New college to help pupils build a future
A BRAND new college dedicated to grooming teenagers for careers in construction has launched a recruitment drive for its first students.
Stoke Studio College will cater for 14 to 19-year-olds, who will study qualifications like GCSEs and BTECs alongside work placements in local companies.
Classroom projects could involve designing houses on computer software or making them energy efficient by tapping into alternative technology.
It is one of 12 new Government-backed 'studio schools' opening in the UK in September, aimed at equipping young people with the skills for jobs.
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Teenagers got a taste of what to expect at an open evening for Stoke Studio College last night. The event was held at the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence (CoRE), in Longton, which will be one of the bases for the new college.
Thirteen-year-old Warwick Bettany, from Longton, is already eyeing up a career as a designer.
He said: "I'm interested in designing houses and things like chairs and settees. The college will have digital and animated software to plan things. It can be about anything, even designing pools.
"The facilities are going to be a lot better to what you get in school."
Warwick currently attends The Discovery Academy, in Longton, which is one of the partners involved in the venture.
Fourteen to 16-year-olds would spend three days at the academy site, following GCSEs in core subjects like maths, English and science, and the rest of the time either at CoRE or in the workplace.
They will work in small groups, will be assigned a learning coach and personal tutor, and will also get to do enrichment activities like sport or volunteering.
Companies they could gain experience with include Emma Bridgewater, Johnson Tiles, Balfour Beatty, and Kier Construction. Post-16 students will also be offered paid work.
Jordan Green, aged 15, from Barlaston, already has experience of construction skills as he spends a day a week at Stoke-on-Trent College, fitting it round his GCSE studies at Alleyne's High, in Stone.
He said: "My brother did a degree in computer-aided design and that's how I got into it. I like doing hands-on things."
The studio college, which is being set up by Stoke-on-Trent College, will mirror a working day.
Young people will attend the college from 8am to 4pm and will also be expected to do placements during school holiday periods.
Sarah Robinson, principal of Stoke-on-Trent College, said they were looking to train up people for the more technical side of construction, rather than trades such as bricklaying and joinery.
Students could go into careers as diverse as quantity surveying, the renewable energy field, project management, and planning.
Ms Robinson said: "We don't have enough higher level construction students at the moment and so we are trying to fill that skills gap.
"In the first year, we are hoping to recruit 50 students, aged 14 to 16, and 150 post-16 students. That will increase to a total of 300 students."
The recruitment drive has been launched just as the studio college is advertising for a £70,000-a-year executive principal.
To find out more about studying there, call 01782 603501 or email stokestudiocollege@stokecoll.ac.uk
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