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An Italian Exchange in Royal Holloway

Posted: 17/12/2009

A group of 15 AS/A2 and IB Italian students travelled to Royal Holloway, University of London, to take part in an Italian Day. The day was organised especially for the RuTC students by the Italian Department and the Widening Participation and Outreach Department as an exchange between the two institutions. Students took part in Advanced Italian classes, went on a campus tour and took part in a workshop with the university students where they shared their views on an Italian film they had watched in class. The students will write an account of their experience as well as various other tasks. The Royal Holloway students visit RuTC in March 2010 for a feedback session, and to draw the mentoring process to an end.

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Gifted Theatrical Student makes his debut at the Globe

Posted: 17/12/2009

Congratulations to RuTC student Matthew O’Callaghan, who last week took part in A Concert for Winter, Globe Education’s annual winter community event. Matthew is studying A Levels in History, Government and Politics and Economics. He is part of the Shakespeare’s Globe Gifted and Talented Company, who have been working with Globe Education Practitioners to develop students’ teamwork, self esteem and performance skills. The event saw students and community groups from across the borough performing songs and seasonal music on the Globe stage, inspired by the theme of ‘Celebration’.

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Richmond upon Thames College Students win Royal Holloway’s prestigious ‘Apprentice style’ challenge

Posted: 02/12/2009

Five students from Richmond upon Thames College studying Business and Economics AS/A2 level won a prize for the ‘Best Product Idea’ at the Royal Holloway, University of London ‘Enterprise and Marketing Challenge’ 2009.

The task was set by former Apprentice star Claire Young with seven colleges taking part. The teams had to design a watch and come up with an advertising and marketing campaign, similar to the task set on this years ‘The Apprentice’, which involved the candidates creating a new brand of breakfast cereal. The students had the entire day to think, design their watches and plan their campaigns, before making a pitch to the judges.

Those joining Claire on the panel of judges included Professor Chris Smith, Head of the School of Management, Dr Alex Reppel, lecturer from the School of Management, Chris Howorth, Deputy Dean of History and Social Sciences (all from Royal Holloway) alongside representatives from Procter and Gamble. After hearing the pitches and asking questions, they retired to the boardroom to make their decision.

Richmond upon Thames College won ‘Best Product Idea’ for designing a watch made out of recyclable products which included a health monitor to access your heart rate and calorie consumption. Kay-Kay Marivate, an AS Level Economics student, said, “We’re shocked but really pleased. We worked hard but didn’t expect to win. Our team put so much vision and vigour into this task and I think that’s what carried us through.”

RuTC's winning team

The winning team with Apprentice star Claire Young

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Entrepreneurial students tackle climate change

Posted: 17/11/2009

Students from Richmond upon Thames College this week signed up to compete in the UK’s largest enterprise challenge for secondary schools and colleges.

The Make Your Mark Challenge was a one-day, national enterprise competition for students aged 14 – 19 and kick-started Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November), which aimed to improve young people’s enterprise capabilities.

Students from the Business School were challenged to come up with unique and inspiring ideas in response to a secret brief launched online at www.makeyourmarkchallenge.org.uk on Monday 16th November. The Make Your Mark theme for 2009 encourages students to address problems of climate change and the environmental issues and will invite them to suggest ways of addressing this within their business proposal.

Local businesses including Professional Development Network Ltd, Richmond Borough Council together with the Richmond Education Business Partnership were on hand to judge their ideas and declare the winning team.

Dave Warnes, Enterprise and Skills Manager at the college said: “We’re delighted to be taking part in the Make Your Mark Challenge. It is a brilliant way of providing students with a hands on experience of enterprise, giving them time and space to be creative and to develop ideas. It improves valuable skills such as team work, problem-solving, financial literacy and dealing with risks.”

As well as proving that they’re among the most enterprising young minds in the country, the students were competing for the chance to win at a regional level or for the national prize of up to £1000, as well as £100 in high street vouchers for each member, to help Richmond upon Thames College students make their ideas a reality.

The competing teams for Make Your Mark 2009 are all studying business courses at the college, including BTEC Introductory, First and National Diplomas, BTEC National Certificate and Applied Business AS/A2 level and so have some insight into the concerns that new business initiatives need to face.

The 2009 challenge involved students coming up with a new and innovative business idea that takes its inspiration from something local. It could be a product or a service, as long as it was a ‘cool’ creation and would make money. A ‘cool creation’ is a profitable business that minimises the impact on the environment. They had to come up with their ideas in small groups and create an ideas sheet, work out the costs involved, research the competition and end with a dragon’s den style pitch to the four judges. The overall winning idea, created by AS Level Business students, was ‘The Box’, a device which can be fitted in the home to monitor all energy consumption (hourly, daily, monthly, yearly) and allow consumers to become more energy efficient. The winning team will now go on to compete in the regional finals later this month.

Make your Mark is just one of several events taking place at the college during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Lisa Stockton, owner of Happy Kitchen, a successful catering and hospitality company is giving a master-class to supported learning students who run the colleges Apple Tree Café enterprise. Media students will get expert advice from the owner of RockStars.com and have an opportunity to quiz him on becoming a successful entrepreneur. The week ends with a Sector Skills Network event for employers in the stewarding and events industry, offering advice on the latest requirements for the industry.

Local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce are helping to support the week, either through master-classes, networking events or panellists for the Make your Mark challenge.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is co-ordinated by Enterprise UK, the national campaign to increase entrepreneurial behavior in the UK.

Overall winners

Overall runners up

Winners of ‘Best Presentation’

Winners of ‘Best Group’

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Richmond upon Thames College Celebrates Colleges Week

Posted: 10/11/2009

The second Colleges Week, the national celebration of the role colleges play in celebrating the opportunities colleges create for individuals, businesses and Britain, is taking place during the week of the 9^th – 15^th November 2009.

Colleges Week is being coordinated and organised by the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

To celebrate this Colleges Week Richmond upon Thames College and its onsite training restaurant, Merits, hosted a complimentary celebratory lunch on Tuesday 10^th November. The restaurant’s most loyal customers attended along with the college Principal, David Ansell, and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Mayor, Councillor Celia Hodges. Guests in attendance made donations to SPEAR, one of the Mayors’ chosen charities, which is a local homeless charity, and over £160 was donated.

The lunch was specially prepared and cooked onsite by Richmond upon Thames College’s own catering students. The college is helping these students and many others build skills for their future by giving them real life job experience in Merits restaurant which is open to members of the public during term time for lunch on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and dinner each Thursday evening.

Nathan Scarlett, a student who took part in preparing the lunch, said “I am a second year NVQ Level 2 student currently studying Food Preparation, and at the weekends I work in Chez Bruce, a Michelin starred restaurant located at Wandsworth Common. The lunch has been a great experience to cook for such a big party and will stand me in good stead for future large events.”

Ben Bussy-Lebbe, another second year student, commented, “I am currently finishing my NVQ Level 2 and I am hoping to complete my Level 3 by July 2010. College has given me a fresh outlook on my future; it has been great for my confidence both as a person and a chef.”

David Ansell, Principal, commented, “It is a pleasure to be able to welcome colleagues and members of our local community to lunch and to celebrate the skills of our students.”

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A taste of Italy

Posted: 08/10/2009

In September, Richmond upon Thames College’s staff and students from the Performing Arts department welcomed their counter parts from a school in Paese, Italy as part of the British Council’s ‘Comenius’ programme, an International Education Programme that twins schools and colleges all over Europe through projects. The project RuTC is involved in will run for two years and started in January 2008.

The Italian students worked alongside RuTC students and teachers as well as a professional theatre company to produce a small scale show at the college which was performed to the Mayor, Councillor Celia Hodges along with college Governors, staff and students. They also took part in workshops on Shakespeare, on subjects including his language, speech and plays.

A few months ago, RuTC students visited Paese which was a great learning experience for the performing arts students. Here they combined Shakespeare with an Italian acting style called ‘Commedia dell’ arte’, their efforts culminated in a small scale performance which was enjoyed by the local community.

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Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning

Posted: 01/10/2009

The Training Solutions Team at Richmond upon Thames College held a Coffee Morning on Friday 25th September in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning Appeal. It was well attended by members of staff from different departments of the college who enjoyed homemade cakes and biscuits. The total amount raised was £128 and this has been gift aided.

Training Solutions staff at the Coffee Morning

Some of the delicious homemade cakes and biscuits on offer

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College recognises students’ achievements

Posted: 28/09/2009

On Wednesday 16 August, Richmond upon Thames College hosted its inaugural Awards Evening at the RFU Twickenham Stadium to celebrate the successes and achievements of its students over the past 12 months.

Around 300 people enjoyed the celebrations and guests included the Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Councillor Celia Hodges, students and their families and staff from the college. The Chair of College Governors, Michael Lumley and the College Principal, David Ansell welcomed the guests to this very special event and the awards were presented to the students by Delon Armitage, an ex-student of the college who now plays professional rugby for London Irish and England.

During the evening Delon presented over 30 awards to students representing each department of the college. Additional awards were given to James Ford-Bannister and Paddy Finn, who met on the college’s International Baccalaureate Diploma course, for their commitment and enthusiasm in writing, producing and directing a number of theatrical productions involving students from across the college. One of their greatest successes was the staging of ‘Twins’, an adaptation of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers.

Principal, David Ansell said, “Our students are with us in most cases for only two years, but the distance they travel in that time is an inspiration to us all – their achievements are truly impressive.”

In addition to the departmental awards, the college presented two awards for Best Academic Achievement. Fumina Okamura, who previously attended Kingston Grammar School, received this award for achieving grade As in Economics, Maths and Geography A levels, with a further grade A at AS level in English Language and Literature and grade Bs for Spanish AS level and her Extended Project Qualification. This autumn Fumina is going to Leeds University to read Economics and Geography. The other recipient was Louis Waterman-Evans, who came to the college from Teddington School and gained 3 grade As in Economics, Maths and German along with 2 grade As for Physics AS level and his Extended Project Qualification. Louis is continuing his studies at Warwick University where he will be reading Economics.

Chair of College Governors, Michael Lumley commented, “Whilst the Awards Evening is about the achievement of our students, we must also recognise the great effort put in by the teachers and the support staff. We are all very proud of what Richmond upon Thames College stands for and what it achieves.”

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RuTC’s Rugby side get a taste of South Africa

Posted: 22/09/2009

On Thursday 1st October Richmond upon Thames College’s Rugby Academy will play a touring side from South Africa. The team is an U19 side selected from Afrikaan speaking schools such as Port Natal Durban, Wesvalia and Pionier.

The touring side are also playing Truro College, who won the 2009 Daily Mail Cup and Exeter Academy and the college is proud to be part of such a prestigious event.

The match will be attended by David Ansell, Principal of Richmond upon Thames College and there will be post match refreshments provided.

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Inspirational students gearing up for 2012

Posted: 08/09/2009

Richmond Sports Volunteer Programme (RSVP) is a college wide initiative run by Richmond upon Thames College which is open to all students and provides a range of opportunities involving a variety of sports related voluntary events and activities. College students volunteer at local schools and St Mary’s University College , to help organise festivals, events and after school clubs. A number of students have also volunteered at London wide events. This project has been granted the Inspire Mark the badge of the London 2012 Inspire Programme. The London 2012 Inspire programme recognises innovative and exceptional projects that are directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The bid was submitted to raise the profile of the project and to highlight the excellent work carried out by the students. The project covers all elements of the Olympic Values (friendship, excellent and respect) and Paralympic values (courage, determination, inspiration and equality) and enables the students to develop many skills.

Seb Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “We want to use the power of the Games to inspire change. The Inspire programme is recognising the work our partners all round the UK are doing to help us achieve this vision now – three years out from the start of the Games. I congratulate everyone involved in Richmond Sports Volunteer Programme for securing the Inspire mark and wish you every success with your work.”

Richmond upon Thames College ’s Enterprise and Skills Manager, David Warnes said “It is an honour to have our project formally recognised and to be one of only five colleges in the country to be awarded the Inspire Mark. The RSVP project offers a fantastic opportunity for all our students to use their talents and work with groups they may never have encountered before, whether it be helping to run sports day events at a local primary school or leading physical activity sessions with groups of adults with learning disabilities. RSVP brings together a number of sports volunteering projects all designed to develop confidence and leadership skills and inspire young people to reach their potential.“

The college is hoping to recruit lots more student volunteers over the coming year, with the aim of; empowering the students raising their aspirations and skills, personal development and increasing their employability. The excitement generated by the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to London will inspire the students to want to work in their communities, as part of a once in a life time opportunity. As young Londoners they will feel that the Games taking place in their city, are not just for elite athletes but for all Londoners.

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Results Day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 20/08/2009

A level results at Richmond upon Thames College were a cause for great celebration for both students and staff. Principal David Ansell was understandably pleased with the results praising both the hard work and talent of the students and the commitment and expertise of the staff. “With nearly 2,900 entries across some 56 subjects these results represent achievement on a grand scale. We expect once again that in excess of 1,100 students will be going on to university, one of the biggest cohorts from any single institution in the country, including to Oxford and Cambridge, other Russell group universities and various medical schools.”

The overall pass rate was 98% (national average 97.5%) with over 40% of students gaining either the top A or B grades. Thirty subjects examined achieved a 100% pass rate across the Arts, Humanities, Languages, Sciences and Social Sciences. Former pupils of borough secondary schools achieved 100% pass rates in 40 of their subjects.

The results for those students who came to the College with at least five GCSES at grades A* - C with an average of B or better were massively impressive with a pass rate of 99.6% and an A-B rate of over 68%.

Local students were amongst those who swept the board in gaining A grades in all of their three or four subjects. Of those who had previously attended Grey Court, Orleans Park, Shene, Teddington and Waldegrave schools, 16 students gained all A grades in their chosen subjects. Student, Marc Sauchelli Toran came to Richmond upon Thames College from Grey Court School to study A levels in Geography, Maths, Chemistry and Physics. Last year, Marc was amongst the top 10 who achieved the highest overall mark in AS Maths out of 33,784 candidates. This year, he achieved 4 grade As in his A level results. Marc has a place at Imperial College, London to read Chemistry.

Whilst A levels tend to dominate the news at this time of year, the College was keen to highlight the successes of those students following other routes to university or employment. Students on vocational courses had much to celebrate with 100% achievements in Sport & Leisure, Art & Design, Media, Performing Arts, Graphics, Construction, Engineering, Travel & Tourism, Business, Child Care and Hospitality.

Other advanced results already confirmed include those from the International Baccalaureate, a programme unique in this area to Richmond upon Thames College. Here the 95.7% pass rate is well ahead of the global pass rate.

Chairman of Governors, Michael Lumley, was also delighted with the results, adding, “The College aims to widen opportunity and at the same time to promote excellence. This commendable set of results demonstrates that both the community of Richmond and the wider area are well served by this outstanding tertiary college.”

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Richmond upon Thames College at the UK School Games

Posted: 19/08/2009

This year’s UK School Games, organised by the Youth Sport Trust, take place from the 3rd – 6th September 2009 in Cardiff and Richmond upon Thames College have three members of the college’s Volleyball Academy taking part. The UK School Games is a multi-sport event for the UK’s elite young athletes of school age.

Stevi Bourke, a second year student studying AS/A2 levels in Sociology, English Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies and PE, has been selected as a volunteer and will have a varied role throughout the event. Simon Ojomoh, also a second year student taking AS/A2 levels in English Language and Literature, PE, Electronics and Computing, has been selected to play for England South Volleyball Squad. Also, Carol Gordon, one of the college’s sports teachers is the Head Coach of England South Volleyball Squad.

All participants will go through an accreditation process and take part in an opening and closing ceremony just like in the Olympic Games. The chance to participate in such an event is a life changing experience and one that the students will treasure.

Carol Gordon previously attended the games in 2007 and was also involved in the process of marketing volleyball as the first team sport to be added to the event. She commented, “When I was first asked to showcase the sport of volleyball in front of Gordon Brown and Tessa Jowell I was keen to demonstrate the power of team sports and how well young people develop and mature through cooperation. I am thoroughly delighted to be Head Coach again and really proud that two of our students have demonstrated their expertise in the different fields and will get the chance to put them into practice at such a high profile event”

You can follow their progress and live results on the webpage: http://www.ukschoolgames.com/

Carol Gordon and RuTC students at the 2007 UK School Games

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Leavers Event 2009

Posted: 12/08/2009

Staff and second year students got the chance to bid each other farewell at the college’s annual Leaver’s Event. Held at the college, students enjoyed music from the college’s Jazz band alongside their free cookies and ice cream! Richmond upon Thames College Principal, David Ansell, was also on hand to give out certificates to those who have contributed to college life in some way during their time here.

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Welcome Day

Posted: 12/08/2009

The college held a Welcome Day for all students starting in September 2009 from all the secondary schools in the borough. It gave students the opportunity to find out more about life in college, such as the wide variety of enrichment on offer to them or the support that is available to them during their time here. It was also a chance to meet the teachers and make new friends.

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Student Union Summer Fair

Posted: 12/08/2009

The newly elected student union organised a Summer Fair for the departing first years. The event was a huge success, there was plenty to see and do, from sumo wrestling to a chicken eating contest, and various dance performances such as belly dancing.

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A taste of France

Posted: 12/08/2009

Students studying AS/A2 level and International Baccalaureate French at the college journeyed to Paris to improve their grasp of the French language. The students enjoyed sightseeing and practising their French as well as sampling the local cuisine!

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Sporty Students

Posted: 12/08/2009

Students studying on the First Diploma in Sport went on an outward bound trip to Kidderminster to finish their Community Sports Leadership Awards which helps students learn the essential skills of leadership: communication, organisation and motivation through sport. Students had to clock up at least 10 hours working with local school children aged 8-14, coaching them in various sports activities including a mini Olympics, high ropes courses, a climbing tower and various ball games. All the students successfully achieved their awards at the end of the course.

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FUTURE STARS International Junior Basketball Tournament 2009

Posted: 15/07/2009

The 2nd Future Stars International Junior Basketball Tournament took place from 10th – 12th July 2009 at Kingston College in London. It was hailed by all as the highest calibre junior basketball tournament seen for years in Britain.

The Tournament, which was inaugurated in 2008, was originally designed to provide an opportunity for European Basketball to showcase its young “future stars.” This year the Tournament featured the national U18 teams from Spain, Italy, Israel, Poland and England together with the hosts, Richmond upon Thames College Select team, and several young future stars were to be seen in action.

The 2009 Future Stars Tournament was won by Spain, who beat Poland by 15 points in the Final. Poland had previously overcome a very strong Italian team in their semi final, winning by only 2 points in a close fought and most exciting match.

The highlight of the Tournament for the local spectators came on Sunday afternoon when the Richmond upon Thames College Select team beat the national England U18 team by 78 points to 63. There was intense rivalry between the two English teams right from the start when it became clear that Richmond were going to come bottom of Group 1 and England bottom of Group 2 which meant that they would meet each in two 5th/6th play off place matches over the weekend. In the first of these on Saturday afternoon, England were the winners by 76:54; but in the second play off game on Sunday the Richmond team were determined to reverse the tables. Their determination to win caught the England side off guard as they struggled to go up a gear to cope with the onslaught from the local side. In the end, to the intense pleasure of the partisan local crowd, Richmond defeated their national rivals.

