers and synthesisers.
I’m now head of Loopmasters’ sub label Patchworx which deals in
selling patches and presets for soft synths so having the relevant
background knowledge from my course has been really useful. I
have to speak to some pretty famous people now and you need to
know how to communicate with them on the sort of professional
level that the course helped me reach.”
At Loopmasters, there have been many highlights for Gareth,
including working and doing business with big-name huge producers
whom he idolised when he was younger. “I spent the day in the studio
with DJ Friction for ‘work’ and went to Amsterdam on ‘business’ in
October”, he says with a smile. “These are things I would never
have thought I’d be doing before I went to City College. Working in
the music industry is fun but hard work. I’ve been lucky enough to
work within a relatively small company that are at the top of their
game with individuals who are constantly teaching me new things.
I’d probably be sitting on my mum’s couch watching Jeremy Kyle if
it weren’t for City College and Loopmasters. As far as the future is
concerned, you never know with the music industry, but I’d like to
keep working on my own music, carry on with my club nights and
try to incorporate what I’ve learnt from working at Loopmasters into
marketing and promoting the nights, and maybe even set up a small
sample library label.”
10 www.ccb.ac.uk

Lucy Irvine
BA (Hons) Digital Media
While studying at City College in 2008, Lucy’s talent gained
widespread recognition when she won an ‘In Book Award’ in the
prestigious D&AD Student Awards which champion the best
emerging talent within design, advertising and communications
courses around the world and promote it to the creative industries
globally. “At City College, I really refined my research and developed
as a designer so it was nice at the time to get some sort of recognition
for the amount of hard work I’d been doing”, says Lucy. “When I
look back, I think the College helped me most by providing me with
the tools and support to create great work that I was proud to show
to potential employers.”
After leaving the College, Lucy worked as a Web Designer/Front-end
developer, creating social networking websites for companies such
as Eurostar and The British Council. After a year, she decided to
change the direction of her career and became a freelance illustrator
and designer specialising in character design for websites, games
and apps for companies including Phones4U and YoSushi. At the
same time Lucy also began a part-time MA in Sequential Design/
Illustration, which she’s now graduated from. “Being at City College
gave me the freedom to explore ideas that I wouldn’t have been able
to pursue in a commercial environment”, she says. “The advice given
by the staff and visiting lecturers definitely gave me the confidence
to become a successful freelancer in my field of choice.”
Tina Horvath
Foundation Degree in Food & Culinary Arts
Tina’s experience of education prior to her Foundation Degree
hadn’t been positive. She moved around a lot as a child and left
school at 16 without any qualifications. Being a mature student
at City College, however, was an entirely different proposition. “It
was a fantastic experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the academic
challenges”, says Tina. “I’d never really written an essay before and
‘learning to learn’ was excellent. Being in the North Laine which is
such a great part of town was a big bonus too and the college itself
is mainly filled with young people so the atmosphere is very lively.
It’s very easy to meet people and work together. Overall, City College
is a happy and friendly environment.”
The Foundation Degree honed Tina’s existing skills and gave her
focus and direction while also helping her to develop a strong
business sense to the extent that she felt confident to start her own
business, CanTina, just a month after the course ended.
“Since graduating, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of running
my own business”, she says. “The best bit without doubt has
been all the positive customer feedback and building a group of
loyal followers. I started with a stall at a farmers’ market and the
business has developed and moved forward. I’ve catered for three
weddings this year and a number of smaller functions and I’ve also
recently set up CanTina@Home where I shall be hosting regular
supper clubs. I hope that the business will continue to develop and
become a respected catering company within Brighton and Hove.”
