Sixth Form students visit Oxford University

A group of students from the NULC Sixth Form Centre visited Oxford University on Wednesday 24 October.  Whilst there they explored two colleges –the oldest one-  University College and also what is considered the Northerner’s college – The Queens College.  

They were shown round by a group of student ambassadors who were enthusiastic and dispelled some of the myths of Oxford. 

After a lovely three course lunch in The Great Hall, University College where some of Harry Potter was filmed the students were allowed time to explore Oxford.  The two most popular activities were shopping and visiting the world famous Ashmoleon museum.  A brilliant day enjoyed by all!

Student comments from the trip:
 
Georgia Lowe: "I really enjoyed the experience of going to a university today as it was the first time I have looked at a university so far, it gave me good information about that particular college and insight into what I need to do and think about soon.  It gave me the chance to ask any questions and talk to people already in university, which I found good."

Alice Trickett: "I have enjoyed the day as I have seen what University life would be like which I found to be interesting.  The tours that we had with the students were good because they answered any questions that I had.  Overall I had a good experience."
To find out more about studying A Levels at the NULC Sixth Form Centre visit www.nulc.ac.uk/6fc or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or info@nulc.ac.uk.

Theatre Studies students encounter truly terrifying performance!

Students studying AS and A Level Theatre Studies at NULC visiting Nottingham to see a ‘truly terrifying’ performance of Woman in Black at The Theatre Royal.

Blackpool Rocks Photography Project

72 students from AS and A level Photography braved howling winds and driving rain on a day trip to Blackpool this week. 

Nicolette Baddiley, Course Leader for Photography, is keen to ensure that students have the opportunity to shoot in different locations, developing the technical skills and resourcefulness needed to get exciting results from all kinds of environments and situations.

Nicolette said: "At NULC, our long term goal is to help our students become independent, creative decision makers. The fact that so many have come back with great shots, covering subjects from architecture and portraiture to seascapes tells me they’re well on their way!”  

Below are a selection of images taken by students during the visit to Blackpool.

Photography by Alexandria Brown

Photography by Emma Colclough.

Photography by Natasha Davies.

Photography by Sophie Dixon.

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

2012 IFS Student Investor Challenge Launch

A Level Accounting students at NULC are again being given the opportunity to participate in the Institute for Financial Services’ prestigious Student Investor Challenge competition.  

Working in teams, students invest a virtual £100,000 in shares and use their skill and judgement to trade their portfolios using real data supplied by Bloomberg and FTSE (just like real traders). 

Entrants are given extra tuition to learn about stock market theory so this is a great opportunity to learn something new and it also looks good on UCAS applications.  

In the past NULC students have reached the national finals (Top 8 out of more than 800 entries) so why not have a go.  You never know, you could win the top prize which is an all expenses paid trip to New York.
 

If you're interested in taking part contact Lecturer Richard Simpson richard.simpson@nulc.ac.uk, but be quick, the competition starts on the 5th November!  

For further information visit www.studentinvestor.org.

A Level Accounting Students Visit Lancaster University

On Wednesday 17 October a group of 20 first and second year A Level Accounting students visited Lancaster University’s Management School.  The visit gave students an insight into the finance related degree courses on offer at Lancaster University and to get a taste of what it is like to study at one of the UK’s leading finance research universities.

After a tour of the campus and the halls of residences students were treated to a class with Professor Mark Shackleton.  Professor Shackleton demonstrated to students how market prices are set in the “trading pits” for a range of commodities like barrels of oil, coffee and wheat.  Click here to get a feel for what a “trading pit” looks like.

Pretty frantic!  Did you notice how the traders use a range of hand signals to say whether they are selling or buying?  Palms out, “I’m Selling”, fists clenched “I’m buying”.  Here is another link that should give you a good feel for what’s going on.

Students were given a virtual £10,000 with which to bid to buy (and then sell) bottles filled with pennies.  The catch is you don’t know how many pennies are in the bottles.  This link shows the trading game in action in a previous session.

Well done to first year NULC student Rob Fellowes who won the game with the most cash and bottles at the end.  Rob was closely followed Humad Khan, Rob Walker and Rory Morton as runners up.
 

Richard Simpson, Accounting Lecturer at NULC said: “This was a brilliant way to show students what studying at a leading University might be like.  Hopefully it will really inspire our students to really aim high.”

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

Fashion designer inspires next generation

A former Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) student turned fashion designer returned to the college to inspire the next generation of textiles students.

Textiles lecturer Sharon Porteous, invited former NULC Sixth Form student Daisy Thomas back to the college to talk to current AS and A2 Textiles students.

During the day, Daisy worked closely with current students, showcasing products from her spring/summer collection and sharing her experience of studying at NULC.

Daisy, aged 24 originally from Keele, joined NULC in 2004 where she studied A Levels in Art and Design, Graphic Design and English Language and Literature, achieving ABB in her A Level results before progressing on to study the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at the college.  Having completed her Further Education, Daisy left NULC in 2007 and went on to study a BA in Textile Design at Nottingham Trent University.

Sharon said: “Daisy is a great success story; she has a fantastic talent which we nurtured whilst she was at NULC, to ensure that she went on to be the successful designer she is.  It was lovely to invite Daisy back to the new college and our current students were really inspired to see what great careers former NULC students have gone on to.”

To view Daisy's collects visit her website by clicking here.

To find out more about studying Textiles at the NULC Sixth Form Centre click here or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or info@nulc.ac.uk.

Graphics students hit the big stage

Students studying A Level Graphics at Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) are working with Stoke Rep Theatre to produce artwork.

Talented A Level Graphics students Hannah Stanway, Sophie Green, Alicja Mrozicka and Charlotte Parker have design promotional posters and illustrations for the Leek Road venue.

Janet Smith, Marketing Director at Stoke Rep Theatre said: “Following an initial trial collaboration with Newcastle-under-Lyme College last year, the project has really hit its stride this season.  Students work with the Marketing Department at the theatre where they receive creative briefs and scripts which they then use to come up with various illustrative approaches and treatments; these are then fine-tuned and adapted to produce the artwork for a diverse variety of shows from Treasure Island to Holmes and the Ripper.”

Janet added: “The designs the students from Newcastle-under-Lyme College have produced are of a professional standard.  The students themselves are aged between 16 and 18, but they’re professional, creative and punctual, attending meetings, offering design guidance and meeting deadlines.”

Student Hannah Stanway, aged 17, from Chesterton, studies A Levels in Art and Design, Graphic Design and Law at the College’s Sixth Form Centre.  Hannah produced the promotional artwork for the theatres ‘Allo, Allo’ production this year, with the production going on to become one of theatres best-selling shows.

Students have designed artwork for five shows, which are to be produced this year including Dirty Dusting Treasure Island Holmes meets the Ripper 84 Charing Cross Road, The Herbal Bed and Teechers.

Mike Kelly, Assistant Head of Centre for Sixth Form at NULC said: “Here at Newcastle-under-Lyme College we have a national reputation for the quality of our creative subjects.Collaborations like this, allow students to work on live briefs for real companies, building an outstanding portfolio of work which supports them in their progression to University.”

In this years A Level results, Graphics students achieved phenomenal success with over 50% of students achieving A* - B grades, nearly a quarter of those being A*s.

Click here to view a variety of the artwork.

To find out more about the range of creative subjects available at NULC click here or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254.