OSCAR winner presents awards

Former NULC student and OSCAR winner Peter Bebb was the guest speaker at the Bottle Cap Film Festival Awards Evening.  The multi award winner computer imagery artist won an Academy Award for his work on the Leonardo Di Caprio blockbuster Inception.

In addition two film students volunteered their time and acted as guides for the Bottle Cap Film Festival hosted by Junction 15 productions in collaboration with Newcastle borough council.

Pete has previously been a judge for the College's own Heat Wave Film Festival and during a visit commented: "The facilities at the College are amazing and have certainly been designed to encourage the next generation of film makers.”

Students work with award winning film producers

Students studying A Level Film Studies at NULC took part in an engagement event with Junction 15 productions as part of the Bottle Cap Film Festival in Newcastle town centre.

Former NULC Film Studies and international award-winning film producer Suzanne James led sessions along with Darren Teale, Creative Director for Junction 15 productions.

The students were split into groups and Suzanne spear headed the camera work - our students were instructed in the use of industry standard cameras, the same Panasonic equipment which the BBC use, and the jib was also put into use which allowed our students to film some fantastic crane shots . 

Darren took on board the editing and delivered a workshop in how to use Adobe Premier CS6. Junction 15 screened their professional films, pop videos made for MTV and discussed budget, location shooting, editing, industry protocol and networking/client customer liaising providing an invaluable insight into film business practice .

Verica Travar-Williams, Curriculum leader for AS/A2 film studies and A2 media studies, said: "The students were beaming all day, despite the cold and a wonderful day was had by all - I was very proud of team film especially how energetic and enthusiastic they were with every task given."

Four students stayed  on as ambassadors for our college in the afternoon and guided/mentored primary school children and helped out with Suzanne and Darren, in terms of filming and editing.

Click here to visit our Facebook page and see a gallery of photographs from the event.

West End stars inspire students

On Tuesday 12 November AS and A Level Dance, Music and Theatre Studies students visited The Regent Theatre to watch a performance of West Side Story.  After the show lucky AS Theatre student Billie Ingrid Brighters met members of the cast.

With ground breaking choreography by the legendary Jerome Robbins, book by Arthur Laurents, an unforgettable score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story changed the face of musical theatre for ever.

Leading the talented new cast is Katie Hall as Maria and Louis Maskell as her star-crossed lover Tony. Katie has most recently played Christine in the national tour of Phantom of the Opera and Cosette in Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre in the West End, while Louis has previously appeared in the national tour of Scrooge -The Musical.

Natalie Weatherer, Curriculum Leader AS/A2 theatre studies and AS media studies at NULC, said: "It was an amazing performance for the students to see as it had not been on tour in the UK for 5 years!  It’s great for our students to see a West End performance in Staffordshire."

Former graphics student provides insight into careers

Brand Identity and Web Design expert Mandy Wong, from the Manchester based Fresh Design Agency, visited AS and A level Graphics students this month, sharing insights into her career and inspirations.   

Starting with her days in the late 90's as a BTEC and A Level Graphics student at NULC, Mandy outlined her journey from a BA in Graphics at Cumbria University to her first job as a Junior Designer at local newspaper The Sentinel. 

Students were free to ask questions about the realities of life and employment prospects in the wide and developing graphic design field. Illustrating her recent agency work for blue chip clients including Clarks shoes, Lexus and Halfords, Mandy made it very clear that talent itself isn't enough to guarantee success, and that young designers need to continually improve and develop their skills base.

Mandy recently worked on design projects for Lexus

After a Q&A session, Mandy went on to give encouragement and advice to students with a particular interest in Logo Design, Branding and Web.  Course staff believe that it is incredibly valuable for our current generation to learn from NULC Alumni, gaining first hand impressions of the challenging and exciting career pathways that can lead on from the study of Graphic Design. 

Impressed by the work of current NULC students, Mandy has offered a summer work placement to NULC student Vitali Dzubenko.  Vitali is his second year at NULC studying A levels in graphics and science.