The Higher Education experience at City College:
Foundation degrees and degree top-ups in:
Arts & Creative Industries • Service & Business Management
Financial Services • Computing & Science
For more details, call course
information on 01273 667759,
email info@ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk
11

City Business Providing training, skills & staff development programmes
City Jobs celebrates
success on its 1st birthday
College scoops Sussex ‘Business
in the Community’ award
City College’s commitment to making a
positive difference in the local community
was confirmed at the prestigious Sussex
Business Awards which were recently
held at Brighton’s Grand Hotel, with the
College being named as the winner of the
‘Business in the Community’ award. The
ceremony was attended by over 400 of the
county’s leading business figures including
the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Mr
Peter Field, Mayor of Brighton and Hove
Councillor Anne Meadows, John Barradell,
Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove City
Council and Caroline Lucas MP. City College
works in partnership with hundreds of local
employers to improve staff development
strategies for businesses and its partnership
with Jobcentre Plus to provide unemployed
Marcus named as Retail ‘Trainer of the Year’
City College’s Retail Trainer Marcus Pescod has been named as the National Skills
Academy for Retail ‘Trainer of the Year’ at the prestigious Skillsmart Retail Rising
Stars Awards, run by Retail Week. Marcus Pescod, who is a trainer for the College’s
City Business Skills department, beat off tough competition to scoop the award. He
received the accolade at a glitzy awards ceremony held at Grosvenor House Hotel
in London’s Mayfair which was attended by top names in
retail, including Dragons’ Den star and Chairman of Ryman,
Theo Paphitis.
Marcus’ work sees him deliver training to retail managers and
their employees, as well as helping people get into retail. He
impressed judges with his wealth of knowledge and consistent
delivery of quality training. His passion and enthusiasm for
retail comes across in his work and his approachable nature
has made him an asset to both City College and the Central
South East Retail Skills Shop partnership which provides
a unique training experience for retailers, including two
specialist training ‘shops’ which offer courses developed to
meet the needs of retailers in the area.
people with the skills and training they
need to get back into work has attracted
praise from national government. In
the last year, the College has launched
City Jobs, a new dedicated service to
match local employers with local, workready
employees. Judges also took into
account the college’s contribution to the
local apprenticeship recruitment drive,
its Sports department’s creation of new
opportunities for local youth sport as
well as its projects to help impoverished
communities in Kenya and Gambia.
“Winning this particular award is especially
satisfying because our partnerships in the
community are fundamental to what we do
when it comes to improving opportunities
for local people”, said Principal Phil Frier.
City Jobs, City College’s dedicated service
that matches local employers with local,
work-ready employees, recently celebrated
a highly successful first year in partnership
with brightonandhovejobs.com with a special
business breakfast event at The Gallery
restaurant. Since the service started, 29%
of students coming through programmes for
the unemployed have found employment
since working with City Jobs and the service
has been working with local businesses
such as Sussex Cricket Club, Brighton Pier
and Azure Catering at the Amex Stadium to
help them with busy recruitment periods,
thereby supporting local businesses and
helping students find seasonal work. Also,
the establishment of a weekly ‘work club’
for local residents has been supporting
local people to find work and improve their
employability skills.
Key to City Jobs success has been
their strong working partnership with
brightonandhovejobs.com in service
promotion and supporting local residents
into jobs. Gary Peters, Founder of
brightonandhovejobs.com, said: “We’ve
really enjoyed our partnership with City
Jobs; they’re a great team. They provide a
great service for both students and local
businesses alike and I recommend that
students take the time to meet them to gain
valuable advice on how to start a successful
career in Brighton.”
To find out more about City Jobs
please contact Eddie or Alice
Tel: 01273 232642 / 01273 232645
www.ccb.ac.uk
12 www.ccb.ac.uk

Charley’s apprenticeship goes Upstream
Charley Heasman is only a few months into her Level 2 apprenticeship in Business
Administration with Brighton digital marketing specialists Upstream Connections but
she’s already delighted that she decided to take the apprenticeship route. “I knew I didn’t
want to go to university,” explains Charley, 18. “I think employers look for someone with
work experience.” After one of her tutors remarked on her people skills, Charley started
researching local apprenticeships. “With A Levels in Business Studies, English Lit and
History, I was looking for on-the-job training in the areas I find most interesting - marketing,
HR and business management.”
“I’ve already learnt
so much. It’s such
a confidence boost
- now I know that
I am capable of
doing whatever
anyone asks of me”
Charley saw the position of Operations Assistant at Upstream on the City College website
and applied online. After an interview with Upstream’s Operations Manager, Ruth Perrett,
she was offered the job and started in September. As overseers of the apprenticeship
programme, City College assessors provide Charley with ongoing support and education for
the 12-month apprenticeship.
As a multilingual SEO agency, Upstream Connections helps clients to improve their online
presence and search engine rankings. It’s a relatively small company, so Charley gets involved
with all aspects of the business. Operations Manager Ruth agrees that the apprenticeship
is proving to be a success: “We’re really enjoying having Charley as part of the Upstream
Connections team. She’s enthusiastic and willing to learn, and it’s brilliant to see her putting
what that she learnt in her A Levels into practice in an office environment.”
