News & Press
Uxbridge College Netball Academy team is celebrating after winning a place in the Association of Colleges’ Sport National Championships 2019 in Nottingham to represent London.
The new ‘London Champions’ won the AoC Sport Regional Tournament with 3 wins and 1 draw. They won against Newham Sixth Form College, Waltham Forest College and St Charles Sixth Form College, and drew with Sir George Monoux College.
Uxbridge College Netball Academy, which works in collaboration with Blaze Netball Club, is a full-time programme of study combined with professional netball development and coaching. The athletes are a mixture of Sports, A Levels, GCSE and Electrical Engineering students.
Nikki Glendinning, Head Coach, said: “I cannot express how proud I am of these ladies, the self-discipline and the teamwork they showed at this event was admirable. They have worked incredibly hard and will continue to do so in order to perform their very best in the national finals next year.”
Netball Academy students benefit from a range of opportunities including the chance to play competitively in the National League, guest speakers, work experience, opportunity to play in competitive matches for Blaze Netball Club, sports therapy and competitive fixtures against other colleges and schools take place every Wednesday.
The team will now compete in the finals at the University of Nottingham’s David Ross Sports Village and local facilities in April next year.
Students attended an inspiring talk by blogger and digital media specialist Eric Stoller as part of Healthy Social Media Week at Uxbridge College.
Eric is the Student Affairs and Technology blogger for Inside Higher Ed and speaks at events, colleges and university about the use and impact of digital media, and how social media can be used in learning and engagement. He guided students on the impact of their ‘digital footprint’ on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and how to create a professional image to boost their employment potential on LinkedIn.
Healthy Social Media Week combined messages about how students can stay safe online and use social media responsibly, with how to support and improve their mental health. It also looked at the ways the two were linked and the impact social media and mobile phone use can have on their health.
Messages included education on:
* The risks of spending too much time on social media including anxiety and depression, lack of sleep, developing a negative body image, cyber-bullying and FOMO (fear of missing out)
* How to help control social media usage by using specialist features on iPhones and Android phones that monitor and limit phone use, and Apps such as Hold which generates prizes for users who reduce their phone use
* Kooth App which provides free anonymous online counselling and support for young people.
Students could also win an ‘Internet Safety badge’ by successfully completing the Safe Online Quiz.
Liam Plumridge, Course Team Leader for Employability, Progress and Review, said: “We know that young people are becoming increasingly anxious because of how they are using social media, from lack of sleep to ‘fear of missing out’ to developing a negative body image. Healthy Social Media Week is part of the college’s ongoing strategy to help students develop better habits - social media should be something students enjoy and use responsibly in balance with other activities and the college certainly wants to do everything possible to support them in this.”
Uxbridge College supports students to lead healthy lifestyles physically and mentally with a range of ongoing activities and support.
Students at Uxbridge College had plenty of questions to ask a local author when she was invited to talk to them about her job as a journalist.
The keen writers who are studying for a Diploma in Creative Media (Journalism and Creative Writing) – a brand new course at the college - were quizzing her on her book Tales from an Old Hack - memoir of a local reporter which was published by The Book Guild in September.
Among the topics were: deadlines - are they stressful? Is the editor all-powerful? How do you deal with people over sensitive issues, and how does it affect you? Can the job fit in with a home life? How do you write a column?
Barbara, a columnist on the Uxbridge Gazette, also talked about her collaboration with Phyllis Whitsell on the Sunday Times bestseller Finding Tipperary Mary.
Asked to read from her book, she let them choose a topic from a list of chapters. They chose Lunch with the Queen, which is proving to be the most popular with Barbara's talks so far.
She said: "Many thanks to the students and to Emma, their lecturer, for inviting me. They were a great bunch, very enthusiastic, and, thank goodness, clued up about the dangers of only taking news from social networks. I hope many of them go on to make successful careers in writing."
Emma Filtness, Media Lecturer, said: "It is important for our students to have the opportunity to meet professionals from the creative industries, to be able to ask questions and learn about the various careers open to them in future. By hearing Barbara talk about her career and read from her book, they were able to learn first-hand from a reporter and columnist with years of experience, and I'd like to thank Barbara for kindly giving her time and generously sharing her wisdom with my burgeoning writers."
* For more about the Diploma in Creative Media (Journalism and Creative Writing), please click here.