To find out more about studying A Level Graphic Design at NULC visit www.nulc.ac.uk or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk.

AS Students Visit Keele Medical School

On Wednesday 20 November, a group of AS Science students were lucky enough to visit the Medical School at Keele University for the Medpath Widening Access Day.  This was for a select group of NULC students, and was held in the medical school building on the Keele University campus. 

NULC students met some of the medical students studying at Keele, and heard about their experiences of the application process.  NULC students had the opportunity to try out medical procedures such as blood pressure monitoring,  measuring blood oxygen levels and using an ECG machine. 

The day finished with a tour of the fantastic medical school facilities.  NULC students felt that they had really benefited from the day, and that it gave them an insight into the application process.  ‘An inspiring day’ was the comment from one of the students. 

NULC STEM Community Developer Lucy Nevitt said: "Our links with Keele University have been further strengthened by this trip, and it showed our students what fantastic facilities are available within a university environment."

AS History and Politics @ Higher Education seminar

The second AS History and Politics @ Higher Education seminar took place on Thursday 14 November at Newcastle-under-Lyme College. Students were introduced to the most recent developments in parliamentary sovereignty by Dr Peter Lamb, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Staffordshire University.
 
The students proved themselves formidable adversaries in the question and answer session, particularly, amongst others, Jordan Stec, who challenged Dr Lamb with a range of probing questions, such as the reasons why the United Kingdom should remain part of the European Union. Fully deploying their academic knowledge from their AS Government & Politics course and also showing clear evidence of a deep interest in current affairs, the students covered topics such as devolution, a potential referendum on membership of the European Union and the scheduled Scottish independence referendum.
 
The event was a roaring success and bodes well for the development of stronger links between staff and students at both institutions.
 
If you are not currently an AS or A2 government & Politics student but would like to attend future events please contact Christopher McQuillan in the Sixth Form Centre. Seminars in the series are listed below:

• History UCAS applications lead by Dr Alannah Tomkins, Programme Director for History at Keele University – Sept 2013
• Developments in parliamentary sovereignty lead by Dr Peter Lamb, senior Lecturer in International Relations at Staffordshire University – Nov 2013
• The US Presidency; poodle or powerhouse? Lead by Dr Jonathan Herbert Director of Teaching & Learning SPIRE Keele University – Jan 2014
• From Kaiser to Fuhrer – lead by Dr Pauline Elkes, Senior Lecturer in History, Staffordshire University – March 2014

 

Award-winning film production company inspire Film Club

Local award-winning film production company, Junction 15 visited the College's Film Club to chat with A Level students studying Film Studies.

Darren Teale, Creative Director and Suzanne James, former NULC student and now Film Producer for Junction 15 provided a superb and highly insightful presentation sharing  invaluable advise on career pathways, university choices and a wonderful insight into film, television and corporate productions from an industry perspective . 

The duo also screened two music videos from their portfolio which were produced for MTV. Suzanne, a former A Level Film Studies student has had her film 'Damage' which centres upon domestic violence screened on a world wide basis and has won several international awards since completing her studies at NULC.

 

Verica Travar-Williams, Curriculum leader for AS/A2 film studies and A2 media studies organises Film Club and taught Suzanne during her A Levels.  Verica said: "I am so proud of her and Suzanne is a wonderful role model to our female students."

To find out more about studying A Level Film Studies at NULC click here or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk.

Product Design students bring designs to life

A Level Product Design students have been given a fantastic opportunity to have their designs made by a local engineering company, and then sold in the College's M.A.D.E here shop in Newcastle town centre. 

The students visited KMF Precision Sheet Metal Manufacturing on the High Carr Business Park on Friday 8 November, and they were shown around the manufacturing facility by members of KMF staff, including one of their apprentices. 

The use of high tech lasers to cut metal with complete accuracy and precision was especially impressive. KMF manufacture a range of products for companies, including making the self-service Costa Coffee machines that can be seen at petrol stations. The Product Design students are now finalising their designs, and prototypes will be made by KMF before the final designs are commissioned.

To find out more about A Levels at NULC click here or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk.