Grainne is Catering Chef of the Year

Huge congratulations to first year level 2 Catering student Grainne Kerr who has been announced as winner of the 'Catering Student Chef of the Year UK'  at Craft Guild of Chefs Wessex Salon Culinaire, one of the largest live culinary competitions in the UK.  Grainne will  now be involved in preparations for worldskills 2017, with the opportunity of competing in the finals which will be held  in Abu Dhabi.

BEST Awards for NWRC

Congratulations to all of the  College students who took part in yesterday's BEST Awards which were organised by Colleges NI.  The College collected three top awards:
• The Visual Design Award sponsored by Unit 4 – “STEM Fashion Innovation” Miriam Stainsby
• The Built Environment Award sponsored by CITBni – “Home Owners guide to Flood Resilience” – Jonathan Steenson and Peter Neish
• Overall runner up in the 19+ Sponsored by Recruit NI - for Science project "Rainbow in a bottle" - development of a 100% organic based heat and light sensitive nail polish – Malise Lowe, Emma Green. All winning ecipients received £250 and a trophy.
Full details can be viewed at:
http://www.anic.ac.uk/Colleges-NI-News-Item.aspx?id=227

Salters Festival Success

Congratulations to those College staff who helped to organise the Salters Festival of Chemistry which took place in our Strand Rd Campus earlier this week.  Around 60 pupils from a range of secondary schools took part in what was a fun-filled day of chemistry challenges and competitions.  Our College was the first ever UK or ROI FE College to host this prestigious competition - a great honour indeed.  Well done to all!

Early Years Erasmus visit to Helsinki

Pictured - Carol Thompson Curriculum Manager for Early Years  and Mary Adeyinka Playwork Co ordinator  along with Anitta Pakanen President of Union for Kindergarten Teachers  Helsinki and Maarit Saarenkylä Omnia College Espoo Helsinki as part of the Early Years Education Specialisms  Erasmus Project.

Gavin is 2015 Apprentice of the Year

Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry has named Gavin Boyle, an Electrical Installation apprentice from NWRC, as the winner of the Apprentice of the Year 2015.  Gavin, 19, is completing his Electrotechnical apprenticeship and is employed by Electrical Control Panel Specialist Ltd (ECPS). ECPS designs, manufactures, tests, installs, commissions and maintains electrical control panels and switchgear.   Congratulating the winners, Minister Farry said: “The talent on show here today is testament to the high level of skills and aptitude that exists in Northern Ireland. I congratulate Gavin, our Apprentice of the Year, and all the other finalists here today on their achievements and wish them continued success in their chosen careers. Gavin is an excellent example of how an apprentice can form an integral part of a company."

Working with Special Needs Certificate Presentations

Congratulations to the learners from our Working with Children with Special Needs evening class on achieving certification after recently visiting the Nurture Unit at Holy Family Primary School, where Mrs Delma Boggs gave a presentation on Nurture , current issues and Best Practice discussion.
The Nurture Unit at Holy Family PS is highly accredited by DENI and is a UK wide model of Best Practice. This was a great opportunity for the students and staff to experience the Nurture setting and learn more to develop their knowledge and practice.

Salters Festival of Chemistry - tomorrow at Strand Rd

Tomorrow, Wednesday 20th May, our Strand Rd Campus will host the 2015 Salters Festival of Chemistry, as we become the first ever UK & ROI further education college to host this prestigious competition.  Involving young competitors from a range of secondary schools, the Salters' Festivals of Chemistry are an initiative of the Salters' Institute, whose aim is to promote the appreciation of chemistry and related sciences amongst the young.  This will be one of forty-nine Festivals which are taking place at Universities/Colleges throughout the UK and Ireland in 2015.  The itineray tomorrow will include the following:

10:15am-12:00pm – The Salters Challenge
12:45pm-14:00pm – The NWRC Challenge
14:00pm-14:45pm – Chemical Magic Demonstration
14:45pm – 15:00pm – Awards

For more information on the event, please email: terence.mcivor@nwrc.ac.uk

Occupational Studies Awards

Today, at our Strand Road Campus, we celebrated the final presentation of awards to local school pupils who have recently completed Occupational Studies courses with us this year, across each of our three main campuses. Congratulations to all of the pupils from schools in the Roe Valley Learning Community, the Mourne Derg Learning Community, and the Foyle Learning Community.  Very well done to our staff who either delivered the courses and supported the pupils throughout their learning, or helped to organise the respective celebration events.

'NWRC Records' Album Launch - tomorrow, Foyle Theatre, Strand Rd Campus, 1.00pm

In 2014, music students from our College established their own record label, NWRC Records. That same year, the label won an award in a competition that was hosted by the National Skills Academy in Belfast. Now, these students are launching their album ‘Music From A Park Bench’ tomorrow 15th at 1:00pm in our Foyle Theatre, Strand Road Campus. It feature some of the best talent the colleg...e has to offer with songs from Leanne Doherty, Emma Hughes, Paddy Mullan, Matthew Crampsey, Aaron Scott, Matthew McCracken, Oonagh Clarke and Toni Moore. The album will be available to buy at the launch, and all proceeds from album sales will be donated to help the victims of the recent Nepal Earthquake.  All staff and students are welcome to attend!

Social Enterprise Competition - Health & Social Care

Very well done to the students and staff involved in the recent cross campus social enterprise competition. Students from across our three campuses pitched their ideas for social enterprises to judges from industry and from within the college. This was the third year of the competition which was introduced as an initiative to embed enterprise and employability within the health and social care curriculum.

Support our Appeal for Nepal

Our Nepal Appeal fundraiser has started with members of staff and Students' Union set to visit your area in the coming days to encourage your support for this very worthwhile cause.  Pictured - College Principal Leo Murphy helps members of our Students' Union total the donations which have been received so far.

2015 Cross-Campus Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy Competition

Our annual Cross-Campus Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy Competition 2015 will take place this Monday 11th May, City Hotel Derry.  Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy students from each of our three main campuses will battle it out during the one-day competitions extravangza beginning from 2.00pm, featuring a range of exciting competition categories. The event concludes with a catwalk show finale at 8.30pm, followed by the presentation of awards from 9.15pm. This is your opportunity to view the hairdressing and beauty therapy stars of the future...tickets are £3 per person and are payable at the door. BE THERE!

NWRC NEPAL APPEAL - Monday 11th – Thursday 14th May

Student Services, in partnership with the College Students’ Union, will commence a cross-campus collection in support of the NWRC NEPAL APPEAL from next Monday 11^th – Thursday 14^th May.  Staff and students will visit classrooms and support areas to encourage your support and donations, and would be grateful if you would bring this to the attention of your colleagues and students.  Thank you!

NWRC Raises £1030 for Children in Need

College staff and students present Elaine McGee from BBC Radio Foyle with a cheque for £1030 following fundraising efforts which took place across the College in support of the BBC Children in Need campaign.

Limavady Campus Supports 'Pathway to Peace' Record Attempt

Students and staff from our Limavady Campus have been latest advocates to support a peace building initiative entitled ‘Pathway to Peace’ which aims to set a new world record for peace by signing their names onto a large scroll.  The brain-child of Rev David Latimer, the initiative is about empowering our youth around the region and so far it has been supported by the WELB, schools and colleges, and around 230 Primary and post-Primary schools have produced twenty-five word peace pledges, which express what young people consider is required for us all to live better together.