College News

Oxbridge interviews for 30 students

Thirty of the 43 students currently following the Oxbridge Preparation Programme at Gower College Swansea have been successful in securing an interview at either Oxford or Cambridge.

The well-established programme, which is based at the Gorseinon campus, provides the best possible preparation for students aiming to progress to Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group universities.

Staff recognised at Long Service Awards

Over 100 members of staff from Gower College Swansea have been invited to a special celebratory event at the Liberty Stadium.

The first-ever Long Service Awards was set up to recognise and thank those members of staff who have worked at the College for more than 20 years.

Lecturers, managers and business support staff from all areas of the organisation received personalised goodie bags before being invited to enjoy a champagne afternoon tea.

Richard Mylan to direct GCS Acting Company production

Students on Gower College Swansea’s specialist one year acting course will soon take to the stage under the direction of actor Richard Mylan.

A familiar face on national television, Richard’s credits include Waterloo Road, Casualty, Doctors, My Family, Bad Girls and Silent Witness. He also has numerous theatre credits to his name, including Starlight Express in London’s West End.

ILS football team crowned Ability Counts champions

Gower College Swansea’s ILS football team have been crowned the AoC Ability Counts Welsh Champions for the fourth year in a row.

Unbeaten in qualifying, they defeated Coleg Sir Gar 3-0 in the semi-final and then Cardiff and Vale College 1-0 in a nail-biting final.

It took a great effort to win this year and the team will look forward to representing Wales at the AOC National Championships in Nottingham University in 2018.

Maths students heading to London

Gower College Swansea recently hosted the West Wales heat of the Senior Team Maths Challenge.

The College team – Han Xuanyan, Fuhao Song, Jiachen Liang, Xiyu Zhang – won the heat which means they qualify for the national finals in London in February 2018. There, they will be up against more than 70 teams from across the UK.

The College has entered a team each year for the last twelve years and this will be our first visit to the national finals - so well done team!

Work-related opportunities for IT students

IT students at Gower College Swansea will soon have an opportunity to combine their academic studies with realistic workplace training, thanks to a new partnership with global employability programme Galaxias Tech.

The Enhanced IT Programme is open to Level 3 ICT students who are not planning on progressing to university and are instead focusing on honing their skills in a practical setting.

The classes will run initially on the College’s Tycoch/Hill House campus before transferring to IndyCube in Wind Street.

A Skills for Industry success story

The Skills for Industry European Social Fund (ESF) project aims to develop the skill levels of employed individuals, including self-employed participants with no formal qualifications and those with qualifications up to and including Level 7.

All Wrapped Up!

Level 3 Patisserie students at Gower College Swansea have been very busy designing, icing and decorating the annual Christmas display piece.

Over the past few years, the students – guided by Learning Area Manager and patisserie lecturer Mark Clement – have produced a variety of themed cakes including a seven foot chocolate Christmas tree and snowmen ‘chilling out’ and elaborate confections called Deck the Halls, Frozen and Starry Night.

Competition success for Catering and Hospitality students

Two Catering and Hospitality students from Gower College Swansea have earned places in the Worldskills UK Squad team, which could see them representing their country at the Worldskills World Final in Russia in 2019.

Level 3 student Collette Gorvett was recently ‘Highly Commended’ in the Restaurant Services competition at the Worldskills National Finals at Birmingham’s NEC.

Swimming success

At the end of November, three students studying at the Gorseinon campus of Gower College Swansea participated in the Urdd Regional Swimming Gala.

A Level student Niamh Jones came first in the butterfly race and also achieved her Personal Best. L3 Public Services student Sam Thomas swam in the backstroke and the individual medley race, and A Level student Dominc Waters swam the breaststroke.

Niamh will now take part in the national competition in Cardiff on 21 January 2018. Good luck to her!