So, would Charley recommend an apprenticeship to other young people? “Definitely,” she
says. “I’ve already learnt so much. It’s great to get the experience and the QCF qualification
in Business Administration. It’s such a confidence boost too – now I know that I am capable
of doing whatever anyone asks of me.”
If you’d like to find out more about apprenticeships, contact Sarah Easy on 01273 667788
x 617 or email SEA@ccb.ac.uk
College offering work experience
opportunities
City College has introduced a Work Experience Scheme in conjunction with Brighton
Jobcentre Plus to provide eight week work experience placements for unemployed 18 to
24 year old candidates. The placements offer the candidates a taste of working life, while
boosting their skills and confidence to help their journey into employment.
During the summer, the College offered administrative support placements in City Business
Skills, Health and Safety and Human Resources. “We really noticed these young people’s
confidence levels improving with one candidate who worked with the HR team managing
to secure a job seven weeks into the placement, which was fantastic to see”, said City
College’s Head of HR, Kathy Scott. “To build on this success, we’ve now launched the
scheme formally and are extending it into other areas of the College Curriculum and Support
areas. It was very positive that so many departments wanted to get involved and offer a
placement opportunity.”
The College currently has ten work experience candidates already on a placement and
programme aims are continuing to work, with one of the candidates having already secured
a permanent job. It is hoped that the scheme will feed into future apprenticeship roles at
the College. Kathy Scott added: “We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with
Jobcentre Plus to offer more opportunities in this worthwhile and rewarding programme that
is helping individuals obtain greater future employment opportunities.”
If you are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance and are interested in work experience
opportunities at City College, contact Tristan Court on 01273 647659 or email:
tristan.court@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk
Short Courses
for Employers
Essential skills and certification
for your business:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Door Supervisors
Health & Safety
IOSH
Train the Trainer
Personal Licence Holders
Food Safety
First Aid
Using ‘Twitter’ to increase business
Paediatric First Aid
Find out more
For more information about these
courses, call City Business Skills on
01273 667756 and choose Option 2
www.ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk
13

City Alumni Life after City College
Bridalwear Boutique, Sydney Street
Louise Hill, Hope & Harlequin
Raised and educated in Sussex, Louise Hill came to to City College
to study on the BTEC National Diploma Art & Design course in in
1995, seeking some direction in in her her life life having having taken taken two gap two years gap
to years travel to travel around around Asia, South Asia, South America America and Europe and Europe following following her ‘A’
levels. her ‘A’ “I levels. loved “I the loved sense the of discovering sense of discovering the freedom the to freedom experiment, to
developing experiment, my developing own self-expression my own self-expression and training and my training eye to view my
the eye to world view differently”, the world differently”, says Louise. says “I had Louise. incredible “I had incredible tutors who
really tutors inspired who really me inspired to push my me boundaries to push my and boundaries learn new and things. learn I’m
exceedingly new things. grateful I’m exceedingly for their grateful brilliant for inspiration their brilliant and guidance inspiration and
think and guidance back fondly and to think how back they fondly gently to but how firmly they steered gently but me firmly in the
right steered direction, me in the whether right direction, it was improving whether my it was skill improving set or developing my skill
my set or conceptual developing ideas. my conceptual The time ideas. and patience The time they and patience exhibited they was
really exhibited invaluable.” was really invaluable.”
After graduating from Camberwell College of Arts with joint honours
in Metalwork and Sculpture, Louise went on to to work in in various
high-end clothing boutiques in London while also exhibiting her
sculpture in the capital. She then moved back to to Brighton and
secured her first management position for Fired Earth, helping to to
turn an underperforming showroom into one of of the most successful
in the country. Louise later moved into the jewellery business and
became a jewellery buyer and manager before securing a job at at an an
up and coming fashion house, Sarah Arnett, managing their highend
made-to-order wedding dresses and buying other products in in
for the store. “Going to fashion weeks in London and Paris was
fantastic and fun”, recalls Louise. “I learnt about dresses and how
they’re made. I don’t sew much myself but I I understand how it it all all
works and fits together.” When an opportunity arose to to open her
own outlet, Hope & Harlequin in Sydney Street, these skills proved
invaluable for creating the store’s made-to-order bridal collection:
“I loved the sense of discovering
the freedom to experiment,
developing my own self-expression
and training my eye to view
the world differently ”
“It was terrifying at the time but I took the plunge because I I knew
that I didn’t want to work for other people forever and wanted to to
develop something that was mine.”
