Over 40 voluntary organisations and charities took part in the College’s annual Freshers’ Fayre, enabling students to learn more about the services and opportunities on offer outside of their standard curriculum. The Fayre is part of a week-long programme of fun activities and informative events culminating in our Jeans for Genes Day fundraiser.

Among the exhibitors at the Freshers’ Fayre were local charity LinkAble. Shirley Formby, HR Manager, commented ‘This is the third year that we have exhibited here and we are always very successful in recruiting volunteers.  The College is so forward thinking and it’s a revelation to see the student volunteers grow in confidence while helping those with learning disabilities, as well as using their practical skills to assist with the marketing of the charity.’

Cheryl D’Cruz who runs the Lisa May Foundation, enjoys being a regular visitor to the College as she says ‘it’s always interesting to talk to students and staff who come up with amazing fundraising opportunities that help local charities.’

Karen Jackson, Founder of Chloe’s and Sophie’s Special Ears Fund (and Mum to Chloe and Sophie) wants to use the skills that students learn here to help with the charity. She said ‘whether it be an artist who can donate a piece of artwork to be auctioned, a media student who could make a film about the charity, IT skills, business skills, marketing skills – they’re all valuable skills to have and they can get real life experiences by donating those skills to us.’

More than 30 student-led clubs and societies also took the chance to show students the wide range of activities that they can get involved in during their time at the College.

Vivienne Mathews and Emma Swan from the Environmental Society were very excited about the amount of students that had signed up to the society.  They commented that ‘it brings the College community together inspiring young generations to invest in the future of their planet.’ while Jingwei Yang of the Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy Club said ‘ I first got involved in calligraphy by practising at home – my father and sister both do Chinese calligraphy.  I find it really interesting and challenging and want to share these skills with other students.  I enjoy it because it symbolises Chinese culture.’

Rob TIllier, Director of Accelerate Driver Training and a co-sponsor of Freshers’ week enthused “we are now entering our 5th year of collaborating with the College and are delighted once again to be sponsoring the Freshers’ Fayre.  More, we are grateful to the College for giving us the opportunity, by raising awareness, to help minimise the risk of its students being killed or seriously injured in a road crash”.

Christine Eustace, Director of Community Engagement at the College was “delighted with the tremendous enthusiasm our students have shown today and their capacity to reach out to help others. Seeing our students signing up to help out so many voluntary organisations and charities is both heart-warming and encouraging”.