News & Press
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton MP praised Uxbridge College’s “brilliant work” and shared her passionate support for further education with students and staff during a recent high profile visit.
The Minister toured computing and engineering facilities, and saw hands-on skills such as mechanical engineering and motor vehicle maintenance being taught in the college’s workshops, as well as cutting-edge creative technologies at work with computing students.
The Minister said: “It was fantastic to visit Uxbridge College and to meet the staff and students. They are doing some brilliant work to make sure people of all ages and backgrounds gain the skills they need to get a good job and career.
“We are transforming technical education in this country and T Levels are a once in a generation opportunity. I’m thrilled Uxbridge College will be offering our gold standard T Levels in Education and Digital from September 2020.
“I congratulate the college on their amazing work, and I look forward to hearing more about the progress they make."
Laraine Smith OBE, Principal of Uxbridge College, said: “Like Anne Milton our Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, everyone at Uxbridge College is passionate about providing the best possible training and education to young people.
“We are proud to be involved in offering the new T Level qualifications and have also got our fingers crossed that our success so far in moving forward towards becoming an Institute of Technology will continue. We would like to say a big thank you to Anne for her visit and her obvious commitment to supporting further education.”
The forthcoming ‘T Level’ - Technical Level - qualifications are equivalent to 3 A Levels and will be launched nationally in 2020, with Uxbridge College offering Early Years Education and Digital programmes.
During the visit Anne met with Principal Laraine Smith and Vice Principal Darrell DeSouza to discuss key concerns around post-16 education, including creating the best quality opportunities for young people to learn technical and practical skills needed by employers.
For more photos from the visit go to: https://www.facebook.com/pg/uxbridgecollege/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10156627382285283
Principals from more than 25 South Korean high schools and colleges travelled over 5,000 miles to find out more about how students are taught in the UK.
The delegation from vocational high schools and colleges looked at Uxbridge College’s workshops and classrooms, learned more about teaching methods and activities, and talked to staff and students about life at college.
Former Uxbridge College A Level student Adam Pepin-Hall, who went on to study International Relations at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) University of London, came back as guest speaker - giving his presentation in Korean - and met with the group. Adam specialised in Korea during his studies and spent a year studying there, and is about to return to the country to embark on an MSc studied in Korean.
Dr Darrell DeSouza, Vice Principal - Curriculum & Standards, said: “It was a real privilege to be sharing expertise with our South Korean delegation and the visit was a great success. We were also very proud to have Adam Pepin-Hall back talking about his time in Korea and his studies, and to see how much he has achieved after studying at Uxbridge College.”
The aim of the visit was for the Principals to implement some of the College’s practices and policies in their schools and colleges in South Korea.
Pictured: Uxbridge College HNC & HND achievers celebrate their graduation at Brunel University London with the traditional custom of throwing their mortar boards in the air.
HND students entering full honours degree programmes in the final year were among those celebrating their achievements at Uxbridge College’s higher education graduation ceremony.
Graduates on HNC and HND qualifications wore traditional cap and gown to officially graduate at Brunel University London, with their awards being presented by Nick Davies, Uxbridge College’s Chair of Governors.
Laraine Smith OBE, Principal of Uxbridge College, said: “HNCs and HNDs are a fantastic way into a better job or onto a full honours university degree - and I feel really proud to see this year’s graduates from Uxbridge College reaping the rewards of their studies in this way. The progression from some of our HND programmes onto a final year top-up degree is becoming an increasingly popular route into university, and yet again we have dozens of graduates joining a range of universities in the final year as well as at other points including Birmingham, Sheffield, Reading, Brunel and West London.”
The BTEC HNC Level 4 and BTEC HND Level 5 Diplomas were completed by 116 Uxbridge College students in the following subject areas: Business; Computing Plus; Computing and Systems Development; Computing - Games Development; Creative Computing – Games/Visual Effects; Creative Media Moving Image; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Sport (Coaching and Development), and Travel & Tourism Management.
Higher education qualifications at Uxbridge College give students the chance to study part-time with the support of qualified lecturers using the College’s state-of-the-art facilities.
For more information go to https://www.uxbridge.ac.uk/college-information/higher-education.html