“What really stands out for me is the fact that my initial training in in
dealing with form and function has stayed with me throughout my my
career”, concludes Louise, reflecting on her time at at City College.
“It gave me the self-belief that I I could excel in in my my chosen path, path, set
me set me up to up pursue to pursue the the next next phase phase of my of my creative creative life life and and was was the the only
place only place that really that really taught taught me strong me strong ‘making ‘making and doing’ and doing’ skills as skills well
as thinking well as thinking conceptually. conceptually. Often the Often things the you things learn you and learn study and will
inform study will your inform career your choices career at choices a fundamental at a fundamental level, but sometimes level, but
simply sometimes not in simply the ways not in that the you ways expect!” that you expect!”
Gift Vouchers
Buy someone the perfect gift
Redeemable for any of our
courses, Hair & Beauty treatments
or dining in the Gallery Restaurant.
Call in to Finance on the 2nd Floor,
Pelham Tower to buy your vouchers.
www.ccb.ac.uk/gift-vouchers
‘Brighton’s
best kept secret!’
Relax and enjoy superb cuisine prepared and
served by our experienced staff and catering
students at very affordable prices
For reservations call:
01273 667711 (Term time only)
Lunch served: 12.00 - 2.00pm (Tues - Fri)
Dinner served: 7.00pm (Tues & Thurs)
www.ccb.ac.uk/thegallery
14 www.ccb.ac.uk

City Arts News from City College’s Creative Community
Jess scoops ‘A’ award
Jess O’Callaghan, who studied for her Digital Media Design BA
at City College, has won a coveted ‘A’ award in the annual YCN
(Young Creative Network) Student Awards in London. Supported by
Universities, Colleges and Art & Design Schools across the UK, the
awards were established in 2001 to inspire and showcase emerging
creative talent and enable high-profile partnering organisations such
as 20th Century Fox, Marks & Spencer, SEGA and Ted Baker to
engage with the very best emerging creative practitioners in design
and advertising by setting them a live creative brief. Jess and the
other commended entrants’ work will now be celebrated online and
in print, and showcased as part of an industry exhibition.
Jess, originally from Cork in Ireland, was set a brief by the British
Music Experience, Britain’s interactive museum of popular music,
to develop ideas and concepts that would communicate the essence
of the museum in a way that came to life online. Her idea combined
interactive on-line elements and a printed flyer. A spokesperson
from the British Music Experience said of Jess’ work:
“Jess presented a simple solution encompassing both our historical
content and use of new technology through combining ‘nostalgic’
imagery with augmented reality. Taking the idea through from an
online platform to a printed flyer neatly directs the user to visiting the
museum.”
“It was a brilliant course that really opened up our minds to new
ways of doing things in Digital Media and encouraged us to be more
experimental”, said Jess of her time at City College. “It definitely helped
me to reach a level where I could achieve something like this.”
For more information on Digital Media Design BA courses, contact
course information on 01273 667759
Part-time Filmmaking
courses in Brighton
Develop your skills using our industry
standard kit including film studio, brand
new Sony NX5Es and Mac Editing Suites.
Outstanding value courses including…
Full Filmmaking Certificate just £590
(1 day a week for 17 weeks)
Digital Film Editing - 6 evenings £155
Intro to Filmmaking - 6 evenings £155
Recruiting now for Feb 2012
For more info call us on
01273 667759
or email ah3@ccb.ac.uk
www.ccb.ac.uk
CineCity
screening for
filmmaking
students
A debut short film shot during a part-time
filmmaking course at City College was
selected recently to be screened at the
CineCity Brighton Film Festival in the short
narrative category. In ‘Man and Kite’, written
by David Scurr and directed by Amy Dennard,
a solitary young man and his seagull kite
meet a female wildlife photographer in the
Sussex Downs. Through miscommunication
and sneezing aplenty, two disparate souls
come together in a gentle tale in which the
remote and the intimate meet.
For more details on the part-time filmmaking
course starting in February, call course
information on 01273 667759.
Oliver’s sculptural success
A bold new sculpture by former City College
Foundation Degree Fine Art student, Oliver
Place, has been installed in extra care
housing in Highgate, London. Oliver was
one of the winners of a competition to
design stimulating artworks for Hill Homes’
new development for older people, taking
home a prize of £3,000. Set in the site’s
gardens, His stainless steel pyramid reflects
the surrounding trees and is in turn reflected
in the water that lies beneath it. Called
‘Settlement’, Oliver’s work aims to mirror
Hill Homes’ desire to offer its residents a
place to settle while creating a monument
to the new community.
www.ccb.ac.uk
15

City Sports Excellence in Football, Boxing, Rugby & Golf
“I really hope that this
success will help raise
awareness of all the
opportunities there are
here at the College for
young people to achieve
sporting excellence”
City College
first XI
unbeaten
At the time of writing, City College’s
football team is sitting proudly on top
of the ECFA (English Colleges Football
Association) League with impressive 4-1
victories against both Chichester (home)
and East Berkshire College (away). The
team has also made it through to the 4th
round of the ESFA national cup, having
beaten local rivals Worthing College 1-0
along the way. The team are also through
to the Quarter Final of the county cup.
Awards bonanza
for Boxing
Academy
City College’s Boxing Academy, founded
just over a year ago, had double success
recently in the council’s Brighton & Hove
City Sport and Physical Activity Awards held
at the Amex Stadium to celebrate the hard
work and achievements of local coaches,
volunteers, clubs and athletes. Boxing
Academy star Archie Hutchins won Young
Sports Personality of the Year while his coach
Adam Haniver won the Coach of the Year
Award. 17-year-old Archie is in his second
year of the Advanced Apprenticeships in
Sporting Excellence (AASE) programme,
and also boxes for Tadley Amateur Boxing
Club. In May this year, he was crowned
Junior ABAE Champion and he was also
named ‘Achiever of the Year’ at the Argus
Achievement Awards. Adam’s award was for
the success of the boxers he’s coached and
for the immense amount of time he devotes
to developing the sport locally. “These
accolades are a great testament to the high
standards and professional attitude that our
Boxing Academy has managed to establish in
a short space of time”, said Luke Hampton,
City College’s Sports & Public Services Team
Leader. “I really hope that this success will
help raise awareness of all the opportunities
there are here at the College for young
people to achieve sporting excellence.”
Star player Jordan Adekunle has made his
mark on the national scene by making it
through to the last 32 of England College’s
selection. Luke Donaldson is the leading
the top goal scorer charts with a total
of six. Meanwhile, the 2nd 11, playing
an expansive passing style of football,
have been fantastic to watch. Although
they have been involved with some high
scoring games they have yet to secure
their first win.
City Diary
Tues December 13th 7-11pm
Music Technology students showcase gig
(The Hydrant, London Road, Brighton)
Thurs December 15th 3pm
Blanc de Blanc Fashion Show
(Main Hall, Pelham Campus)
Weds January 11th 7pm
Street Dance Performance
(Drama Studio, City College East)
Weds January 18th 7pm
Acting students present ‘Peter Panto!’
The City College Pantomime
(Drama Studio, City College East)
Tues January 24th 7.30 -10am
City Business Club
‘The Marathon - Making a Dream Happen’
(The Gallery, Whitecross Street)
Weds January 25th 7pm
Acting students present a Shakespeare Night
(Drama Studio, City College East)
Tues February 21st 7.30-10am
City Business Club - ‘General Business Law’
(The Gallery, Whitecross Street)
Weds February 22nd 7pm
Acting students present a Contemporary Night
- Scenes from modern plays
(Drama Studio, City College East)
Sports round-up
The Rugby team have been involved in
games against Eastbourne College, Steyning
Grammar, BHASVIC and Varndean. They
have also taken part in a Rugby League 9s
competition in South London and a RFU-run
10s competition in Sussex. The results have
been disappointing but the team are making
great strides in being able to play regularly
in structured competitions. The team are
developing well and the sport is growing
steadily at the college.
The women’s football team have played a
fixture which they lost but are training regularly
under the instruction of Coach, Richard Carter.
Netball is in its inaugural year and there has
yet to be any competitive games played yet but
training is going well so far. Hockey training
sessions have also been well-attended, led by
Sport Lecturer, Sam Stares.
Keep up-to-date with College News (username: CityColl) or follow us on
www.ccb.ac.uk
Tel: 01273 667788