Head of Richmond upon Thames College Basketball Academy and tournament coordinator, Jack Majewski, said after the match, “We have a very high standard of basketball at Richmond upon Thames College and this team attracted some of the best young basketball players in London. It was Richmond upon Thames College that gave them the opportunity to play against some of the highest calibre junior national teams in Europe; an opportunity which is very rare in this country. We are extremely proud that we managed to beat the English national team, which proves the high standard that we play at here.”

The 'Tournament Most Valuable Player' was Miguel Servera (born 1992) from Spain. Miguel “Miki” Servera, who recently signed to play for Unicaja Malaga next season, is already considered to be one of the hottest young talents in Spain since Ricky Rubio. He was a member of the under-16 Spanish national team, averaging 8.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals in the 2008 European Championship last summer and was also chosen to play for the international team at the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic in April 2008. A definite “future star” who more than lived up to his potential at the 2009 Future Stars Tournament.

Not to be outdone however, the England U18 team featured 18 year old future star, Ryan Richards (born 1991), who has been tipped as an NBA prospect since he was 14 years old. Richards was the player the British spectators most wanted to see in action and he did not disappoint, scoring 15 against Poland and 20 against Spain.

Ryan Richards, originally from Jamaica, started his sporting life playing football but, like many other tall youngsters, was scouted into basketball by his local team in Kent. Ryan Richards is considered to be the best young basketball prospect in England since Luol Deng, currently the UK’s most famous basketball player now playing in the NBA for Chicago Bulls.

Andre Alleyne, the England team head coach said about Ryan Richards after the Tournament, “"Let's face it, the guy is nearly seven foot, plays like he's 6' 6", does everything... and is a lefty to boot! He's got the whole package."

The whole Tournament was a massive success, achieving its objective of showcasing a much higher level of junior basketball than is normally seen in this country. The very enthusiastic packed crowds at Kingston College throughout the weekend can attest to that.

Tournament coordinator, Jack Majewski, said after the event, “We were absolutely delighted to attract the highest level national teams that we did. We were actually approached by several other European national teams, and found ourselves in the unenviable position of having to turn down teams that other tournaments would have killed to have in their line-up. The great success of this year’s event will now encourage the organisers to look at ways of making this Future Stars Tournament even bigger and better next year.”

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

FRIDAY
Game 1 Richmond upon Thames College Select 62 Israel 79
Game 2 Spain 93 Poland 58
Game 3 Israel 78 Italy 83
Game 4 England 72 Poland 79
Game 5 Richmond upon Thames College Select 71 Italy 89
Game 6 Spain 99 England 71

SATURDAY
5th/6th Play Off (First game) England 76 Richmond upon Thames College Select 54
First Semi Final Israel 69 Spain 78
Second Semi Final Italy 68 Poland 70

SUNDAY
5th/6th Play Off (Second game) Richmond upon Thames College Select 78 England 63
3rd/4th Place Italy 63 Israel 76
FINAL Spain 72 Poland 57

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Richmond College students make the grade - IB Diploma results 2009

Posted: 14/07/2009

Students completing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma course at Richmond upon Thames College are celebrating this summer, having received outstanding results. For the fourth year running the college has achieved well above the IB global pass rate, with 95.7% or 45 out of 47 students achieving the full diploma. The four top scoring students, with grades from 40 to 44, are expected to enrol at Cambridge, Durham, Warwick and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London (SOAS), with others destined for prestigious universities across the country in subjects including Medicine, Law, Marine Biology and Politics. Each year since the college started offering the diploma, students have found places either at Oxford or Cambridge, or both.

Richmond upon Thames College is the only state funded tertiary college in London to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma, which is an internationally recognised broad-based qualification offered as an alternative to A Levels. Students choose to study a variety of courses over the two years, which allows them to retain the broadest range of academic subjects, develop their critical thinking and intercultural understanding. Stephen Winfield, the College’s IB Coordinator, said, “We are delighted that our students have, yet again, achieved such convincing results. They have gained 100% pass rates in the majority of the subjects offered in the programme.”

Two of the top four highest achieving students came from Richmond Borough schools, Marie-Astrid Purton, from Christ’s school in Richmond, achieved 42 points and Samuel Trevelyan, from Hampton Community College, achieved 41 points. Samuel said, "The International Baccalaureate Diploma has been an unique experience and I found it a challenging course with an interesting international emphasis.” Samuel is going on to study Law at Durham University. Sergio Lamela came to the college from Phoenix High School in Shepherds Bush. He scored 40 points and will be going to School of Oriental and African Studies in London (SOAS) to study Chinese after a gap year. He said, “I was initially attracted to the IB because I wanted the opportunity to keep studying a wide range of subjects. On the whole, I found it an enjoyable experience although the course was quite challenging at times.” Anna Claeys, who came to the college from Tiffin Girls School in Kingston and achieved the top score in this year’s cohort, with 44 points out of a possible 45, is going to study History at King’s College, Cambridge after taking a gap year in which she plans to travel to Cuba and Spain. She said, “I wanted to take the IB because I was undecided about which subjects to pick for A Level, which worked out really well as I enjoyed them all. I've loved the course and my time at Richmond upon Thames College, both of which I'll miss next year!”

Chris Perkins, the College’s IB Director, concluded, “The students gained not only excellent results, but the course broadened their horizons and changed their lives. We are pleased to see an increasing number of these students are coming from local secondary schools, and that they are seeing the IB as a very worthwhile educational route to take. All of the staff involved in delivering the IB programme teach on a wide variety of courses and have given hours of preparation, training and individual supervision to students. We are particularly gratified that the College has maintained the high standards of teaching and learning it established during the first four years of the programme, and look forward to building on our achievements and expanding the courses we offer in the next few years.”

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Future stars shine at basketball

Posted: 06/07/2009

From 10th – 12th July, Richmond upon Thames College, one of the largest providers of education for 16-19 year olds in the country, in partnership with Kingston College, will be hosting its annual coaching conference and international junior tournament – Future Stars 2009.

This year’s Future Stars basketball tournament will be held at Kingston College and will feature an exciting line-up of Under-18 Division A teams from Spain, Italy, Israel along with Division B teams from Poland and England, all of whom will be competing later in July at the 2009 U18 European Championships. Completing this outstanding list will be the Richmond upon Thames College-London United team comprising top young London based players. The opening game between England and Poland will take place at 4.00pm on Friday 10th July, with the final taking place at 8.00pm on Sunday 12th July.

This year’s keynote speaker at the Coaching Conference is Pepu Hernandez who is the highly acclaimed former head coach of the Spanish National Men’s team that won the World Championships in 2006. He will be joined by Neven Spahija who is the current head coach of Pamesa Valencia and Bryan Jones who is head of sports and coaching development at the University of Central Lancashire. The conference runs from Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th July.

The event’s main sponsors are the Polish National Tourist Office and the Malopolskie Tourist Board, along with Adidas, England Basketball, London Basketball, Basketball Coaches Association, Sports Coach UK, The Luol Deng Foundation and Tiger Energy Drink. Media partners include Discover Poland Magazine, Panorama and Express Polish.

Tickets for the tournament and conference are available through the Future Stars website at www.futurestars.uk.com.

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RuTC Training Solutions for local businesses launched

Posted: 29/06/2009

Local employers were invited to Richmond upon Thames College last week to mark the launch of ‘Training Solutions’, the new name for the all of the colleges’ employer responsive training.

The event was attended by employers who are currently benefiting from training provided by the team, including the Notting Hill Housing Trust, Integer Ltd and Richmond Borough Council. Nick Taimitarha, CEO of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce was also present to lend his support. Also present were members of the college Governors and Senior Leadership team.

David Warnes, Skills and Enterprise Manager said “Training Solutions brings together over 20 years of experience in delivering quality support and training to employers in a way that is easily accessible and geared towards meeting their needs in these tough economic times”

Training Solutions works with large and small businesses to fully understand their needs before agreeing a tailor made training solution that is both beneficial and cost effective. The range of solutions includes Apprenticeship and Train to Gain programmes as well as tailor made bespoke training.

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Supported Learning Students crowned Surrey County League Champions

Posted: 23/06/2009

Last week Richmond upon Thames College’s Supported Learning Football Team became Surrey County League Champions after a successful campaign and play-off final with Merton College. RuTC, winners of the Friday 6-a-side LDD League and Merton College, winners of the Wednesday 6-a-side LDD league played a thrilling final to determine the overall County League winners.

Saif Al-ani (Supported Learning student and player) said “Consistency paid off for us in the end. It’s been a great competition and a lot of hard work and effort went into it from the team and we loved the chance to compete against such good opponents.”

John White, one of the team’s organisers, said “Richmond upon Thames College and the Supported Learning Football team in particular were delighted to have Fit For Sport as the team’s sponsors enabling us to purchase a new Pro Star kit in which we proudly won the Surrey County Championship.”

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Art students get a taste of exhibiting

Posted: 22/06/2009

Art students at Richmond upon Thames College got the chance to exhibit in the colleges annual Art Exhibition. Students from all the college’s art courses, both vocational and AS/A2, exhibited work they have completed whilst studying at the college.

Before the exhibition opened to the public, students and their parents attended a private view on Thursday 18th June and were joined by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ben Khosa, and the college Principal, David Ansell. A cheque for £200 was presented to Off the Record, a counselling service for young people based in Twickenham, which was raised by the art students at their annual Fashion Show earlier this year.

Ex Grey Court student, Miles Brown, who has just finished studying the BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design, was presented with a £50 voucher for winning the competition to design the exhibition flyers and poster.

Richmond upon Thames College recently won the 2009 Good Schools Guide A Level Award for Boys taking Art & Design (Critical Studies) at A level at an English School.

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Richmond College student part of prestigious online exhibition

Posted: 09/06/2009

Richmond upon Thames College student, Lily Goodchild has had one of her art works included in the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts A Level Summer Online Exhibition. Lily submitted 2 pieces of work, both of which were shortlisted in 120 items out of over 1000 submissions, an extraordinary achievement in itself.

Lily came to Richmond upon Thames College from Teddington School to study A levels in Fine Art, History of Art and English Language and Literature.

Her piece, ‘When You and Sleep Escape Me’, was created for a self-chosen college project on depicting comfort zones. Lily said “This is a portrait of a friend asleep - it is an intimate, comfortable situation where the person is exposed, but does not fear it. I used song lyrics that I associated with each individual I created portraits of. In this case, 'Cloudbusting' by Kate Bush. In my work I often depict myself, my friends or family because they are the most accessible figures to draw from.”

Another RuTC student, Robert Botchway, who is studying a BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Top 100 Young Brits at Art 2009, out of a total of 1639 pieces. The list is organised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The awards ceremony will take place at the South Bank Centre in London on the 2nd July. Robert came to the college from St Mark’s School in Hounslow.

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Richmond College sports coach named Basketball Coach of the Year

Posted: 09/06/2009

Richmond upon Thames College’s Basketball Academy’s Head Coach, Jack Majewski, has been named as the 2008/2009 England Basketball Men’s Division Four (Midlands South) Coach of the Year. The award recognises the fact that Jack Majewski led the young Richmond team not only to the runners up position in the Men’s Midlands South Division, but also to the last four teams in the Division Four Play Offs, where they were narrowly beaten in the semi final by Loughborough University. As a result of this success the team have gained promotion and will play in the Men’s Division Three next season.

The Richmond team was made up mainly of U18 players and was often to be found playing against teams containing men nearly twice their age. But Jack Majewski’s philosophy of, “if you are good enough, you are old enough,” was resoundingly proved accurate as he led his players to victory after victory across the Midlands South region. Dedicating himself to training sessions four times a week and to matches every weekend, Jack Majewski ensured that he brought the best out of each and every one of his players and is justly rewarded for all his hard work by the England Basketball award.

A former Polish national youth team coach, Jack Majewski set up the Richmond upon Thames College Basketball Academy in 2001 and during the last 8 years has led the Academy basketball teams to many great successes. In an interview, Richmond student, Oliver Robinson who has been coached by Jack Majewski for the last two years, said, “Jack is a really inspiring coach. He believes in you and that gives you confidence. When you are on the court you want to play well, as much for him as for yourself, so as to justify his faith in you. It’s thanks to his constant support and encouragement that my basketball game has improved so much over the last two years.”

Jack Majewski now takes the young Basketball Academy team into Men’s Division Three next season where they will face tough opposition from much older and much more experienced teams, but he is not at all daunted by the prospect. “The whole purpose of a Basketball Academy is to develop good players into great players and to do this, they need to be stretched and challenged in every match. With hard work and encouragement, even young players can achieve amazing things, and this will be our aim.”

Jack Majewski is the project manager for the Future Stars 2009 basketball conference and tournament which is organised by Richmond upon Thames College in partnership with Kingston College. This event takes place at Kingston College from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 July and incorporates an international U18s tournament.

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Student recognised as RuTC’s Best Learner

Posted: 04/06/2009

Last week, Eli Asllani, who is studying a BTEC First Diploma in Travel and Tourism at Richmond upon Thames College, was chosen as the college’s ‘Best Learner’. The award was presented to her at a ceremony at the House of Lords.

Each college in South London had been asked to nominate a student from their college by the Committee of South London Principals (COSLP) and Eli was put forward by her teacher, Jenny Sloan. At the ceremony each student received a certificate in recognition of their achievement and the Principal from their college gave a short speech on their special achievements and why they were nominated.

College Principal, David Ansell said, “The House of Lords’ terrace overlooking the Thames was a suitably impressive location for a most impressive Richmond upon Thames College student, Eli, whose work rate and attitude to her studies made her a deserving winner of our College’s Best Learner award. Eli is a credit both to herself and the College.”

Eli came to Richmond upon Thames College in 2006 to undergo diagnostic testing for literacy and numeracy. She then spent two weeks at summer school working for her Entry Level 3 in IT, Literacy and Numeracy, all of which she achieved. In September 2006 she enrolled on the Foundation (Level 1) GNVQ in Travel & Tourism, where she proved herself to be a conscientious learner and achieved a Merit by Summer 2007, as well as passing Key Skills in IT and Communications at Level 1.

In September 2007 Eli enrolled on the BTEC First Diploma in Travel & Tourism, but ill-health and some difficult personal circumstances impacted on her studies and she had to leave after a term. However, she worked for the remainder of the year and showed great courage and determination in reapplying for the First Diploma in September 2008.

Since returning to college, Eli has demonstrated both growth in maturity and huge commitment to her studies. She attends learning support to ensure that she is able to produce her assignments to the best of her ability and is keen to support other members of her class during group work. She strives to meet deadlines and her motivation, participation in class, attendance, punctuality and enthusiasm are boundless. She sets herself very high standards and always meets them as is evidenced by the letters of congratulation sent by several members of staff across a range of subjects. The whole department supports her nomination unreservedly.

Eli will be starting the Gateway to Travel Course Level 3 at the college in September.

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Richmond students are true blues

Posted: 29/05/2009

Nine students from Richmond upon Thames College have successfully secured conditional offers at Oxford and Cambridge Universities for this year’s intake.
All of the students attend college as full time students and three of them previously attended Richmond borough schools – two came from Waldegrave and one came from Teddington School.

This year, eight of the hopeful students are studying AS/A2 levels, with four of them studying the newest AS/A2 level, the Extended Project Qualification. The other is studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, an academically challenging course which is offered by the college as an alternative to AS/A2 levels. Richmond upon Thames College is the only state college in the whole of the London area to offer this course.
A further nine students, two from Teddington, have also received offers to study medicine all over the UK, including St George’s (University of London) and the University of Manchester.
Six of these students are studying on the IB Diploma and the other three are taking AS/A2 levels. Four of the nine students left the college last year, but have still received help in their applications to reapply for this year’s intake.

The college sends more students to university from a single site than any other school or college in the UK and in 2008, 1145 students went on to higher education at universities all over the UK, 141 of these went to prestigious ‘Russell Group’ universities and 229 went to UK universities ranked in the top 200 in the world.

College Principal, David Ansell said, “This is a splendid achievement based on hard work as well as determination to gain places at such sought-after universities”. He added, “I wish them every success for what lies ahead and I am in no doubt they will do Richmond upon Thames College proud in their future studies and careers”.

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Students look to the future

Posted: 06/05/2009

Richmond upon Thames College held a very successful Progression Day on 29th April for students nearing the end of their first year at college.

The Progression Day combined a Higher Education Fair and a Work and Training Fair and the purpose of the day was to encourage students to think about their future options.

77 universities from all around the UK and 44 guest speakers were involved in the Higher Education Fair with the aim of raising awareness of the many degree courses on offer. Last year Richmond upon Thames College sent 1145 students to university. Students were able to meet representatives from the universities including local universities such as Kingston University, Roehampton University, and St Mary’s University College. Students also had the opportunity to attend specialist talks from visiting speakers from local universities on subjects ranging from Art and Design to History to Nursing.

15 employers and organisations were represented at the Work and Training Fair, including worldwide hotel company Marriott, nursery chain Teddies Nurseries, and Richmond Theatre for those interested in the performing arts. The aim of the Fair was to give students a flavour of the range of employment and training opportunities available to them when they leave college.

David Ansell, Richmond upon Thames College Principal, described the event as “a vital part of the work we do to support our students in preparing for the next stage of their lives. Richmond borough is fortunate in having one of the few colleges large enough to attract such an impressive range of organisations to a local venue”.

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RuTC student highly commended at the Workforce Development Awards 2009

Posted: 28/04/2009

Kerri Pritchard, an advanced apprentice studying at Richmond upon Thames College was a runner-up in the 2009 Workforce Development Awards, receiving a ‘highly commended’ award in the Advanced Apprentice of the Year category.

Kerri is studying for a NVQ Level 3 in Leisure Management and works at Hatch End Pool, one of several centres operated by Leisure Connection Ltd. Judges praised her ‘very strong journey of personal attainment’ as Kerri has progressed from an apprentice at Harrow Leisure Centre, to a Duty Manager and then to her current role as Operations Manager. She now plans to go to university to study a BA in Leisure Management.

Kerri commented, “I have proven that no matter what you think your abilities are, if you have drive, determination and ambition you can succeed”.

The awards ceremony was held at the Park Plaza Hotel in London last Thursday (23rd April) and was hosted by TV’s Sarah Beeny.

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Richmond upon Thames College student part of winning England Basketball team

Posted: 28/04/2009

Talented Richmond upon Thames College basketball player, Oliver Robinson, has just returned from an International Basketball Tournament in France where he was part of the England U18 team that won the prestigious Cherbourg Cup, defeating the national teams from the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Scotland and Tunisia as well as club sides Reading Rockets and AS Cherbourg.

18 year old Oliver, who plays for Richmond upon Thames College in both their National League Division Four Men’s and U18 teams, was selected to join the England U18 training squad in December 2008.

The Cherbourg Tournament was part of the team’s warm-up for the U18 European Championships which will take place in Bosnia at the end of July and was Oliver’s first experience of international basketball representing his country. The team next go to Copenhagen in May.

Richmond upon Thames College coach, Jack Majewski said, “I’ve coached Oliver now for two years and I’ve watched him grow from a very good player into an outstanding player. He has become one of my most promising players. I am hoping that he will be able to go on from the Richmond upon Thames College team to play basketball professionally for a European Club within the next year or so.”

Oliver, who is at the college studying A Levels in Psychology, History and PE, also finds time to coach aspiring young basketball players at a local school in between his own playing commitments. He said: “It’s important to find time to encourage other kids to take up the sport of basketball and to point them in the direction of a local club where they can be given the same opportunities that I’ve been lucky enough to have had.”

At the beginning of July, Richmond upon Thames College, in partnership with London United Basketball Club and Kingston College, will host the Future Stars International U18 Tournament which will take place at Kingston College from 10th – 12th July. This Tournament will showcase talented young basketball players from all over Europe as the England team take on the national U18 teams from Spain, Latvia, Italy and Poland as well as the host team from Richmond upon Thames College. Full details of the 2009 Tournament will shortly appear on www.futurestars.uk.com

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25th Anniversary Celebration of Apple Tree Café and Serious Snacks

Posted: 21/04/2009

This year, Richmond upon Thames College is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its onsite Apple Tree Café and Serious Snacks shop that are run by teachers and students from the college’s supported learning department. To mark this milestone, the college is organising a celebration reception on Thursday 7th May from 5.30pm which will be attended by the Mayor of Richmond, college governors, representatives from employment services, employers, current and past students and staff along with those who support the college’s supported learning students in the community.

The event aims to recognise the achievements of young people and adults with learning difficulties in learning the skills for working in retail and catering and also in developing employability skills for other areas of work. Over the years, the café and shop have provided opportunities for approximately 400 students to learn these skills. Through the courses of the supported learning programme area, most have also progressed to individual work experience opportunities within and beyond the college. Close liaison with supported employment agencies in the boroughs of Richmond and Hounslow has led to paid employment for many of the students and the café and the shop exemplify collaboration and team work between volunteers, older and younger adults and staff. Customers include staff of the college, professionals, peers, family members and students from link schools.

If you have any past connections with the college’s supported learning students and would like to come along and join in the celebrations, please contact Laura, Marketing Department, at lvile@rutc.ac.uk.

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Ex Richmond students shine on the rugby world stage

Posted: 20/04/2009

Two of Richmond upon Thames College’s (RuTC) ex students, full back Delon Armitage and prop Joe Marler, have recently been taking the rugby world by storm after being selected this season for the England Senior and U20 teams respectively. London Irish player Delon came to RuTC in 2002 to study a GNVQ in Leisure and Tourism whilst Harlequins Academy player Joe came in 2007 to study an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (Rugby).

Delon Armitage started playing rugby at the age of 8 for Richmond RFC, before moving to France and representing France U16’s. When he returned to England he played for the England U19's. From there he progressed to the U21 squad and played in the 2005 IRB World Sevens tournament.

Last season saw Delon make the step up to England 'A' with his inclusion in the England Saxons Summer tour to Canada to participate in the Churchill Cup. He emerged as one of England's highlights from the 2008 Investec Challenge series as one of only three members of Martin Johnson’s team to play every minute of all four of England’s matches, being voted England fan’s Man of the Match in his debut game. He impressed again at the 2009 RBS Six Nations where he was shortlisted for the RBS Six Nations Player of the Tournament. He has since become a regular for Martin Johnson’s England team. Delon is the first native West Indian to play rugby union for England. His brother, Steffon also plays for England and they became the first brothers to play for England at the same time in fourteen years.

Joe was selected for the England U18 Six Nations squad for 2006/07 and went on to represent England at the U18 Six Nations in 2007/08, winning the Grand Slam at the tournament. During the U18 Six Nations he was chosen to captain the side against Wales, and again later on the U18 tour of Argentina in 2008. Joe has now been called up to join the England Under 20's squad to compete in the U20 Six Nations, and in the IRB Junior World Championship in Japan later this season. He joined the Harlequins Academy full time in June 2008, and made his first A league appearance against Wasps this season. He has been playing for National League Three club Worthing RFC during the 2008/9 season.

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International Baccalaureate Diploma Success for Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 20/04/2009

The official league results for schools and colleges offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma were recently released and subsequently published in the Financial Times at the end of March.

Richmond upon Thames College is delighted to be the top ranked non-selective state institution in England. The college also outperforms many notable independent selective schools and colleges in the country with its ranking of 6th place for students who achieve 38 points or above, equivalent to 5 A levels at grade A, which is the entry points score required by the country’s top universities including Oxford and Cambridge. Overall the IB students achieved an average QCA point score of 1,069. These students were the college’s third IB cohort and achieved a pass rate of 86.7% which is well above the global pass rate of 78.3%.

Students studying the IB choose from a variety of courses which allows them to retain the broadest range of academic subjects along with developing their critical thinking and intercultural understanding. The course is studied over two years and a maximum of 45 points are awarded.

Past student, Emma Withycombe, joined the college in September 2006 to study the IB having previously attended Richmond borough schools - Collis Primary followed by Teddington School where she gained 12.5 A* GCSEs. She was the college’s top achieving IB student in 2008.

Emma says, “I am surprised and delighted to receive the top IB marks for the college of 44 out of a possible 45. I was first attracted to the IB because I wanted to keep on studying the range of subjects which I enjoyed at school, and found the course brilliant. The diversity of IB students at the college is incredible and you can learn so much about different cultures. The Creativity, Action and Service element of the course gives you so many opportunities to try things you would never normally do.” Emma is now studying medicine at Clare College, Cambridge.

Richmond upon Thames started the IB Diploma course in 2004 with just 24 students, however over the years the intake has grown significantly and in September 2008, over 116 students enrolled on the course. The college is now ranked 14th place out of a total of 62 schools and colleges in England, compared to 36th place in 2007.

David Ansell, Principal of Richmond upon Thames College, commented, “One of the advantages of a large tertiary college is its ability to offer a wide range of educational opportunities. The IB provides a wonderful opportunity for Richmond students with a broad range of talent and an interest in the wider world to excel and to open doors for themselves to the best universities both at home and abroad”.

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RuTC students ‘Dare2Dance’

Posted: 17/03/2009

Last week, 30 female students from Richmond upon Thames College joined 50 others from South Thames and Kingston College’s for the Dare2Dance Empowerment Day, held at South Thames College. The event was run by Independence and funded by Pro-Active South London and London Winter of Sport.

The Dare2Dance programme focuses on getting young women involved in physical activity through Hip Hop and Street dance, aiming to increase their participation in dance and sport.

The day consisted of taster sessions, group activities, presentations and information exchange. The girls started the day with a film on the history of street dance and its origins in the 1920s and then went on to participate in workshops in Parkour and street dance, covering krumping, breaking and pop-locking. The event was led by two street dance experts, Yami Lovemberg and Sunanda Biswas, alongside professional dancer Suzette Brissett. Suzette is a member of the Nike D’Clash Crew, an all female dance group which was selected through a fierce national competition.

The RuTC students really enjoyed the day, Amanda Gurruchaga, a first year International Baccalaureate student from Teddington School, commented, “The Empowerment Day was great fun. I thought it would be a good experience to try new styles of dance and Parkour. I already do dance but I am really interested in more hip-hop styles now”. Ariana Khushal, an ex Whitton School student studying a BTEC Introductory Diploma in Business, Retail and Administration said, “I love any Sport so I thought I could learn something new and have fun and I really enjoyed participating in the day”.

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RuTC awarded Academy Provider status

Posted: 11/03/2009

Richmond upon Thames College has been recognised for offering the highest standard of health and fitness training.
Along with Kingston College, we were awarded Academy Provider status by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, an initiative which aims to improve skills training in the industry.

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Youth Parliament Leaders Elected

Posted: 26/02/2009

Over 4500 Richmond borough youngsters chose RuTC student Umaru Saidu as their representative on the national Youth Parliament this week with Holly Dryden-Jones (Waldegrave School for Girls) and Cynthia Adebiyi-Yekinni (also an RuTC student) as his deputies.

Quoted in the Richmond and Twickenham Times, Umaru thanked those that had voted for him and said, "the issues I will be tackling will include our image in the media, what we together can do to change it and what should be changed, how to input respect for ourselves and for our peers and also lowering transport costs. I hope to prove with the youth forum and my deputies, youth parliament is not just about image but actiion too".

Gillian Fogg, VP for Student and Staff Services said “I am delighted that two of our students have been successful in the elections for the Youth Parliament. Umaru Saidu has been nominated as the Youth
Parliament Member for the Borough of Richmond and Cynthia Adebiyi-Yekinni has been elected as one of two deputies. Umaru is a valued member of the college community, he enjoys college life and actively participates in the creative writing club and the athletics academy. Cynthia is a member of the Partnership Scheme here at college. On behalf of everyone at Richmond upon Thames College, we wish Umaru and Cynthia every success.”

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Ex RuTC student a sporting superstar!

Posted: 20/02/2009

Delon came to Richmond upon Thames college in 2001 to study an intermediate GNVQ in Leisure and Tourism and was a star member of our Rugby Academy.

Delon started playing rugby at the age of 8 for Richmond RFC, he then moved to France where he represented France U16’s. When he returned to England he played for the England U19's. From there he progressed to the U21 squad and the IRB World Sevens tournament, 2005.

Last season saw Delon make the step up to England 'A' with his inclusion in the England Saxons Summer tour to Canada to participate in the Churchill Cup. He is now part of Martin Johnson's team and regularly plays for England. He made his debut in November in 2008.

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Rebecca's road to success!

Posted: 20/02/2009

Rebecca Romero started at Richmond upon Thames College in 1996 and studied A Levels in PE, Psychology and English Language and Literature. She was also a member of the football team and went to weightlifting club.
On leaving the college she studied a sports degree at St Mary's University College Twickenham.

She is the first British Olympic athlete to compete in the summer Olympics in two different sports, in 2004 she won a silver medal for the quadruple skulls and then in 2008 she won a gold medal in cycling.

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Dedicated followers of fashion

Posted: 13/02/2009

Last month, students studying on Vocational Courses in Art and Design at Richmond upon Thames College had the opportunity to show their skills and imagination in their Annual Fashion Show. The exciting and diverse range of work presented included sculptural work, masks, body adornments and performance art responding to themes such as body distortion, spy wear and insect masks. Fashion and Textile students produced a wide array of garments and evening wear responding to themes that included ‘make do and mend’, ‘Shock of the new’ and ‘Decoration and Surface’.

The event also included the projection of graphic images highlighting the issues and problems experienced by young people in society today. All performances were staged in aid of “Off the Record”, a Twickenham based organisation dedicated to supporting young people with problems through the provision of counselling. Generous audiences showed their appreciation by donating over £200.00 and the students were pleased to be able to turn their hard work, creativity and enthusiasm into cash for a worthy cause.

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RuTC students mean business

Posted: 24/11/2008

Students from Richmond upon Thames College today signed up to compete in the UK’s largest enterprise challenge for secondary schools and colleges.

The Make Your Mark Challenge is a one-day, national enterprise competition for students aged 14 – 19 and kick-started Global Entrepreneurship Week (17 – 23 November), aiming to improve young people’s enterprise capabilities.

Students from the Business School were challenged to come up with unique and inspiring ideas in response to a secret brief launched online at www.makeyourmarkchallenge.org.uk on Monday 17 November.

Local businesses including the refurbishment company, Lakehouse, together with the Richmond Education Business Partnership were on hand to judge their ideas and declare the winning team.

Dave Warnes, Enterprise and Skills Manager said: “We’re delighted to be taking part in the Make Your Mark Challenge. It is a brilliant way of providing students with a hands on experience of enterprise, giving them time and space to be creative and to develop ideas. It improves valuable skills such as team work, problem-solving, financial literacy and dealing with risks.”

As well as proving that they’re among the most enterprising young minds in the country, the students were competing for the chance to win at a regional level or for the national prize of up to £3,000, as well as £100 in high street vouchers for each member, to help Richmond upon Thames College students make their ideas a reality.

This was just one of several events to mark Enterprise Week, which also included a recruitment and skills fair for potential personal trainers who want to start their own business.

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A Swedish experience

Posted: 24/11/2008

Richmond upon Thames College (RuTC) is not just a successful provider of education for local 16-19 and adult students, the campus also plays host to the Swedish School Sixth Form (its lower years are at a location in Barnes). For the last two years, the college’s Employer Engagement Office has found suitable work experience placements for some of the Swedish students. The placements last 3 weeks and students work in a variety of places including shops, hairdressers and day nurseries. Some of the students have taken support roles within the college itself which has proved to be very successful.

The students have received positive and encouraging reports from their employers, which have even included potential future job offers. It has proved to be a very successful partnership between the college and the Swedish school. Jan Dackenburg, Headmaster of the Swedish School in London commented, “this is a unique working experience which is very popular with all the students”.

Student Victoria Hasather said “I worked in Community Sports, a part of Richmond upon Thames College. I was really pleased to have such a good work placement. Sometimes the work was hard, but there were always people around to make the work easier. At Community Sports I answered the phone, worked on reception and helped teams get ready for matches and training. The best thing about the place was the relationship between co-workers. I liked the feeling that they wanted to help us make progress in the language and help get a good qualification for the future. Everyday was different, sometimes with a lot of surprises; I even got the opportunity to play with the ladies academy football team in a football match. That was maybe not what I expected when I first arrived here. I would absolutely do it again, and I can recommend everyone to apply for this. It may be a one-time opportunity”

Another student, Victoria Sikstrom, who worked in the Supported Learning Department and the Employer Engagement Office, added “I liked the variety of working both with students and in the office. The staff were lovely and were always there for me, helping me if I did not know where to go or showing me what to do when I didn’t know.”

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On the right side of the law!

Posted: 24/11/2008

Last week Richmond upon Thames College Law students had some tough judges at their Review, Assessment, Planning (RAP) week project competition, in the shape of two Twickenham Police Officers!

The students had been set the task of creating a short role play highlighting the powers of the police to stop and search, then arrest and detain suspects. The event was the culmination of an exercise set for all AS Law students in our first ever RAP week. The students were split into small groups and had to decide on the format of their presentation and allocate roles so that everyone was involved. Each class picked a winning team, and then the finalists performed their role plays to a crowded college’s theatre.

Two police officers from Twickenham station came to judge the event along with the college’s Principal Kevin Watson. The prize for the winning team is to attend the custody suite at Twickenham station and have their role play videoed which will then be used as a teaching tool for future classes. The team will have exclusive use of the suite to film, including the cells and interview room so they can experience what its like to be 'booked in' as a suspect.

One of the winning students, Marko Vujnovic said “I found the experience thoroughly enjoyable. The police acting as judges made the occasion more realistic and it was interesting to see how much of the law everyone had grasped so far. I feel I have learnt a lot from the experience”.

The winning AS Level students were Gabriela Chappell (captain), Dilmeet Grover, James Kamara, Rosie Singleton and Marko Vujnovic.

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Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the 'Windrush' - a Black History Month event at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 22/10/2008

George Mason one of the original 492 passengers to arrive on the MV Empire Windrush from the West Indies in 1948 visited the Richmond upon Thames College on Tuesday 21st October. He met a group of 30 A level students and staff to share his life history and his experiences of settling in the UK and raising his family. Originally from Jamaica, George had joined the RAF as part of the Commonwealth support for the Allied Forces in the Second World War and it was to re-enlist that brought him back to the UK. Arriving at Tilbury dock on June 22, 1948 George was interviewed by Pathe News and was asked what he hoped to find in England. Mr Mason replied, “A warm welcome”.

Six decades on he conveyed to students the experiences of settling into post-war Britain and what it has meant for him and his family giving real insights into his life in the RAF and since he has retired as a former deputy mayor and local district councillor in Oxfordshire.

Mr Mason was asked some searching questions by the students and he reaffirmed:
“I have absolutely no regrets about making the journey on the Windrush. The people of Britain and Oxfordshire gave me the warm welcome I was looking for - and I have felt proud to serve my mother country”

The event was organised by College Vice Principal Michael Rennie who had seen an article about Mr Mason in the Richmond and Twickenham Times’ sister paper The Oxford Times and made contact with Mr Mason to discover that he had in fact taught George’s youngest daughter, Pauline, A level at a college in Oxfordshire in 1991. George Mason’s visit was part of the College’s contribution to Black History Month.

Mr Rennie said, “To have a passenger from the ‘Windrush’ brings history alive for students who are studying this topic in their A levels and is a very special experience for them to share with their friends and families.”

Black History Month - George Mason

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Sporting Champion and Olympic athlete Emily Freeman visits Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 20/10/2008

Sporting Champion and Olympic 200 metre athlete Emily Freeman visited Richmond upon Thames College, Twickenham this week to talk to the A Level PE students. The visit was organised and funded by Sport England as part of their Sporting Champions initiative.

Emily spoke to a total of 125 students across 5 classes. She discussed her progression from school to club to elite competition. Emily covered topics the students have studied such as training, nutrition, funding and the 2008 Olympics. The students were invited to ask Emily questions after she had finished speaking. Guy Wnuk, a programme manager for PE at the college, said “Emily’s visit gave the students a great chance to see the theory they have learnt applied in practice with an elite athlete. The students were able to think about their forth coming assignments to and ask her questions relating to them’”.

Emily is coached by Brian Hall, who also teaches PE at the college and trains RuTC’s Athletics Academy. He also went to Beijing with her during the summer. In the afternoon Emily trained at the college alongside the Athletics Academy. She has been suffering from a back injury so this was Emily’s first training session since returning from Beijing.

Emily said “I was really nervous beforehand as I haven’t spoken to such a large group of students or this age, but they all asked really good questions and it was really great to help them put into practice what they have learnt in class”.

Sporting Champion Emily Freeman

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Richmond upon Thames College students the best in the country

Posted: 29/09/2008

Richmond upon Thames College recently received confirmation that 5 of its students achieved amongst the top marks in certain AS and A2 level subjects.

Local student Thomas Hine was amongst the top ten students according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body. Thomas sat his A level in History (Early Modern) earlier this summer at Richmond upon Thames College and the results, issued this month, show that out of 1,117 candidates, Thomas achieved one of the highest overall marks. Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s Managing Director, said, “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulation to Thomas”. Thomas, who attended Orleans Park School in Twickenham before going to Richmond upon Thames College achieved four A grades in his History, Classical Civilisation, French and Physics A levels. Thomas added to these outstanding results by gaining a merit in his Physics Advanced Extension Award and distinctions in his History and French Advanced Extension Awards. Thomas is now going on to read Ancient and Modern History at Oxford University’s Christ Church. Thomas commented, “I very much enjoyed my time at Richmond upon Thames College and would thoroughly recommend it. The teaching staff are very good and the support for students applying for Oxford and Cambridge is excellent”.

Terri Desmonds came to Richmond upon Thames College from Holland Park School with 8 GCSEs, 6 at A*/A. She gained excellent exam results this summer, with A grades in A2 Photography, Biology, English Language and AS Level Law. She was amongst those students who received one of the top five marks in AS/A2 level Photography out of AQA’s 4,035 candidates.

Marc Sauchelli Toran came to Richmond upon Thames College with 8 GCSEs, 5 at A*/A from Grey Court School, Ham. He also gained impressive results, scoring 4 A grades in his summer AS Level exams in Chemistry, Physics, Geography and Mathematics. He was amongst the top ten who achieved the highest overall mark in Mathematics out of Edexcel’s 33,784 candidates. Marc says “I have always enjoyed Maths. The work was new for me which is one of the reasons why I am enjoying the course. I rely on the workshops when I struggle with homework, here the teachers help students with basically anything related to the topic they teach. I have not been too often as I try to do the homework by myself.”

Faith-Louise Smith came from Sunbury Manor School with 7 GCSEs, 1 at grade A. This summer she passed AS Levels in Travel and Tourism, Business and Psychology. She achieved the highest overall mark in AS Level Travel and Tourism out of Edexcel’s 972 candidates.

Hashim Hazara came from Longford Community School with 6 GCSEs (1 at grade A). He gained 3 grade A’s at AS Level in Government and Politics, Law and English Literature. He was amongst the top ten who achieved the highest overall mark in AS Level Government and Politics, out of Edexcel’s 9,846 candidates.

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Olympic and Rugby successes at the college

Posted: 03/09/2008

Richmond upon Thames College celebrated two sporting successes last week with a former student, Rebecca Romero, winning two gold medals at the Cycling World Championships in Manchester and the Rugby Academy finishing in the top 20 schools in London for rugby performance.

Rebecca came to the college after attending a local borough school, Waldegrave School for Girls, to study for her A Levels in the late 1990s and it was while studying PE that she was talent spotted for her endurance capacity. Her teacher, Carol Gordon, remembers her as a “quiet but determined student who accepted any challenge set”. She started rowing whilst still studying and experienced great success, competing in the 2004 Olympic Games, winning silver in the quadruple skulls. Her success continued and she won gold in the Rowing World Championships the following year.

However a back injury forced her to quit rowing, instead of giving up she turned her hand to cycling and has never looked back! Within 2 years she had won Silver in the World Championships, an impressive achievement, and has set her sights on the Beijing Olympic Games this summer. On Thursday 27th March she outshone the competition to win the gold medal at the Cycling World Championships, putting this summers Olympic Games podium firmly within her grasp. The British Olympic Association say that if she is placed on the podium at this summer’s event she will be the first British Summer Olympian to win 2 medals in 2 different sports. On Friday she pedalled her way to gold in the team pursuit in a world best. Rebecca is a great inspiration to all the sports students studying at the college and proves to everyone that dreams can come true.

Richmond upon Thames College’s Rugby Academy also celebrated success, being placed in the top 20 schools and colleges in London for rugby performance for the 1st time in the academy’s 11 year history. The college is the top FE College in London and the South East due to their impressive run of 11 wins.

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RuTC student amongst top ten in country

Posted: 26/08/2008

Local student Thomas Hine was amongst the top ten students according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.

Thomas sat his A level in History (Early Modern) earlier this summer at Richmond upon Thames College and the results, issued this month, show that out of 1,117 candidates, Thomas achieved one of the highest overall marks.

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s Managing Director, said, “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their exams. We send our congratulation to Thomas”.

Thomas who attended Orleans Park School in Twickenham before going to Richmond upon Thames College achieved four A grades in his History, Classical Civilisation, French and Physics A levels. Thomas added to these outstanding results by gaining a merit in his Physics Advanced Extension Award and distinctions in his History and French Advanced Extension Awards. Thomas is now going on to read Ancient and Modern History at Oxford University’s Christ Church.

Thomas commented, “I very much enjoyed my time at Richmond upon Thames College and would thoroughly recommend it. The teaching staff are very good and the support for students applying for Oxford and Cambridge is excellent”.

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Results Day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 14/08/2008

Students and staff at Richmond upon Thames College had much to celebrate on the release of this year’s A level results. The pass rate of 97.6 per cent exceeded last year’s record figure whilst the percentage of (the highest) A-B grades rose to 44.5 per cent. One hundred per cent pass rates were recorded in over 30 subjects. All 110 Law entrants passed; 261 of 262 Art entries were passes; all bar 4 of the 378 English entries were passes; no student failed a foreign language (120 entries) or a performing arts subject (76 successes across Drama, Theatre Studies, Dance, Music and Music Technology); 141 of 142 Media and Film Studies students gained a pass; of 216 Mathematics and Further Mathematics entries there were 212 passes, 120 of them at A or B; 100% successes were achieved in subjects ranging from Computing to Geography, Classical Civilisation to Health and Social Care, Travel and Tourism to Religious Studies.

Principal Kevin Watson was understandably pleased with the result praising both the hard work and talent of the students and the commitment and expertise of staff. “With over 2,800 entries across over fifty subjects in what is one of the biggest A level entries in the country these results represent significant achievement on a grand scale. Seen alongside some equally impressive performances from students on vocational courses and the International Baccalaureate, there is strong evidence here that whether their primary interests lie in Engineering or Philosophy, Business or History, Science or Sociology, students coming to Richmond upon Thames College can approach their studies with considerable confidence.”

Chairman of Governors, Paul Mudge, was similarly delighted, adding: “The College aims to widen opportunity and at the same time to promote excellence. This commendable set of results suggests that we are continuing to travel very much in the right direction.”

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Richmond College IB students make the grade

Posted: 22/07/2008

Students completing the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Richmond upon Thames College are celebrating this summer, having received outstanding results. This completes a hat-trick scored by the College: for the third year running it has achieved well above the IB global pass rate, and this year the success rating is the highest so far. Richmond students have averaged five points higher than the figure achieved worldwide. Five of the twenty-six students who have been awarded the Diploma are expecting to enrol at either Oxford or Cambridge in the autumn, with others choosing a range of universities across the country.

Richmond upon Thames College is the only state-funded college in London to offer the International Baccalaureate, which is an internationally recognised broad-based qualification offered as an alternative to A Levels. Students choose to study a variety of courses, which allow them to retain the broadest range of academic subjects, develop their critical thinking and intercultural understanding. Stephen Winfield, the College’s IB Coordinator, said, “We are delighted that our students have, yet again, achieved such convincing results. They have gained 100% pass rates in the majority of the subjects offered in the programme.”

The two top achieving students both joined Richmond upon Thames College from Teddington School, where they had gained exceptional results in their GCSEs. Emma Withycombe says she was surprised and delighted on receiving the top IB marks for the college of 44 out of a possible 45. “I was first attracted to the IB because I wanted to keep on studying the range of subjects which I enjoyed at school, and found the course brilliant. I am going on to study Medicine at Clare College, Cambridge after a holiday”.

Waddah Salih had also been an outstanding student at Teddington and having achieved 43 points, he will be going on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Wadham College, Oxford.

Both Julia Haberberg and Sophie Wingate scored 42 points. Julia will be going on to study South East Asian Studies at Newnham College, Cambridge, and Sophie will be taking French and German at Hertford College, Oxford. Daisy Crawley, from Waldegrave School, hopes to take up a place in Social and Political Science at Robinson College, Cambridge. Seven other students gained 38 points or more, enabling them to proceed to some very good universities throughout the country. Universities see this score as equivalent to five A grades at A Level.

Chris Perkins, the College’s IB Director, concluded, “The students gained not only excellent results, but the course broadened their horizons and changed their lives. We are pleased to see an increasing number of these students are coming from local secondary schools, and that they are seeing the IB as a very worthwhile educational route to take. All of the staff involved in delivering the IB programme teach on a wide variety of courses and have given hours of preparation, training and individual supervision to students. We are particularly gratified that the College has maintained the high standards of teaching and learning it established during the first three years of the programme, and look forward to building on our achievements and expanding the courses we offer in the next few years.”

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Thrilling Final in the Future Stars 2008 Basketball Tournament

Posted: 22/07/2008

On Sunday 6th July, the Czech Republic emerged as winner of the Future Stars 2008 basketball tournament organised by Richmond upon Thames College. In the final, the Czech Republic and Poland created a thrilling spectacle, which delighted an audience in Kingston College’s Arena. For the entire first half both teams traded basket and no team had a bigger lead than 4 points. Towards the end of the third quarter, the Czech Republic took a 10 points lead which proved to be decisive. The Poles made a frantic effort to cut the deficit but their every effort was matched by crucial baskets from Jan Vesely, Tomas Satoransky and superb point guard Jakub Kudlacek who never lost his control of proceedings on the court. The final results were Czech Republic 97 and Poland 90 points.

In the 3 / 4 place game, Unicaja Malaga was suffocated defensively by the Slovenian National team which was within striking distance from delivering the surprise of the tournament. With 1 minute and 30 seconds left on the clock, Slovenia had a 4 points lead and looked very uncertain against Malaga’s aggressive defence. However, steady leadership from Uros Zadnik won the day for Slovenia with a score of 70-63 but certainly Malaga can be proud of their brave efforts.

Zalgiris and Richmond upon Thames College Select were paired together in 2 leg competitions to avoid the last place in the tournament. In the first game on Saturday 5th July there was nothing to separate both teams and the game went to over-time. The Richmond team managed to hold their nerve and accurate shooting from Oliver Robinson, Henry Wilkins and Gary Miles allowed Richmond to finish on the right side of 103-95 results. The second game was played the following day and proved to be an equally close but far more defensively orientated encounter. Zalgiris held a 67-64 victory, which was still too small a margin to prevent a jubilant Richmond team from claiming 5th place.

Jan Vesely from the Czech Republic was the unanimous winner of Most Valuable Player award.

Richmond upon Thames College would like to thank Kingston College, Adidas, NBA, BCA, England Basketball, London Basketball, FIBA Europe, Croydon Council, Go South Go, Pro-Active South London and London Development Agency for their tremendous help in the delivery of this event.

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Future basketball stars descend on London

Posted: 22/07/2008

From 4th – 6th July Richmond upon Thames College, one of the largest providers of education for 16-19 year olds in the country, is hosting ‘Future Stars 2008’, a unique basketball event that combines a coaching conference and an U-18 international junior tournament.

The conference will be attended by internationally renowned coaches including Sergio Scariolo, head coach at Unicaja Malaga from Euroleague and ACB Spain, back by popular demand after the success of last years conference, and Aleksandar Trifunovic, who is the head coach at Lietuvos Rytas in the Euroleague. Both will speak at the event. Rade Mijanovic, head coach of the Slovenian Junior National Team programme, will deliver a series of lectures focusing on the development of young basketball players. The tournament will include junior national teams from Slovenia, Poland and Czech Republic. The juniors from Spanish team Unicaja Malaga and Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas will also be taking part, two European powerhouses in the world of basketball, who, in the past have produced NBA standard players. The competition will be completed by Richmond upon Thames College’s Select Team, compromising of the top players from the college’s academy and a selection of the best players from Greater London clubs.

The event is delivered in partnership with Adidas, Choice FM, BCA, FIBA, England Basketball and London Basketball.

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A dramatic way to escape exam stress

Posted: 12/05/2008

Last week Richmond upon Thames College students found a truly individual way to distract themselves from their impending exams by putting on a performance of the award winning show, ‘Les Miserables’. Student James Ford Bannister came up with the idea to stage the show and any student at the College could get involved.

The students put on 3 evening shows on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday along with a matinee on Wednesday. Over 30 students were involved with the project, many of whom did not have drama experience, and the show was praised by friends, family and teachers who thought it outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable.

The four performances raised over £1000 in donations, which the students have given back to the drama department to help with future performances.

The director, IB student James Ford Bannister, said that putting on the play was “a great journey, the cast and crew really pulled together through thick and thin”. He said that the rehearsals and planning involved were a “form of escapism from exam stress” that everyone was grateful for!

A dramatic way to escape exam stress

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Richmond upon Thames College re-build

Posted: 09/05/2008

Richmond upon Thames College seeks a re-build because, like any school or college, we want our students and staff to benefit from the best possible facilities. We would hope that members of the local community, too, will be able to take advantage of a range of enhanced learning and social amenities.

The College is merely at the first stage of the project – establishing the Planning Brief – and no specific details, including its future size and capacity, have yet been finalised. The Planning Brief may be studied at the Council’s web-site, Council offices or borough libraries when it is made public later this month. Further on in the year, when designs have been prepared, we will undertake a full consultation with the local community. Further information about this consultation will be issued in due course.

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Students look to the Future

Posted: 07/05/2008

Richmond upon Thames College held another very successful Progression Day last week for students nearing the end of their first year at college.

The Progression Day combined a Higher Education Fair with a Work and Training Fair and the purpose of the day was to encourage students to think about their future options after college education.

Over 70 universities and 30 guest speakers were involved in the Higher Education Fair with the aim of raising awareness of the many degree courses on offer. Going to university is a central aim for many students at the college and every year RuTC sends at least 1000 students on to university. Last year 1058 students went on to higher education. Students were able to meet representatives from a range of UK universities at the Fair, including Durham, UCL, and York, as well as more local universities such as Kingston, Roehampton, and St Mary’s. Students also had the opportunity to attend specialist talks from visiting university speakers on subjects ranging from history to nursing.

16 employers and organisations were represented at the Work and Training Fair where students could talk to employers about what they look for in their employees, and assist them in considering their next steps. A diverse range of employers and organisations were represented, including leading airport company BAA, established retailer John Lewis (Kingston branch), and Richmond Theatre for those interested in the performing arts.

Jane Weake, Student Progression Manager, described the event as “an inspirational day for our students who were given the opportunity to inform themselves about the realities of the work place and the experience of higher education. It was a busy and successful day.”

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Catering students cook up a storm for charity

Posted: 22/04/2008

Richmond upon Thames College’s catering students recently held a charity gala dinner to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The event was held in the College’s own restaurant Merits in partnership with the 5 star Lanesborough Hotel in London, where one of the college’s ex-students, Will Broom, is head chef.

The dinner was part of a series of events put on by the ‘Chefs Unite’ team to raise money for the Emily Begg fund, in conjunction with the Teenage Cancer trust. The team was set up by Paul Gayler, executive chef at The Lanesborough, to help his daughter raise money after the death of family friend Emily in November 2006. The money raised will go towards a specialist Teenage Cancer Trust unit planned for Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire. The team are hoping to raise between £150-200,000 in total, so every little helps!

The students did all the preparation and cooking themselves with a little help from Bill Farrelly, chef and catering teacher at the College, and three chefs from the renowned Lanesborough Hotel. The adventurous meal consisted of 3 courses and canapés, featuring mouth-watering dishes such as slow cooked salmon and wild mushroom risotto. One of the students taking part, Sigourney Merrony-Potten, says the event was “a great opportunity to work with professionals from a 5 star hotel”.

After the event, Chef Bill Farrelly said “the students did immensely well, making dinner for over 40 people and they definitely helped in a big way to make the event the success it was. These students also helped out as waiting staff in the restaurant during service”.

During the evening there was also a raffle with prizes from local businesses such as Cannons Health Club. All of this made sure the amount raised was an impressive £1400.

Catering students cook up a storm for charity

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Students Photography Exhibition at Ham House

Posted: 21/04/2008

In an exciting first for Richmond upon Thames College, students studying A Level photography will get to showcase their work in an exhibition at Ham House from the 26th April - 30th April.

Richmond upon Thames College has excellent facilities on site for photography students and one student exhibiting, Chloe True, says this allows the students “the freedom to explore our own ideas using the facilities that the college offer everything can be done here in the photography department”.

The exhibition is a great opportunity for the students to be able to show their work to the public. One of the students taking part, Kyra Mensah-Simpson, said the exhibition had already been beneficial because it has allowed her to “learn different photography techniques and presentation ideas, all of which are of value because they can be used in the future to create better work”. Fellow student Thomas Shickle agreed, saying “A chance to exhibit reflects the processes I would like to replicate in the future, the opportunity shows recognition for what I have been doing and I am thankful for this”.

After finishing their study at Richmond upon Thames College, many of the students exhibiting plan to go on to university to study art or photography.

The exhibition runs from April 26th to April 30th at Ham House, The Orangery from 11.00am to 5.30pm.

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Future basketball stars descend on London

Posted: 21/04/2008

From 4th – 6th July Richmond upon Thames College, one of the largest providers of education for 16-19 year olds in the country, is hosting ‘Future Stars 2008’, a unique basketball event that combines a coaching conference and an U-18 international junior tournament.

The conference will be attended by nationally renowned coaches including Sergio Scariolo, head coach at Unicaja Malaga from Euroleague and ACB Spain, back by popular demand after the success of last years conference, and Aleksandar Trifunovic, who is the head coach at Lietuvos Rytas in the Euroleague, both of whom will speak at the event. Rade Mijanovic, head coach of the Slovenian Junior National Team programme, will deliver a series of lectures focusing on the development of young basketball players. The tournament will include junior national teams from Slovenia, Poland and Czech Republic. The juniors from Spanish team Unicaja Malaga and Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas will also be taking part, two European powerhouses in the world of basketball, who in the past have produced NBA standard players. The competition will be completed by Richmond upon Thames College’s Select Team, compromising of the top players from the college’s academy and a selection of the best players from Greater London clubs.

The event is delivered in partnership with Adidas, Choice FM, BCA, FIBA, England Basketball and London Basketball. Tickets for the tournament are available through the Choice FM website, www.choice-fm.co.uk, in the run up to the event. On Friday 4th of July the tournament will take place at Kingston College and will start at 10am and run throughout the day, with the last qualifier being played at 8pm. The semi finals start at 4pm on Saturday 5th July, with the last game again starting at 8pm. The final will take place on Sunday 6th July at 8pm, with games to determine final places starting beforehand at 4pm.

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Basketball Update

Posted: 14/04/2008

Richmond upon Thames College’s Basketball Academy, representing the entire south east region, finished 2nd in the 30th British Colleges Championship held at Loughborough University on the weekend of the 5th and 6th April.

In the group stages Richmond overcame Sutton Coldfield College from Birmingham and Coleg Glan Hafren from Wales which guaranteed progression to the semi-finals. In the semi-final Richmond met the winners of the other pool, Filton College from Bristol and after a dramatic final seconds of the game, Richmond managed to win by 1 point and progress to the finals. The other finalist was Hackney College from London who in equally heart stopping fashion overcame Moulton College from Northampton.

The stage was set for a fascinating final however, on the day, Hackney proved to be too great a force for Richmond who had to settle for second place.

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Dance show successes

Posted: 01/04/2008

Richmond upon Thames College’s BTEC National Diploma Dance Students premiered the final production of their 2 year course last week, entitled ‘Over the Rainbow’. Shortly the students will leave the college to go to vocational dance schools or universities. The show was a huge success, receiving nothing but praise from staff, students and family who attended.

The show had already attracted attention by highlighting the issue of recycling at the college. Currently the council does not collect recyclable waste from the college and the students wanted to draw attention to just how much plastic could potentially be collected. To gather props for the show the girls, all dressed in green, had taken to the corridors at lunch to collect bottles from other students to use in the making of their Emerald City set. They collected an immense number of bottles and the finished set looked fantastic. All the props used for the recycling scene were taken to the recycling centre and the students hope that drawing attention to the problem will encourage the council to rethink. The show was a great way to highlight such an important issue and the staff and students involved did a wonderful job.

Dance show successes

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A Touch of Sparkle

Posted: 27/03/2008

Ten students from the Dance Performance Group, at Richmond upon Thames College, recently had the opportunity to perform at the Lilian Baylis Theatre at Sadler’s Wells. The occasion was the theatre’s secondary school evening - ‘Connecting Vibes’. The RuTC students performed a piece entitled ‘A Touch of Sparkle’, loosely based on fairy tales and magic which combines gestural movement with exciting lifts and jumps. This mystical and playful piece was originally performed by 18 students in the college Christmas production, but was reworked using just 10 dancers for Sadlers Wells.
“I really enjoyed watching the other performers,” said Karis Lambri. “Ours was the only contemporary piece - most students had chosen street dance.”
“It was exciting dancing on such a famous stage,” added Eleanor Byrd, a vocational dance student, “though it was scary performing in front of such a dance orientated audience.”

Although the majority of the college’s students taking part were studying AS/A2 level or vocational dance qualifications at college, the group is open to all students, who are chosen by audition at the beginning of the year. The performance was very well received with particular praise going to the costumes and choreography.

A touch of sparkle

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Richmond upon Thames College goes green!

Posted: 13/03/2008

Last week RuTC’s BTEC National Diploma Dance students took to the corridors to try to collect as many plastic bottles as possible. The reason? To try to promote recycling at the college and gain material for the set of their upcoming show ‘Over the Rainbow’ based on ‘The Wizard of Oz’. At the moment the council will not take plastic from the college and as a result, perfectly good, recyclable plastic is being thrown away.

The dance students decided to make their very own ‘Emerald City’ out of plastic bottles, newspapers and tins. The students, all dressed in green, decorated a wheelie bin with posters, photos and colourful ribbon and set about trying to collect as many bottles as they could in one lunch time. They managed to collect an immense amount of plastic bottles and also asked if students would prefer to recycle their bottles instead of throwing them away, the answer to which was a resounding yes!

The dance show ‘Over the Rainbow’ will be performed in the college’s Edmund Kean Theatre on the 26th and 27th March at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Janine Buttle on 0208 607 8309.

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Richmond upon Thames College students make the headlines

Posted: 13/03/2008

On Tuesday, Channel 5 News came to Richmond upon Thames College to canvass student opinion in anticipation of the UN drug control agency’s annual report, which was to be published the next day.

The price of cocaine has fallen to a record low and the UN blames the Britain’s celebrity culture and accuses the police of turning a blind eye to the rich and famous who misuse drugs, whilst the courts make matters worse by treating the stars leniently. “Celebrity drug offenders can profoundly influence attitudes, values and behaviour towards drug abuse, particularly among young people” the report said.

However Richmond upon Thames College AS Media students begged to disagree. They felt that while greatly admiring the music of Amy Winehouse, or the successful career of Kate Moss, they most certainly did not admire or wish to emulate their lifestyles. In fact they felt the media went out of its way to portray the appalling effects of drug abuse. They suggested young people were more likely to be influenced by their friends than celebrities.

It was a great opportunity for the 15 students who took part to see the media at wok first hand. Channel 5 News lead with the item, which featured the students, throughout Wednesday.

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The right side of the law

Posted: 13/03/2008

Following the success of previous years, Richmond College launched its ambitious Legal Careers Evening on Tuesday 11th March.

Young prospective law students, currently studying A levels at the college, hosted the evening to meet distinguished members of the legal profession.

The centrepiece of the evening was “The Mock Trial” when students performed in the courtroom to pit their wits and prosecute or defend the “accused.” Presided over by His Honour Judge Fergus Mitchell, who has many years experience in Kingston Crown Court, justice was seen to be done.

Guests including District Judge Elpha LeCointe, Simon Redhead, QC and solicitors and barristers took great pleasure in meeting so many keen and aspirational A Level students.

Nicola Buckel, a law teacher, reflected, “Lawyers find the quality and enthusiasm of our students truly inspiring. Richmond upon Thames College is committed to the achievement and success of its students and the Legal Careers Evening offers them exceptional opportunities to meet legal experts who can make a real difference to their future career choices.”

Right Side of The Law

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Richmond student helps out on music video shoot

Posted: 25/02/2008

Richmond upon Thames College, first year student, Oliver Blaum, who is a member of the college’s film making club, had the unique opportunity to help out on Sunday 17th February at the recording of a music video. Oliver worked as a runner alongside production assistant Natalie May, also an ex-student of the college, who now works in post production at the BBC.

Natalie said, “To have experience like this on your CV is a great help towards further jobs in the TV and film industry. It sounds like the college film making club is a good way for students to practise their skills. I wish the club had existed when I was at the college.”

The song, ‘I’ve Been hurt’, was shot in north London by the Sutton Film Makers and will be used in the Autumn as part of a charity event in aid of Cancer Research UK to be held at the Lensbury Club, Teddington.

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Battle of the Bands

Posted: 20/02/2008

Among the exciting events taking place in January at Richmond upon Thames College was the battle of the bands competition, hosted by the music department. Bands competed to a crowded theatre with each playing 3 songs each. A variety of music was on show, with bands playing everything from their own songs to covers of hits such as Stevie Wonder’s ‘signed, sealed, delivered’.

The show was attended by a huge number of students and everyone had a great time. The winning band was ‘Death in Vogue’ and is made up of Richmond upon Thames College students Ben McCarthy and Jasper Lyons, alongside two students for Orleans Park School, Lewis McCarthy and Will Cherguin and one, Alex Cullen from Whitton School. The band has so far played at Heatham House Youth Centre, Twickenham and has a myspace page (www.myspace.com/deathinvogue1). After the contest, the band were approached by a promoter who wanted to book them for future gigs, so they are on their way to fame and fortune already!

Battle of the Bands

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Art students go live!

Posted: 19/02/2008

Students from Richmond upon Thames College, studying on the second year of the BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design (Textiles/Fashion), are designing the costumes for the latest production of the highly respected Richmond Shakespeare Society. ‘Titus Andronicus’, one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays, will be running at the Mary Wallace Theatre from Saturday February 23rd until Saturday 1st March.

Students from the college have been furiously putting the finishing touches to their imaginative designs ready for the dress rehearsal on Thursday. “It is an amazing opportunity for us to have the chance of designing costumes for a real production”, enthused one of the students, “and I can’t wait to see our creations being worn by the actors on stage.”

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RuTC Basketball Academy qualifies for U-18 league play-offs for first time in 4 years

Posted: 18/02/2008

On Saturday 16th February, Richmond upon Thames College’s Basketball Academy secured first place in the U-18 League with an easy 100-66 win against Southampton Trailblazers. Finishing first in this league means that Richmond upon Thames College has qualified for the U-18 play-offs for the first time in last 4 years. The game itself was completely uneventful with Richmond controlling proceedings from the very beginning. The only highlights were delivered by Henry Wilkins who helped himself to a massive 43 points.

The joy from qualifying to the play-off was somewhat spoiled by a very poor game in
Division 4 on Sunday 17th February. Richmond was distinctly second best in their game against Omega London. The lack of proper inside players was more pronounced than in previous games. Omega explored their huge advantage under the basket and was able to score many easy baskets. On top of that Ahmed Othman’s injury in the second half significantly limited Richmond’s ability to penetrate the Omega defence. Richmond reverted to full court defense and long distance shooting but that was not enough for the well organised Omega.

U-18: Southampton Trailblazers – Richmond upon Thames College 66-100
Richmond scorers: Wilkins 43, Othman 23, Charles 13, Walden 11, Szyszka 10

Div 4: Richmond upon Thames College – Omega London 53-71
Richmond scorers: Adeluola 20, Wilkins 17, Othman 7, Blankvort 4, Prazmo 3, Szyszka 2

Click here to navigate to our Basketball Academy website.

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Diploma Champion comes to Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 04/02/2008

Governors of Richmond upon Thames College and the borough secondary schools enjoyed a special event on the evening of 31st January, when Sir Mike Tomlinson, Diploma Champion for Schools and Colleges, visited the College.

Diplomas have been introduced by the government to provide young people with an industry-based qualification that prepares learners for the world of work. Sir Mike was able to provide governors with a valuable insight into the demands and opportunities that this new provision will bring, both to local schools, and to the tertiary college.

Following the talk and ‘question-time’, governors enjoyed an excellent meal in the College’s training restaurant ‘Merits’.

Diploma Champion comes to Richmond upon Thames College

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Richmond students are true blues

Posted: 29/01/2008

Fifteen students from Richmond upon Thames College have successfully secured conditional offers at Oxford and Cambridge Universities for this year’s intake.

Thirteen of the students attend the college as full time students and eight of these previously attended Richmond borough schools – 1 came from Orleans Park, 1 came from Waldegrave, 1 came from Grey Court and 5 students came from Teddington School.

This year, five of the hopeful students are studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an academically challenging course which is offered by the college as an alternative to A levels. In fact, Richmond upon Thames College is the only state college in the whole of the London area to offer this course.

Two of the students study at the college part time and have been supported in their application by the college’s specialised advice service for Oxbridge candidates.

It is a fact not always widely known that each year, the college sends more students to university than any other school or college in the UK and in 2007, 1058 students went on to higher education at universities all over the UK.

College Principal, Kevin Watson said, “These students should be congratulated on their hard work and determination to gain places at such sought-after universities”. He added, “I wish them every success for what lies ahead and I am in no doubt they will do Richmond upon Thames College proud in their future studies and careers”.

Richmond students are true blues

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Gifted Richmond students pave the way for the future

Posted: 28/01/2008

Richmond upon Thames College piloted an exciting new extra-curricular course during this academic year under the Open University's Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme enabling academically gifted students in Years 12 and 13 to study a wide range of undergraduate modules alongside their AS and A2 levels.

The scheme benefits students by giving them the opportunity to study at university level, encouraging independent learning, building confidence and also has the added bonus of differentiating them from other students when it comes to applying to traditional universities.

Under this scheme, Richmond upon Thames College offers a course on ‘Fossils and the History of Life’ which is taught by a member of staff from the college’s earth sciences department. The course enables students to explain how organisms become fossilised, help in the identification of the common fossils and show where they fit into the story of evolution. In September 2007, 9 A level geology students started this new course and in January 2008, after five months of self directed study, they all successfully passed.

Student, Jessica Clark, who previously attended Waldegrave School, is hoping to study geology at university after she has completed her A levels. She said, “I took this course so that I could get a better insight into the subject that I knew I wanted to take further. The aspect of the course I enjoyed most was learning about the identification of fossils.”

The college is now offering this course as part of its gifted and talented enrichment programme and 40 students have signed up for the next course.

Gifted Richmond students pave the way for the future

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Students showcase their talents on the catwalk

Posted: 23/01/2008

Earlier this month, first and second year students studying on vocational courses in Art and Design at Richmond upon Thames College had the opportunity to show their skills and imagination in their annual fashion show. The exciting and diverse range of work included illuminated sculptures based on sea creatures, fantastical costumes inspired by animals, sculptural belts and umbrellas inspired by historic London, and conceptual costume and performance created in response to issues of self image and gender. Second year Fashion and Textile students produced a wide array of garments and evening wear from their study of the golden age of couture.

All performances were staged in aid of Off the Record, a Twickenham based organisation dedicated to supporting young people with problems, through the provision of counselling. To highlight this, the event also included the projection of graphic images portraying the issues and problems experienced by young people in society today. Generous audience members showed their appreciation by donating over £200.00 and the students were pleased to be able to turn their hard work, creativity and enthusiasm into cash for a worthy cause.

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Chinese Celebrations at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 21/01/2008

Students at Richmond upon Thames College certainly have something to celebrate over the next few months. Last term, the college welcomed the arrival of Mrs Shi Hiu Wang, an established teacher of English from a Beijing secondary school, who has introduced the Mandarin language to students as an extra-curricular subject. Shi Hui Wang is also offering students lessons on Chinese culture and history, including lessons in Tai Chi and the history of martial arts. She also works one afternoon a week at Whitton School teaching the Chinese language and culture as part of the school’s extra-curricular programme.

The college, always keen to keep base with global demands, offers these courses as part of its extensive Enrichment Programme. “Mandarin will be an essential language for those hoping to do business with one of the emerging economic giants of the 21st century,” says Rina Le Masurier, Programme Manager for the Language team which was praised as outstanding by Ofsted in 2007.

The college already offers a great range of modern language AS/A2 levels including, German, French, Italian and Russian and Spanish as well as GCSEs in Italian, Russian and Spanish. From September 2008, the college will also offer courses in GCSE and AS Arabic.

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Student Successes at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 29/11/2007

Students from Richmond upon Thames College in Twickenham are on a winning streak and have triumphed in a number of competitions that they have recently entered.

Earlier this year, the Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) organisation was chosen by the Chancellor, Rt Hon Alastair Darling MP, as the charity for his 2007 Christmas card. EDCM then organised a competition for disabled children and young people to design the card. The theme was ‘Enjoying Christmas’ and eight students from the college’s supported learning department entered the competition. Student, Charles Wooll’s design was selected as one of the 12 finalists and at the end of October, Charles and his family were invited to a tea party at Number 11 Downing Street. Out of a total of 700 entries, Charles was runner-up and his design is being used by the EDCM organisation as their official Christmas card for this year.

On Thursday 15th November, Richmond upon Thames College beat seven other colleges to carry off the ‘Best Presentation’ prize at the Enterprise Challenge competition. The Challenge was organised by Royal Holloway University of London and the Bright Ideas Trust, which teamed up to create an exciting, dynamic enterprise challenge giving students the opportunity to put their most creative ideas to the country’s leading figures in enterprise. At the beginning of the day, students were set the Enterprise Challenge by Tim Campbell, winner of ‘The Apprentice’ in 2005 and founder of the Bright Ideas Trust. They had to work in teams to produce innovative and viable ideas which they presented to the panel of judges at the end of the day. Internationally renowned academic staff facilitated the challenge and experienced student ambassadors from Royal Holloway acted as business advisors by providing guidance and mentoring to the teams throughout the day. The challenge was open to teams of six students studying A levels or vocational equivalents and provided an excellent opportunity for students to unleash their creative skills and boost their confidence and academic performance and, with each team consisting of six students of which at least two are studying a business-related subject. The Richmond students involved were Theresa Agonmuo, Daniel Handy, Tania Romero, Stephanie Rowe, Emily Saji and Jake Schneider who are all studying business courses at the college. They presented their ‘Brekkie Box’ idea with style and confidence with every member of the team making an impressive contribution.

Finally, some of the college’s A level Maths students were recently involved in a competition, sponsored by the Lighthill Institute of Mathematical Sciences (LIMS) and the London Mathematics Centre. This competition was designed to give students the opportunity to tackle a substantial project, in cooperation with undergraduates at selected universities including Imperial, Queen Mary University of London and University College London, with the aim to encourage more A level Maths students to consider taking the subject further and studying it at university.

The Richmond students chose a difficult probability problem related to a card trick as their project. First, they had to sort out the maths – then came the real crunch – the production of a poster. Students, Kedi Huang and Amandeep Kalra, did an extraordinary job, with Kedi providing the mathematical input and Amandeep designing an eye-catching and highly informative poster. The competition was judged on 14 November and Professor Lord Julian Hunt (Director of LMIS) awarded the prizes to the joint winners, Richmond upon Thames College and Brooke House.

Chancellor's Christmas Card Competition

Chancellor's Christmas Card Competition

Maths Poster Competition

Maths Poster Competition

Photo 1 (Chancellor’s Christmas Card Competition): Student, Charles Wooll, holding his entry for the Chancellor’s Christmas Card Competition. Charles is the second student from the left in a blue shirt (standing next to Alastair Darling)

Photo 2 (Maths Poster Competition): Students, Amandeep Kalra and Kedi Huang receiving their prize from Professor Lord Julian Hunt in the maths poster competition Kedi Huang.

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New Chinese teacher

Posted: 27/09/2007

Richmond upon Thames College already offers a great range of modern language AS/A2 levels including Arabic, German, French, Italian and Russian and Spanish as well as GCSE’s in Arabic, Italian, Russian and Spanish. An introductory course in Latin also proved popular last year.

The college, always keen to keep base with global demands, is now introducing Mandarin as well as Chinese Studies which is all part of its extensive Enrichment Programme. “Mandarin will be an essential language for those hoping to do business with one of the emerging economic giants of the 21st century,” claims Rina Le Masurier, Programme Manager for the Language team which was praised as outstanding by Ofsted this year.

The college is delighted to welcome Mrs Shi Hi Wang, an established teacher of English from a Beijing secondary school, who will be teaching for this academic year. As well as introducing the Mandarin language to students, Mrs Wang will take lessons on Chinese culture and history, including lessons in Tai Chi and the history of martial arts.

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Young Apprentices kick start their career in sports management, leadership and coaching

Posted: 19/09/2007

A group of 17 year 9 pupils from five of the Borough’s secondary schools have just embarked on a two year Young Apprenticeship course at Richmond upon Thames College in Twickenham. The Apprenticeship, in Sports Management, Leadership and Coaching, will see the young people combine vocational qualifications and work experience, ensuring they have the right skills when they start their careers.

Over the course of two years the pupils will complete 50 days work experience with a variety of local employers in the sport and leisure industry. Employers involved in the programme include the Lensbury Club, Harlequins RFL, Cedars Health Club, Brentford Football Club and Rocks Lane Sports Centre. Pupils will also gain a BTEC 1st Diploma in Sport, a Sports Leaders Award and a 1st Aid qualification whilst studying at Richmond upon Thames College.

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Local Student Amongst Top Ten in Country

Posted: 11/09/2007

Former Richmond upon Thames College student, Miriam Bouchiba, was amongst the top ten in the country in A level Biology according to Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.

Miriam sat the biology exam earlier this summer and her results show that out of 2,675 candidates, she achieved one of the highest overall marks.

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel’s managing director, said, “This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work students put into preparing for their examinations. We send our congratulations to Miriam”.

Miriam also achieved grade As in A level Mathematics and Chemistry, along with a grade A in AS level Sociology. She has a place at Kings College London to study dentistry and eventually hopes to run her own practice.

Miriam chose to study her A levels at Richmond upon Thames College because of the wide range of subjects offered. She thoroughly enjoyed all her subjects and commented, “I am glad I chose Richmond upon Thames College as all the positive expectations I had became a reality”.

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Sustainable Development – exciting new course at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 11/09/2007

From October 2007, Richmond upon Thames College will be offering an accredited Level 2 Certificate in Sustainable Development. This is the first time the College has run this course which will provide an opportunity for students to investigate a topic relevant to their experience and priorities such as local Agenda 21, ecological building, sustainable living, health and environment (including workplace), community housing, and energy issues. Students are then provided with an opportunity to identify actions which will improve this situation using sustainable means.

The course is divided into 2 units: unit 1 explores the principles and benefits of sustainable development; unit 2 is concerned with the application of these principles and identifies how the topic impacts on the environment, society and the economy.

Bob Harris is the lead tutor for both units. Bob has a high profile in the ecological movement and has developed ecologically sound dwellings. He is an active member of the London Borough of Richmond Agenda 21 and over the past few years has successfully delivered courses on ecological building at Richmond upon Thames College.

Unit 1 starts on 9 October 2007 and Unit 2 starts on 22 April 2008. Both units are delivered on a Tuesday from 6.30pm to 9.30pm for 10 weeks and are accredited by NCFE. The cost for each unit is £95 and there is a £35 registration fee plus £10 for each certificate. If you are on means tested benefit you will not have to pay the full tuition or exam fee but will be required to make a £30 concessionary payment towards these costs.

For further information, please contact the programme manager, Robert Owen on 020 8607 8132/8163. Alternatively, please come along to one of the Advice and Enrolment Evenings at Richmond upon Thames College, Egerton Road, Twickenham. These will take place on Tuesday 4 or Wednesday 5 September and Wednesday 17 January from 5.30-7.30pm.

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Results Day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 16/08/2007

A level results at Richmond upon Thames College were once again a cause for celebration with levels of achievement well ahead of most national benchmarks. As Principal Kevin Watson put it, “In 2006 more students progressed to university from RuTC than from any other college or school in the country. In the light of another set of outstanding performances there is no reason to believe that many of the class of 2007 will not have the grades required to move on to higher education or rewarding employment”.

The overall pass rate was a record 97.5%; for former pupils of borough secondary schools 98.3%. There was a 100% pass rate in 27 subjects, 43.5% of A level entries produced A and B (the highest) grades – another record.

The results for those students who came to RuTC with at least 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C at an average of B or bettter were massively impressive with a pass rate of 99.9% and an A-B rate of over 73 per cent.

Whilst A levels tend to dominate the news at this time of year, the College was anxious to highlight the successes of those students following alternative routes to university or employment. Students on vocational courses had much to celebrate with eight national Diploma/Certificate [A level equivalent] courses boasting 100% achievement – all this is in areas ranging from Engineering to Fine Art, Travel and Tourism to Dance.

Other advanced level results already confirmed include those from the International Baccalaureate, a programme which of all London colleges only Richmond offers. Here the 89% pass rate greatly exceeded the global figure of 78.5%. Eleven of the 27 entrants gained the equivalent of 4.5 A levels at grade A.

Kevin Watson was delighted both by “the spectacular accomplishments of the most able and by the often huge strides made by those starting from a more modest base. He went on “The College is proud of its record in promoting excellence whilst simultaneously widening opportunity through a broad and diverse curriculum”. Chairman of Governors, Paul Mudge, was similarly pleased. “Following on from our strong inspection report earlier this year”, he said, “these results and those of previous years, demonstrate that the local community is very well served by its tertiary college”.

Please click on the links below for full details of our AS/A2 level examination results for 2007.

All 16-19 year old students

16-19 year old students who previously attended Richmond upon Thames borough schools

16-19 year old students with 5 GCSEs and above with at least 1 grade A & 4 grade Bs

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International Baccalaureate students make the grade

Posted: 19/07/2007

Richmond upon Thames College’s second group of International Baccalaureate students to complete the full two-year Diploma course achieved an 89% pass rate which, once again, well exceeded the global pass rate of 78.5%.

The essence of the International Baccalaureate is that students retain the broadest range of academic subjects, develop critical thinking and intercultural understanding.

Stephen Winfield, the College’s IB Coordinator, said, “We are a very successful provider of 14-19 education and the only state-funded college in London to offer the IB Diploma programme.
We are delighted that our students have again achieved such convincing results. Of the 27 students, 11 achieved 35 points and above – which according to UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is equivalent to 4.5 A levels at grade A and is well above the national average. Three students, Katie Isitt, Emma Loffler and Louisa Dinwiddie, were outstanding having gained 42, 41 and 40 points out of a possible 45 respectively”.

This year, the IB students will be going on to various universities around the country including Oxford, Edinburgh, UCL, Leeds and Imperial College to study a wide range of courses.

Katie Isitt came to the College from Elthorne Park High School where she obtained 12 GCSEs. She says, “I chose to study the IB Diploma because it allowed me to continue with all the subjects I wanted to and I thought it would be a challenging and interesting course. I would definitely recommend the it if you want to carry on with a broad range of subjects, and my experience at the College has been fantastic”. Katie has now confirmed her place to read medicine at Leeds University.

Chris Perkins, the College’s IB Director, concluded, “the students gained not only excellent results but the course broadened their horizons and changed their lives. All of the staff involved in delivering the IB programme teach on a wide variety of courses and have given hours of preparation, training and individual supervision of students. It is the expertise and experience of these highly qualified and professional individuals, combined with their dedication and commitment to the students, which has helped make this programme such a success. We are particularly gratified that the College has maintained the high standards of teaching and learning it established during the first two years of the programme, and look forward to building on our achievements and expanding the courses we offer in the next few years”.

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RuTC student receives top apprenticeship award

Posted: 10/07/2007

Dominic Jurczynski Panzeca of Richmond upon Thames College was recently honoured at the 2007 ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards at Haberdashers Hall in London. The awards aim to recognise the achievement of young people who are currently working on or have achieved an Apprenticeship or Advanced Apprenticeship in IT, Telecommunications or Contact Centres.

Dominic received the award of ICT Higher Apprenticeship of the Year. Higher Apprenticeships contribute towards a foundation degree, providing new employees with a valuable, alternative route to a degree. Having completed the Higher Apprenticeship for IT professionals, which involves a Foundation Degree for e-business (Network Specialist), the technical certificate for the Higher Apprenticeship and a level 3 NVQ for IT Professionals, Dominic has proven himself to be an outstanding student at Richmond upon Thames College. Also, he was one of only two to pass the Foundation Degree with distinction from the South and West London Networking Partnership. Dominic has also gone on to successfully complete the final year of his Honours Degree in Computer Science at Kingston University.

During Dominic’s apprenticeship, he worked at Orleans Park Secondary School. This work placement allowed him to use his academic skills in a more practical setting. Prior to completing the foundation degree, Dominic joined Richmond upon Thames College in 2003 on the IT Gateway Programme where he successfully completed courses in PC Support Level 2, Advanced PC Support and Networking Level 4.

Dominic’s success is a tribute to the dedication of the teaching team at Richmond upon Thames College, the rewarding work placement at Orleans Park Secondary School, to Dominic himself and his determination. Dominic’s story clearly demonstrates a thirst for learning and that the College has a very effective progression route where students can build on a successful future.

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Small is the new big!

Posted: 10/07/2007

The success of the small, but dynamic Kingston University Foundation Art Graphic Communications course, run in association with at Richmond upon Thames College, seems unstoppable after winning a series of design accolades, proving small courses can be big winners.

Out of the students exhibiting, 3 FdA GC students, won individual highly prized ‘best of show’ yellow ribbon medals at D&AD New Blood 2007; the prestigious graduating creatives exhibition, the highest number awarded to a course this year, for their innovative and creative design solutions. One of the 3 New Blood medal winners, Tim Garnham came direct from A Levels, another, Rohann Lightbourne from an AVCE course, and the third, Sarah Smith returned to education from a non-creative industry.

New Blood features students’ work from 80 leading colleges from the UK and around the world, the majority of which are 3-year degree courses, as opposed to the 2-year FdA and this year featured work from over 2000 students, so all credit to the winners for their amazing success and industry recognition of their talent.

Earlier this year, FdA GC students once again displayed outstanding achievement with success at the International Society of Typographic Designers student awards 2007; with 2 of our students Claire Edwards and Alice Waters, gaining merit level, out of only 7 awarded nationally.

The Foundation Degree Graphic Communications is an attractive alternative to a 3-year degree course, as it caters for students who wish to create a professional portfolio needed for career opportunities in the contemporary graphic communications industry, in a 2-year timeframe. Successful graduates have gained employment with top design groups such as The Partners. However, some students may choose to go on to further study – the course provides an opportunity to progress to the 3rd year of the Kingston University BA(Hons) Graphic Design Degree, or to apply to other institutions. One ex student Leanne Thomas, has built on her success with us by winning an RSA award for stamp design during her 3rd year at Falmouth Institute.

The course welcomes students from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages and supports them in their individual journeys to success as demonstrated with this year’s D&AD winners.

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Ken Livingston with Youth Parliament Member Ese Okperin from Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 11/06/2007

Ken Livingston, Mayor of London, met recently with members of the Youth Parliament from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. One of these members included Ese Okperin of Richmond upon Thames College (right of picture). The mayor thanked all the members for participating in Youth Parliament.

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Creating the right environment

Posted: 22/05/2007

Richmond upon Thames College recently held its annual creative writing competition and a presentation ceremony was held to award the prize winning students for their pieces in the categories of poems and short stories.

Student, Ming-Wei Cheng, who came to the College to study A levels from Grey Court School in Ham, was awarded the first prize for poetry and £25.00 for her entry entitled ‘A Soldier’s Lament’, while first prize and £25.00 for best short story went to Carmina Masoliver for her entry ‘Like a Ticking Time Bomb’. Before embarking on her A level study programme at Richmond upon Thames College, Carmina previously attended Burntwood School in Tooting.

Second, third and fourth prizes for poetry went to Leo Barclay, Anya Destiney and Oliver Small, with David Miller and Adie Maunder receiving commendation for their entries. Other prizes for the short story category went to Jennifer Numao-Henriques, Cressida Sharp and Cerianne Tatnell.

Through this competition the College provides a space for students to be creative outside their academic studies. Lunchtime sessions take place where students from across the College can work on their pieces in their own time in, what is for them, a busy and demanding academic life. Students are ‘kick started’ with an idea to inspire them, and are guided on their progress and supported by their fellow candidates who give each other feedback.

Debra Callow, Enrichment Manager at Richmond upon Thames College, has run this competition for the past three years and said, “My aim is for students to feel able to write freely as it is great when they allow themselves to be expressive by means of the written word. In the creative writing lunchtime sessions I make suggestions in terms of genre and use different stimulus to inspire them, such as images, music and words. However, the students are ultimately free to write what they like. The competition continues to become more popular each year and I would like to thank Helena Richardson of The Open Book in Richmond for her continued support and contribution of the prize money.”

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Richmond upon Thames College - an innovative approach to the professional development of its staff

Posted: 22/05/2007

All too often in further education, senior managers are seen as distant from the teaching and learning they purportedly look after and promote. Many, also, whilst bemoaning the paucity of aspiring new managers leave the professional development of their staff to external agencies and courses. At Richmond upon Thames College a different approach has seen the Principal, Kevin Watson, attempting to personify a commitment to teaching and learning and play a leading role in working directly with staff seeking management training.

Twenty six members of staff at Richmond, predominantly teaching but some from support areas, are taking a postgraduate certificate in educational management. Sessions – mainly evening but three whole-day slots – are taught by Kevin and Liz Wilson. Senior Lecturer at nearby Roehampton University which validates the course. The three written assignments all have an RuTC focus with the staff participants encouraged to be constructively critical of any aspect of institutional operation. Essays produced thus far range from investigations into the role of the course co-ordinator to the effectiveness of ILT support systems, from the essential ingredients successful teamwork to the relationship between curriculum areas and the personnel function. Next month, in groups of two or three, staff will make presentations to an audience of senior managers and governors on aspects of College life such as marketing, the appointments process for senior postholders, governance and the implications of the new Specialised Diplomas.

The course is seen as one strand in a process of staff involvement and change of institutional culture. According to Kevin Watson, “My personal commitment to the course and to a number of other staff development activities is intended to demonstrate the belief that a college principal can and should operate as a head teacher, directly engaged in the ‘core business’ of teaching and learning. The hope is that participating staff (many of whom will carry on next year to the diploma stage and subsequently the full MA) are participating in a fruitful dialogue and helping to build up a store of knowledge and reflection about the College whilst gaining a postgraduate qualification in the process.”

‘Students’ have a number of tutorials with the Principal and the academic. “These take up a lot of time” says Kevin, “but the benefits of such an exchange seem to me to be massive. Without wishing to sound pretentious, what is more important for the head of an educational establishment to do than to be directly involved in the promotion of institutional learning and development?”

In the recent Ofsted report, published in March this year, inspectors cited as a key strength, “inspirational leadership and management of change leading to a strong focus of continuous improvement through highly effective internal communication”.

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Progression Day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 04/05/2007

Richmond upon Thames College held a very successful Progression Day on 25th April. 70 universities and 16 employers and organisations attended on the day to promote their university courses and employment and training opportunities to over 2,000 students.

The Progression Day combined a Higher Education Fair and a Work Fair and the purpose of the day was to encourage students to think about their future options after their College education.

Students studying A levels and equivalent qualifications were able to meet representatives from a range of UK universities at the Fair, including those as nearby as Kingston University and St Mary’s University College, and as far away as Durham. Students also had the opportunity to attend specialist talks from visiting university speakers on subjects ranging from Pharmacy to Surveying.

16 employers and organisations were represented at the Work Fair where students could talk to employers about what they look for in their employees, and assist them in considering their next steps. A diverse range of employers and organisations were represented, including LBRUT Children’s Information Service for the caring professions, the established retailer John Lewis, and Richmond Theatre for those interested in the performing arts.

Richmond upon Thames College is one of the largest suppliers of students to higher education and in 2006, 1033 students went on to university. Additionally, a number of students progressed on to employment and training opportunities each year.

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St. Georges Special Event Day 2007

Posted: 01/05/2007

Students from the Richmond upon Thames College Supported Learning Football Team attended the St. Georges celebrations at the invitation of Brentford Football Club, which included reduced priced tickets to see Brentford play their last home game of the season against Port Vale.

The students took part in the half time celebrations with the Supported Learning Football team from West Thames College and the Brentford Infant and Junior Community Football teams from Hounslow, Ealing and Richmond boroughs. The half time event included team and group photos with all of the teams present on the pitch. The teams then had a lap of honour around the pitch and were all applauded by the 5,000 plus crowd. The college teams were led on to the field by Peter Shears, the Brentford FC CST Disability Officer. Additionally, the match programme also included a special piece on the Supported Learning teams from Richmond and other FE Colleges.

The presence of the Richmond upon Thames College was a lucky charm for Brentford as they went on to beat Port Vale 4-3 in a breathtaking match.

The Richmond upon Thames Supported Learning Team has played three matches this season and they currently have a win, a loss and a draw, which included an 8-1 win over West Thames College.

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Sports Ambassadors Coach Sports in Schools

Posted: 27/04/2007

For some students at Richmond upon Thames College, academic study is not their only focus. Sixteen students act as Sports Ambassadors and attend local secondary schools to coach a variety of sports to Year 8 & Year 9 pupils. The scheme is part of the Aim Higher Sports Ambassadors Programme, designed to promote pathways into further and higher education for those who may not have considered this route. Students complete a total of 16 hours coaching during the spring and summer in sports such as rugby, athletics, football, badminton, and netball. Upon completion the Sports Ambassadors will obtain a National Governing Body Coaching Award and training from Aim Higher on various issues including health & safety and child protection.

Sports Ambassador Cymone Thomas of Richmond upon Thames College currently studies A Levels in French, Psychology, Chemistry and Biology but she wanted to be able to balance her study with her interest in badminton. She explained, “I wanted to keep up with my interest in badminton and since I had not chosen any sports subjects, the Sports Ambassadors Programme was a good opportunity to help myself and other people.”

Cymone added, “it is a mentoring opportunity for me as I know I can make a difference and drive people to enter into education and help them get positive feedback from their GCSEs.” Using the programme as a mentoring role allows the Sports Ambassador to gain a great deal of confidence before they set out for university or employment. Phil Davies, Director of Specialism at Whitton School & Sports College commented “these young adults will be excellent role models for our young people. The Whitton students are excited about these new opportunities.”

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Visit to the Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability in Putney

Posted: 19/04/2007

Recently a group of ten Richmond upon Thames College Tutor Group students went
for a visit to the Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability in Putney. Included in
this group were three biology students who are planning to apply to medicine
and had a particular interest in attending the tour. The students were able to
see exactly how the hospital operates, what they offer and how they care for
their patients. Overall, the students described the event as a “very interesting
and enriching experience.”

The students were invited to the hospital because they recently raised £185
selling candy canes. The hospital was extremely grateful for the contribution
because they rely solely on donations.

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The right side of the law

Posted: 30/03/2007

Following on from the success of previous years, members of staff from the law department at Richmond upon Thames College hosted a Legal Careers Evening for current and prospective law students on Tuesday 27th March.

College staff and students attended the drinks reception at the College along with distinguished members from the legal profession which included judges, barristers, in-house counsel, solicitors and a former Law Lord.

Throughout the evening a number of seminars took place and over 100 students benefited from direct advice and guidance on their future law careers from the guest judges, barristers and solicitors. The A level law students were also given the opportunity to pit their wits against professional lawyers in a mock trial presided over by principal guest, Lord Hutton, a former Law Lord.

Alongside Lord Hutton, other guests included Circuit Judge Andrew McDowall, District Judge Elpha LeCointe, who also is actively involved in promoting minority opportunities within the profession, District Judge Russell Campbell and Simon Readhead QC.

Jackie Chapelow, one of the College’s law teachers commented, “The College’s law team are committed to the development of their A level law students and this event provided the opportunity for students and staff to network with legal experts and to consider their future careers options”.

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Richmond upon Thames College – Ofsted Inspection

Posted: 27/03/2007

At a time when the future organisation of education for students aged 14-19 is very much under scrutiny in the borough, Ofsted inspectors have given a resounding vote of confidence to the quality of provision available at Richmond upon Thames College. Praising what they term as “inspirational leadership and management of change”, the inspectors found “an effective learning community” where “teachers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable” and “learners are well motivated, attentive, participate well and make good progress in lessons”.

As RuTC was already perceived as a strong institution, the inspection took the form of a “light touch” which did not involve assessments of individual areas of the curriculum but concentrated, instead, on the general operation and standing of the College. Four of the five categories graded were deemed “Good” – effectiveness of provision, achievements and standards, quality of provision and leadership and management – whilst the many positive developments apparent over recent years led to the award of an “Outstanding” for the section on Capacity to Improve. The “key strengths” of the College singled out for special mention were “high success rates on level 3 [A level and equivalent] courses”, the “extensive range of enrichment activities”, leadership and “highly effective internal communication”.

Principal Kevin Watson was very pleased with the outcome of the inspection process. ‘It is extremely gratifying’, he said, ‘to be part of a team of staff and governors who have “through comprehensive strategic planning refocused and invigorated the College and made fundamental changes to the College’s mission, objectives and structures” ’. ‘It is equally pleasing to have it confirmed that RuTC demonstrably puts students at the heart of what it does – “The learner voice is heard through a wide range of sources and is a key aspect of the College’s approach to quality improvement.” ’ Mr Watson concluded, ‘The Report is a pleasing endorsement of the hard work and achievements of our staff and students. The College plays a major role in the borough’s educational system and any moves to change the existing tertiary structure should be taken only with extreme care.’

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What a performance!

Posted: 15/03/2007

The newly formed Richmond upon Thames College Community Choir participated in their second concert of this year on Thursday March 22nd at 7.30pm in the Music Centre at Richmond upon Thames College.

The concert represented a second milestone in the first year of the life of the choir for which membership has doubled in 6 months – 25 Choir members are enthusiastic about the opportunity the choir offers to make music and mix with local residents, students and college staff.

The Christmas concert (Handel’s Messiah) attracted a wide audience of family members and friends of the Community Choir as well as students, parents and staff. This Spring concert will once again bring Community Choir members together with college students to perform Faure’s Requiem alongside student performances of chamber music in the spirit of a genuinely community event.

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Football in the Community League

Posted: 14/03/2007

Supported learning students from Richmond upon Thames College celebrated their first win in the community football league with a comprehensive 8-1 win over neighbours West Thames College.

Luan Qeloposhi (midfield) started the scoring in the 15th and 16th minutes with two excellent strikes after literally cutting through the West Thames defence. Richmond piled on the pressure, the West Thames keeper kept the score down to just 3-0 at half time by a combination of the ball striking the woodwork and some excellent saves. However, he could do nothing to stop Jonathon Nkulu (forward)) striking the third. There was no let up in the second half as Pedram Moghadom (midfield) coming on for Jayce Watson, raced through the West Thames defence to score. It was a brilliant performance by the team. Jonathon Nkulu scored another two goals for his hat-trick, Ben Munby (forward) also followed up to score his first of the season and Jacob Skillern (central defender) ventured forward to hit number 8. The player of the match for Richmond was Charlotte, who made her debut at right back. A strong, attacking display by the team resulted in their first win of the campaign. Everyone involved in the match would like to express their appreciation to the excellent referee, John White.

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Local student achieves Excellence in Geography Award from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Posted: 08/03/2007

Local student Magdalena Georgieva of Richmond upon Thames College has received a Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) award for Excellence in Geography at GCE A Level.

The award scheme promotes the interest and enjoyment of Geography by recognising and rewarding high achievers in A level and GCSE examinations. It is always appreciated by students, parents and schools when the highest examination achievements are rewarded, and to have that achievement recognised by the national Learned Society for the subject elevates the achievement further.

Jenny Linter, Earth Sciences Programme Manager at Richmond upon Thames College said:

"Naturally able and modest, Magdalena was an exemplary student at Richmond upon Thames College. Her passion for Geography and the environment shone through in her studies, in her support for other students and in her genuine interest in the wider world. She has a natural ability to see the wider picture, to think synopticallly and to communicate her thoughts to others."

Steve Brace, Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the RGS-IBG said ‘The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is delighted to give Magdalena an award for her achievement as one of this year’s best Geography students.’

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Live Art and Fashion Show 2007

Posted: 05/02/2007

Art and Design students from Richmond upon Thames College raised £346 for Off the Record, the confidential counselling service for young people in Richmond, at their Live Art and Fashion Show which recently took place at the college.

The BTEC National Diploma and First Diploma Art and Design students made jewellery, costumes and musical instruments which they exhibited in the show. They also produced literature, key rings and sweets with themes relating to topics they felt could be approached in counselling such as divorce, eating disorders and child abuse. The activities allowed the students to express their ideas and present them in a creative way.

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Photographic exhibition of students' work

Posted: 15/01/2007

A Photographic exhibition is located in the foyer of Richmond upon Thames College from the 23rd January to 2nd February.

This exhibition stems from “The Exhibition Assignment.” The assignment was designed for students to produce a piece of work through the use of Intertextuality. Students visit an exhibition and then, through inspiration or contemplation, they further research artist’s work and develop their own ideas, leading to their own piece of work.

Please click here for more information.

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Richmond Journal of Philosophy goes Online

Posted: 08/01/2007

The Richmond Journal of Philosophy (RJP) is the philosophy journal run by Richmond upon Thames College. The journal was launched in 2002 with the aim of providing serious and straightforward articles on questions such as the nature of justice, the existence of God, and the nature of reality. The journal is edited by the College’s philosophy department and has published articles from some of the world’s leading philosophers.

The journal had immediate success, attracting subscribers from across the world, and the College is now keen to build on that success by making it available online for free. The first online issue was launched on 5 January 2007, and includes pieces on the value of democracy, on how we might argue for moral values being relative to our community, and on the relationship between thought and language.

Kevin Watson, Principal of the College, commented. “The RJP is an outstanding teaching resource and is now available to a much wider audience than before. Many of our students have subscribed in the past, and have found the journal to be of great benefit. I hope that a variety of new readers will be attracted by the online format and find the journal of interest”.

Aside from the current issue, all back issues can also be downloaded, comprising over seventy articles from leading philosophers from the US, Europe and Australasia. The journal can be accessed through the college website, at www.rutc.ac.uk/rjp.

The College’s philosophy department is one of the largest in the further education sector, with six lecturers and over 160 students with many students going on to study philosophy at university.

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Tackling childhood obesity

Posted: 21/12/2006

To address the growing problem of childhood obesity, health & fitness staff at Richmond upon Thames College have developed a new REP’s accredited CPD course - Health related activities for training families’ which is aimed at Personal Trainers and other professionals who want to train entire families – mum, dad and the children.

The hype surrounding ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ and ‘Ian Wright’s unfit Kids’ has raised awareness about how unhealthy the children of today are becoming, both nutritionally and physically. One of the key issues identified is the lack of knowledge parents and children have about the importance of a good diet and regular exercise. This two-day course is designed to resolve some of those issues – looking at theoretical and practical ideas for getting children to take part in physical activity and eating healthier. This course is endorsed by Skills Active and REPs and has 12 CPD points attached to it. The next course will run on consecutive Saturdays – 17th and 24th March 2007.

This forms part of a wider programme of Endorsed Training for fitness professionals, which includes courses on Exercise Adherence and Motivation. They are part of the Colleges Centre of Vocational Excellence in Coaching, Leisure and Fitness, which is in partnership with Kingston College.

Please check the website, www.coachingleisureandfitness.co.uk for more details or telephone Karen Smith on 0208 607 8166.

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Dead - but alive at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 15/12/2006

Latin may be a dead language but it will soon be alive and kicking at Richmond upon Thames College. A ‘taster’ course in this classical language from the ancient world was recently offered to students as an enrichment, or extra-curricular, activity that could be added to students’ main programme of study.

To the surprise of Liz Tilson, the college’s classics teacher, over 40 enthusiastic students turned up for the initial meeting all expressing a desire to get to grips with Latin verse and prose and learn something of the Roman way of life. Any students who would consequently like to study for a formal qualification will be offered the opportunity to take the GCSE from September 2007. These eager 16 and 17 year olds are looking forward to reading the original language of famous Roman authors such as Julius Caesar, Virgil and Ovid.

It’s a very worthwhile course to study, says Liz. “Latin heavily influences Spanish, Italian and French and is helpful for understanding the structure and development of English. It would be a very useful addition to anyone’s CV and especially helpful for students studying modern languages, English, classics or even law at university. Even in 2007 a classics degree is generally highly regarded by employers. I am absolutely delighted that so many students are keen to give up their spare time to tackle this fascinating subject.”

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Local MP praises financial education at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 24/11/2006

Local MP and Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable, today visited Richmond upon Thames College to see the positive impact financial education is having on young people in the Richmond area.

Richmond upon Thames College recently began teaching the ifs School of Finance qualifications in financial education. The ifs School of Finance offers GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in Personal Finance and Richmond upon Thames College is one of an increasing number of institutions offering their students the opportunity to study these.

The qualifications cover topics such as the origins of money, currency exchange, sources of money, spending and saving, opening and accessing accounts, monitoring and managing money and understanding different methods of payment and their implications.

Vince Cable, who was able to join students and attend one of these lessons, said: “I was impressed with teachers and students alike and was particularly struck by the enthusiasm both have for the subject.

“By offering this worthwhile course, Richmond upon Thames College is providing students with the ability to understand personal finance. Richmond upon Thames College should be commended for their efforts and I would encourage other schools and colleges to offer their students the same opportunities.”

Kevin Watson, Principal at Richmond upon Thames College said, “The course has attracted a great deal of interest which suggests that many young people want to learn more about personal finance. We completely agree with the ifs School of Finance that being financially capable is an important life skill and think that all young people should have the chance to become so.”
Gavin Shreeve, Chief Executive of the ifs School of Finance concluded, “If Government wants to equip future generations with the skills to properly manage their own finances there is no excuse for failing to do so. Schools and colleges such as Richmond upon Thames College are successfully proving it can be done.”

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Raising the standard

Posted: 17/11/2006

Richmond upon Thames College is pleased to announce that it has recently been reaccredited with the nationally recognised Investors in People (IiP) standard which it first received in August 2000.

Kevin Watson, Principal at Richmond upon Thames College, said, “The Investors in People review offered a useful opportunity to check many of our management and communication systems and working practices against external standards. We see it as absolutely fundamental to consult with staff as part of the decision-making process and to develop both teachers and support staff in ways which help ensure the best possible learning experience for our students. It is heartening to know that the IiP assessor believes us to be travelling very much in the right direction.”

The report asserts that “Under new leadership, there is a greater sense of purpose and renewed optimism”…. “People feel better informed and understand what the College is trying to achieve”….. “Everyone welcomed the open, honest, consultative style of management that has been adopted”…..”People are clear that continuous quality improvement is high on the agenda”.

In summary, the Report states: “Using a sporting analogy, Investors in People organisations are positioned in the Premier League table…. If current plans for improvement are implemented successfully, RuTC should be promoted amongst the best”. “Speaking as a Sunderland fan” said Mr Watson, “any association with the Premier League is greatly to be welcomed. I hope everyone associated with the College is as heartened as I am by the IiP assessment.”

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College hosts Korfball for the first time

Posted: 19/10/2006

On Sunday 15 October, children from the borough participated in a locally organised event hosted by Richmond upon Thames College where they were able to take advantage of the college’s new mandate to promote the use of its facilities to the local community outside the college’s core operating hours. The children enjoyed an afternoon playing Korfball, a game comparable to netball and basketball where both boys and girls are able to compete on an equal footing within the same game. This event is the first, of what is hoped to be a large and varied programme, to cater for local sporting and leisure needs. The community will be further supported by two new courses that are to be launched at the college in November.

The college, which is a Centre of Vocational Excellence for coaching, leisure and fitness, has now added new courses to the curriculum with the aim of improving the fitness levels of children. These include ‘Health Related Exercise for Training Families’ which is aimed at both fitness professionals and parents and provides practical ideas and advice for physical activities and better eating habits. This course will be run on two consecutive Saturdays – 4th and 11th of November 2006. The college also offers the full ‘CYQ Level 2 Health Related Exercise for Children’ course on Wednesdays during the daytime for 6 weeks.

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College music is blessing in disguise

Posted: 26/09/2006

A music teacher at Richmond upon Thames College leads a band called Berakah, which strives to reconcile religious differences with musical fellowship. Mohammed Nazam, known as Mo, teaches guitar and leads jazz workshops at the college. He has been a professional musician and composer for 20 years and last year he founded The Berakah Project, an interfaith music initiative dedicated to crossing boundaries of race, religion and culture through the arts and promoting dialogue and understanding between people of different faiths. Berakah, which means ‘blessing’ or ‘grace’ in Arabic and Hebrew, recruits members from different religions who share a desire to create harmony by blending influences from East and West into a melodic cocktail.

Since 2001 Mo has worked with The Prince’s Trust on their residential SoundLive courses teaching socially disadvantaged young people (homeless, substance mis-users, ex-offenders) to play instruments and perform live. The band recently played in the Middle East Now season at the British Museum and they hope to tour northern England next year.

The college is also forming a community choir for those who live and work in the Twickenham area. It will be run by music lecturer Caroline Heslop and repertoire will be wide ranging, from show tunes, opera and oratorio choruses, to folk, the blues and much more. Each term the choir will perform in venues around Twickenham and Richmond. Rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays 6.30 – 8.00pm in the music centre at Richmond upon Thames College, from Wednesday 4th October. Sessions cost £2 (£1 concessions). Caroline emphasised, “We always welcome new members and no previous experience is required – just lots of enthusiasm for singing! Those interested can just turn up on the day.”

On Thursday 28th September the college hosted a play created by ex-student Lydia Maxwell and her theatre company, Tale on Fire, who have received critical acclaim for their devised work ‘Sing a Storm of Blackbirds’. The college was delighted to have Lydia, who previously went to Waldegrave School, return following her BA at Oxford Brookes University and MA from the Central School of Speech and Drama. The show was performed in the afternoon to college students exclusively and in the evening to both the college students and 70 students from Orleans Park School.

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A-level results day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 17/08/2006

Results day at Richmond upon Thames College brought considerable satisfaction
and celebration. Attainment across the wide range of programmes offered at
the College was consistently strong. Although subject to final verification,
several vocational courses are likely to show 100% pass rates and a healthy
number of distinctions and merits whilst the first cohort of International
Baccalaureate Diploma students performed spectacularly well.

For A levels, the overall pass rate of 97.3% is, once more, above the national average, whilst
for those students who formerly attended one of the Richmond
borough schools the figure is 98.3%. A total of 26 subjects enjoyed a 100%
pass rate.

43% of A level entries produced the highest (A and B) grades, rising to 48%
of entries for Richmond borough school students. The results for those students
who came to College with at least 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C at an average of grade
B or above were especially impressive with a pass rate of 99.4% and an A-B
rate of 74.1%.

Principal, Kevin Watson was, “pleased equally by the spectacular achievements
of high flyers and by the often huge leaps made by those students starting
from a more modest base”. He attributed the level of performance to “the ability
and hard work of the students themselves and to the support and expertise of
staff.” The sheer scale of the RuTC operation should also, he felt, be noted. “When
one considers the number of students and exam entries involved – 1078 students
across 48 subjects – it is evident that a great many young people leave RuTC
well equipped for university and/or employment”.

Gillian Allen, Vice Chair of Governors, was similarly happy. “These results
show once again how well the great majority of students are catered for at
RuTC whatever their chosen course of study”. Anji Phillips, Director of Education
and Childrens Services, added her congratulations to students and staff on
the excellent results. “I am particularly delighted with the achievement of
Richmond borough school students. This year’s results continue to sustain the
College’s reputation for high standards and once again around a thousand students
will progress from both A level and vocational programmes at RuTC to higher
education and I wish them the very best for their future”.

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College awards vocational students

Posted: 03/08/2006

For the third year running Richmond upon Thames College has successfully completed its Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP), which is one of the Government’s initiatives intended to broaden the curriculum offer. It enables year 10 and 11 pupils from Richmond borough’s link schools to attend the College one day a week to study vocational subjects that their schools are unable to offer, such as Health and Social Care, Engineering, Catering and Construction.

This year College lecturers and school staff attended the presentation and the Principal, Kevin Watson, presented the students with gift vouchers for their achievements. They included four students from Grey Court School in Ham, two from Whitton School, two from Shene School, one from Hampton Community College and one from Christ’s School in Richmond.

Grant Gilbert from Whitton School was awarded a trowel and certificate for most outstanding student in the class as part of the International Student Award Programme run by Rollins & Sons (London) Ltd, a tools distribution company based in Harlow.

A prize giving also took place to award some of the College’s older students. Clive Earl from AMEC, the international project management and engineering services company, presented prizes to students undertaking the Basic Technician Training course in Process Plant Engineering. Project of the year went to Lewis Edes, Katie Higgins and Tony Norman for their pipe installation device while Katie Higgins won the student of the year award. Katie, who is working as a design trainee in the graphics department at Air Products PLC, said: “I’m really pleased to have won this award and feel that the course is very worthwhile as it has given me a broad insight into engineering along with really good support from lecturers who are approachable and have experience in the engineering industry.” From September Katie will attend College once a week for the next three years, whilst experiencing working in different departments at her workplace, before deciding in which department she would like to become permanent.

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International Baccalaureate students shatter global pass rate

Posted: 17/07/2006

Richmond upon Thames College’s first group of International Baccalaureate students to complete the full two-year Diploma course achieved a 91.7% pass rate (excluding retakes)* against a global average in 2005 of 81.5% which includes retakes*.

The essence of the International Baccalaureate is that students retain the broadest range of academic subjects, develop critical thinking and intercultural understanding.

Stephen Winfield, the College’s IB Coordinator, said, “We are a very successful provider of 14-19 education and the only state-funded college in London to offer the IB Diploma programme. We are thrilled with the wonderful results achieved by our students. Of the 24 students, half achieved 35 points and above – this is equivalent to 4.5 A levels at grade A, as announced by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, which is well above the national average, and two students, Sarah King and Iunia-Maria Chisacof, were outstanding having gained 44 points, only one point away from the top overall mark - a feat which is achieved by very few students globally.”

Three IB students have gained places at Oxbridge universities in September, including Sarah King who will read French at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, Jessica King who will read History at Homerton College, Cambridge, and Radhika Mehra who will read Human Sciences at Mansfield College, Oxford. Fellow student Louise Bird will be going to study veterinary science at Edinburgh.

Sarah, who came to the College from Orleans Park School in Twickenham, chose to study the IB because she felt it would be more challenging than A levels and commented, “I’m an all-rounder so the IB suited me better than A levels because I could study more subjects. It’s ideal for people who enjoy learning as it gives you free reins to learn more independently outside the classroom.”

Patrick Igoe, who came to the College from the German School in Richmond, also felt that A levels would have been too specialised, he said, “The course was good fun, which made time go quickly, although the workload increased a lot in the second year. I was impressed by the fact that the teachers actually help you by running subject workshops - I found the maths one very helpful prior to the exams and I think this resulted in better grades than I was predicted.”

Patrick intends to study International Relations and Modern History at university and then would like to embark on a career in politics or continue his studies further. He added, “My IB Diploma will ultimately allow me to apply my skills all over the world as it is an internationally recognised qualification. It has given me a breadth of subjects, allowing me to keep my future options open.”

Kathleen Wildman, the College’s IB Director, concluded, “the students gained not only excellent results, but the course broadened their horizons and changed their lives. All of the staff involved in delivering the IB programme teach on a wide variety of courses and have given hours to preparation, training and individual supervision of students. It is the expertise and experience of these highly qualified and professional individuals, combined with their dedication and commitment to the students, which has helped make this programme such a success.”

* amended figures November 2006

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Art students present big cheque to local charity

Posted: 11/07/2006

Art and design students at Richmond upon Thames College made a cheque presentation to Off the Record, the confidential counselling service for young people in Richmond, at their end of year exhibition. The cheque for £672.73 was raised by the vocational art and design students at their alternative fashion show event held earlier this year.

The art students, who are on GNVQ and BTEC courses, made costumes, fashion garments, body sculpture and slides from a diverse range of media and materials. All the work was choreographed to music in front of a live audience at three sell out performances. The money raised was from ticket sales and end of performance collections. The whole event was a testament to the students’ enthusiasm, commitment and creativity.

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Summer Show 2006

Posted: 30/06/2006

Students, staff and special guests celebrated the rich variety of creative work on display in no fewer than 10 large studios at the annual art, design and multimedia exhibition at Richmond upon Thames College in Egerton Road, Twickenham. The show was a great success with 521 people attending the private view on Wednesday 28th June and over 1500 visitors over the week of the exhibition. Guests pictured with the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Celia Hodges, are Gillian Allen (Vice Chair of the college governors), Alexandra Bennett and Emma Smith (Orleans House Gallery), Tim Bale (Head of Faculty for Art, Media and Performing Arts at the College), Rachel Tranter (Head of Richmond Arts - Orleans House Gallery), Jason Needham and three A level Photography students Nicola Gould, Ruth Barkley and Jonathan Helm.

You can view a movie of our AS/A2 photography show by clicking on the link below.

AS/A2 photography show (MediumSize File - 22 MB)

AS/A2 photography show (Large Size File - 64 MB)

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Richmond upon Thames College leads the way

Posted: 27/06/2006

On July 4th and 5th thirty girls from the Richmond Borough schools and beyond will be finding out what its like to perform and coach sport at Richmond upon Thames College.

The girls have all applied to the College to continue their studies in sports or PE and are being given the opportunity to attend the ‘Women Get Set Go!’ course, aimed at giving female sports enthusiasts the chance to develop practical coaching and leadership skills.

Richmond upon Thames College is the first College in the UK to run the course and is joining forces with the Chelsea Ladies Team at Chelsea Football Club to help promote women’s participation in sport. Ben Bartlett, Women's & Girls Operations Manager at Chelsea FC will be running a coaching session to give the girls a taster of professional level football skills.

The Women Get Set Go! Programme is part of the College’s development of coaching courses under its Centre of Vocational Excellence in Coaching, Leisure & Fitness. In January 2007 the new ‘Gateway To Coaching’ qualification is launched, developed in conjunction with Sports Coach UK and the major sports National Governing Bodies, and aimed at giving young people the opportunity to develop coaching skills and progress into a career in professional coaching.

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STEP Saturday Workshop

Posted: 20/06/2006

Thirteen students from different colleges and schools spent a Saturday at Richmond upon Thames College tackling difficult mathematics.

The STEP (Sixth Term Examination Papers) Mathematics exams are aimed at the top 2% of AS/A2 level Mathematics students and are used by Cambridge University, together with AS/A2 level grades, as the basis of conditional offers. Because many schools and colleges can provide little or no help in preparing students for these papers, the university and the Sutton Trust now fund a 3-day preparation course at Easter, to which young people who hold conditional offers including grades in STEP, and who are studying without much support, are invited. Anne Trevelyan, Maths Lecturer and Higher Education Adviser with responsibility for Oxbridge, who has been preparing students for STEP for some years at Richmond upon Thames College, was overjoyed to be asked to take part in running the course and spent three very busy, happy days, working in her old university, helping to teach 70 school and college students from across the country.

As a follow-up to this, 13 of the cohort accepted her invitation to a STEP workshop on Saturday 10th June. Although most of the participants live in the South-East, two came from as far away as Cornwall and Bath. Together with three Richmond upon Thames College students they spent a hard working day solving STEP problems, listening to presentations from each other, Anne, her colleague Geoff Woodhouse and enjoying a reunion in the summer sunshine.

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Creative Writing Competition

Posted: 20/06/2006

First prize of £20 for poetry was awarded to Ming-Wei
Cheng, who came to the College from Grey Court School in Ham, while first prize
of £10 for monologues went to Abdul Rasaq, who came from Westminster City
School. Tom Bennet and Leo Gerrard, both from Elthorne Park High in Ealing,
each received a joint first prize of £20 for their short stories. Second
and third prizes and commendations were presented to additional students, including
Colin Love, who came from Hampton Community College, and Icaro Reis Pugliesi,
who came from Shene School.

Through this competition the College provides a space for the
students to be creative outside their academic studies. Lunchtime sessions were
held whereby students from across the College could work on their pieces in
their own time in, what is for them, a busy and demanding academic life. In
the sessions they were ‘kick started’ with an idea to inspire them,
guided on their progress and supported by their fellow candidates who gave each
other feedback.

Debra Callow, English and Communication lecturer, has run this
competition for the past two years and said, “My aim is for students to
feel able to write freely as it is great when they allow themselves to be expressive
by means of the written word. In the lunchtime sessions I made suggestions in
terms of genre and used different stimulus to inspire them, such as images,
music and words. However, they were ultimately free to write what they liked
and did not have to share what they had written.”

You can read Ming-Wei's winning poem here.

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Certificate for life-long learner

Posted: 20/06/2006

During Adult Learners’ week, colleges from the Learning and Skills Council South London Region gathered together to celebrate achievement in learning and skills. Richmond upon Thames, one of the London boroughs involved, nominated Nick Simons as one of its best lifelong learners.

Nick, now in his early seventies, was born in Sussex. He left school with six ‘O’ levels before serving in the Royal Navy as part of his National Service. After completing two ‘tours’ in Malaysia, he enrolled at drama school and consequently spent most of his working life as an actor appearing in both the theatre and on television - including seven years performing in North America.

Nick has been a student at Richmond upon Thames College for several years, mostly attending personal development and counselling courses. He is currently completing a Higher Diploma in Counselling Skills.

Outside college Nick is a very active pensioner. He is a volunteer counsellor with Off the Record, a local counselling service for young people based in Twickenham, sits on several Mind committees and is vice chair of the Brent Social Housing Tenants Association.

Robert Owen, Programme Manager for Counselling Courses says, "Nick is living proof of the maxim that it is never too late to learn. He is an inspiration to younger learners."

Pictured are Robert Owen, from RuTC, Nick Simons and Lord Tope.

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Volleyball Academy off to Palace

Posted: 14/06/2006

On Sunday 11th June Richmond upon Thames College’s Mens Volleyball Academy played in the qualifying tournament of the London Youth Games representing the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Through the searing heat of the weekend weather the boys pitted themselves against seven other boroughs. Will Walker, the captain, had an outstanding game in both the spiking and serving elements of the game. The setters, Lee Tyler and Ivan Kapitanski, ran the team’s offence with real flair.

The team will take part in the semi-finals on 9th July at Crystal Palace, its first semi-final since 1990 when it came away with the Bronze Medal. This time the team will be going for Gold.

The girls’ team also took part on Saturday and despite some great team spirit and chanting they only managed to win one game.

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Widening participation

Posted: 14/06/2006

Richmond upon Thames College is delighted to attend the AchieveAbility Aimhigher National project conference on 22 June at the University of Westminster to allow the voice of those with specific learning difficulties to be heard in relation to the national widening participation agenda.

The AchieveAbility project started in 2004 to improve access to higher education for learners with specific learning difficulties, namely dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, by raising awareness of opportunities and support available to students with SpLDs. Katherine Hewlett, Project Director of AA, said, “Richmond upon Thames College was identified as a college looked to for advice and guidance in this area. It has a highly professional team of experts integral to the project in paving the way in Best Practice.”

The College was keen to get involved and as a consequence, Paul Smyth, the College’s Disability Officer, joined the AA Project Management Group in November 2004 with the primary role of providing expertise on good practice based on the support provided by Richmond upon Thames College for SpLD learners.

Other partners include the University of Westminster, the British Dyslexia Association and the University of the Arts in AchieveAbility. Cross partnership collaboration has developed the project nationally over the past two years and the conference will be an opportunity to learn about the project’s activities, celebrate its achievements, explore the issues raised and receive unique findings from research carried out by the HE Academy. The central issue is the potential loss of intellectual talent to education and employment, which will be explored in presentations, seminar sessions and by the keynote speakers Bill Rammell MP, Minister for Further and Higher Education, and Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive of Dyslexia Action.

Paul Smyth, Richmond upon Thames College’s Disability Officer, said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the AchieveAbility project, it has been a stimulating and rewarding experience. The project has gradually gained momentum since 2004 and to have Bill Rammell speaking at the final conference is an indication of how successful the project has been in raising the awareness of the opportunities and support available to those with specific learning difficulties”.

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RuTC kicks off its first Chelsea FC Football in the Community league match

Posted: 16/05/2006

Students from the supported learning departments at Richmond upon Thames College and West Thames College played a fantastic football match on Thursday 11th May at Richmond upon Thames College’s sports field – their first Chelsea Football in the Community league match.

Richmond student Jack New scored the first and second goals then West Thames scored two equalisers. Richmond went from strength to strength to lead 5-2, but when striker Jack New went off the field with cramp Richmond conceded three goals to end the match a 5-all draw. Richmond’s goalkeeper, Matt Horton, made some brilliant saves and Richmond’s attacking mid fielder, Jakir Ali, was named player of the match and awarded a medal.

When Warren Green, one of Chelsea’s FITC coaches, recently visited Richmond upon Thames College to introduce himself and get the ball rolling, his top tip to the students was “Every morning you’ve got a choice whether to get up or not. It takes just a few people to motivate the others to take part. If you do, you’ll look back knowing you set up a team that will carry on for years to come. It’s a chance to have fun and gain confidence at the same time.” Over the past few months Warren has coached the supported learning students to take part in Chelsea’s FITC league matches against other colleges in the community.

Richmond upon Thames College’s next fixture is an away game against East Surrey College on 19th May.

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RuTC girls win senior event at Achilles School Relays

Posted: 15/05/2006

Four girls from Richmond upon Thames College’s Athletics Academy are this year’s champions of the Achilles National Schools 4x100m Relays, which took place at Iffley Road Track in Oxford on 4th May.

The RuTC squad finished in 51.5 seconds which is the fastest time the College has ever run and exceeds last year’s winning time of 51.6 seconds. They are Feyi (who came from Hurlingham & Chelsea School and is in her first year at College studying AS English Literature, Law, Psychology and Critical Thinking), Donna (who came from Sacred Heart RC and is studying National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science), Natalie (who came from Orleans Park School and is in her second year studying AS/A2 PE, Psychology and Law and also plays Hockey), and Diana (who came from Heston Community School and is in her second year studying AS/A2 PE, Psychology and Photography).

The Relays are held each year at the infamous Iffley Road Track where Bannister broke the 4 minute mile record. Eleven teams competed and 6 got through to the final of this year’s 4x100m relay, which is contested by many of the leading private and public schools in the country. Over the past 10 years Millfield have won this trophy five times, Bromsgrove twice, and Berkhamsted and King’s Canterbury once. Indeed Richmond upon Thames College is the only state school involved and was invited for the first time last year when the college’s team came second.

This year Brian Hall, sports lecturer who runs the athletics academy, took three boys teams and three girls teams to Iffley Road who competed in various athletics events throughout the day.

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Adult Learners Week

Posted: 12/05/2006

Adult students at Richmond Upon Thames College get the opportunity to learn the latest dance techniques at Cannons Health Club as part of Adult Learners Week which runs from 20th to 26th May.

The students are on the “Exercise to Music” instructors course, just one of many health and fitness qualifications being offered to adults wanting a career change or to improve their skills.

Yvonne Quarrie, the instructor, is pleased that the students are able to use the state of the art dance studio and other facilities on offer at Cannons to practise the latest techniques. “Being able to link with a major health club has benefited the students enormously. They have the chance to develop skills that employers demand of a professional, high tech environment.”

The course is part of the coaching, leisure and fitness Centre of Vocational Excellence at Richmond upon Thames College.

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Students fundraise for children’s hospice

Posted: 04/05/2006

Four students from Richmond upon Thames College raised £107.65 for the Shooting Star Children’s Hospice in Hampton by spending a day in their pyjamas on 29th March and by collecting money in the student canteen.

Students on the Foundation Health and Social Care course at the College were asked to organise an activity as part of their ‘working as a team’ module and four of those students, Caitlin, Flory, Jasmine and Natasha, chose to be sponsored for wearing their pyjamas for a day in aid of the Shooting Star. The charity’s motto of ‘enhancing quality of life when every moment counts’ appealed to the health and social care students who felt they could contribute to the £2.5 million needed by the hospice each year in order to continue offering a range of support for terminally ill children and their families in west London and north Surrey.

On Tuesday 2nd May Tony Leppard, a volunteer for the Shooting Star, gave a talk at the College to approximately 40 of the Health and Social Care students about the work of the hospice, before they presented him with the cheque.

Patsy Golding, who teaches the ‘working as a team’ module said, “I was proud of the way the students organised themselves and did the relevant research. They raised a wonderful amount of money for a very worthwhile cause.”

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Lecturer builds Earthdomes

Posted: 03/05/2006

Richmond upon Thames College lecturer and one of London’s leading eco-builders, Bob Harris of Earthdomes Ltd, has designed and built the first homes in London to have geothermal hot water and heating. Geothermal heating uses the Earth as a heat source, relying on the relative warmth of the Earth for heat production. In ITV London’s episode of Homes and Property, on Thursday 27th April, viewers were taken on a tour of Bob’s stunning new home, revealing that going green is good for your pocket as well as your health. The flats are incredibly cheap to run, with heating and hot water costs reaching as low as £60 a year.

The development, which Earthdomes built in conjunction with client A1 Lofts, is being used to help implement the Mayor of London’s renewable energy strategy. Bob, who teaches Ecological Building at Richmond upon Thames College, has been building the Earthdome development over the past two and a half years, and in 2005 he was voted by the National Federation of Master Builders as FMB Master Builder of the Year in the Energy Efficiency category. Client, Steve Mills of A1 Lofts is retaining one apartment as a showcase to encourage others to adopt sustainable building practices. He said "Bob has the rare talent of not only being practical and positive, but able to grasp the wider implications of the building and its relationship to the natural environment. Through his teaching he is able to inspire others in the art and craft of sustainable building."

Robert Owen, Programme Manager for Agenda 21 courses at the College, added, "With the topical and widespread interest in the environment and sustainability our courses address a current demand for training in the ecological building field. Richmond upon Thames College offers three 10-week courses in Ecological building, which are very popular. They are ideal for anyone concerned with the creation of healthy, ecologically sound buildings. For further information phone the College on 020 8607 8305/8314 or log on to http://www.rutc.ac.uk.”

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Rogues and Vagabonds to tour Treviso, Italy

Posted: 26/04/2006

On 15th-22nd May the Rogues and Vagabonds, a theatre company of Performing Arts students at Richmond upon Thames College, will tour Treviso, Italy. They will perform a series of plays in celebration of 50 years of the Royal Court Theatre.

Student Lauren Heward is the lead organiser among the team and says “we all bonded so quickly as a performance group which makes the job easier. The course has helped me as an individual and allowed me to improve my acting skills, confidence and techniques. I like having the freedom of devising my own pieces because the director doesn’t hand it to you on a plate.” Another member of the group, Ciaran McManus, says that on top of his 20 hours per week timetable, he spends 10 hours per week rehearsing; learning lines and coming in on Saturdays – “it takes up a lot of energy”. After college he hopes to take a gap year working in backstage management and then go to university to study event management.

Earlier this year the students organised a talent competition, which raised £60 towards their tour, and on Saturday 22nd April they set up a St George’s day stall on Whitton High Street which raised £109 from cake sales, a tombola and arm wrestling games with members of the public. A few of the students also took part in a sponsored 10-mile walk reciting Shakespeare, which raised over £250.

For details on upcoming performances log on to: http://www.rutc.ac.uk/events

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Progression Day

Posted: 19/04/2006

Over 60 universities and 20 employers and training providers will attend Richmond upon Thames College’s Progression Day on 26th April to promote their university courses and jobs to over 2000 students.

For many years the College has held an annual HE Fair to give students the opportunity to meet representatives from a range of UK universities, including those as nearby as Kingston and far away as York. This enables students to speak to staff from universities about specific subjects and to gain a real flavour of what the universities are looking for.

This year the College has organised a Work Fair to run alongside the HE fair, aimed at students considering alternatives to university and before the start of the fair Connexions staff will give talks to students on progression routes. The College’s Careers Department has organised a number of activities to encourage students to produce CVs and help them focus their minds on their strengths and weaknesses. The Work Fair will host a range of organisations under one roof for students to find out about progression opportunities, talk to employers about what they look for in their employees, and assist them in considering their next steps. Employers will equally benefit from meeting a pool of young people who may be interested in working for them. Some of the employers and training providers attending include the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines, the BBC, Crystal Holidays, George Wimpey West London Ltd, Marks and Spencer, Metropolitan Police, NHS Careers, Richmond Theatre, RPA Architects, Smollensky’s, Waitrose and Way to Work.

The College is one of the largest suppliers of students to higher education, and sent 798 students to university in 2005; 24 of these went to Oxbridge or medical school, and a further 133 students went on to Art and Design and Higher Education Colleges. It is hoped that by strengthening relationships with local and national employers the College can ultimately provide equal progression opportunities for all students. Jenny Sloan, Careers and Higher Education Co-ordinator at the College, said ‘The Careers Department has developed the HE Fair over a number of years to improve the level of service and support offered to students, and the Work Fair is an exciting new initiative to complement the HE Fair and help prepare students for life after College.’

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Legal experts visit Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 10/04/2006

On Tuesday 4th April the law team at Richmond upon Thames College held a Legal Careers Evening for current and prospective law students, offering them the chance to meet legal experts and find out what career opportunities are available to them in the field of law.

College staff and past and present students attended the drinks reception at the college, along with judges, barristers, in-house counsel, solicitors, and a Senior Crown Prosecutor. This was followed by a number of seminars, which allowed students to benefit from direct advice and guidance on their future law careers. The aim was to address any areas of particular concern such as what qualifications are required for a law career, as well as provide an insight in to their working lives.

Guest lawyers in attendance included Judge Peter Herbert, a barrister and Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, well known as a campaigning human rights activist, and Elpha LaCointe, who sits as a Deputy District Judge in the Family Division and as a member of the South Eastern Circuit Minorities Committee, the Bar Recruitment and Entry Committee, as well as actively promoting minority opportunities within the profession.

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Chris performs his magic on college students

Posted: 21/03/2006

Chris Rankin, better known as Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, recently gave up his time to act alongside three students from Richmond Upon Thames College. Amy Wood, who studies English Literature, Dance and Politics; Caitlin Barnett who studies Psychology, English and Dance and Tina Megwara who studied Psychology last year and is now taking a degree in English and Drama, auditioned for parts in the film ‘Explode’ last summer. They were selected from six hopefuls and were thrilled to be chosen for their respective parts. For these three budding thespians it was their first professional acting role. ‘I was very impressed by their enthusiasm and commitment, they were happy to give up two weeks of their summer holiday’; said Jackie Clark, the writer and producer of the film and Programme Manager of Health, Care and Early Years. The science fiction thriller is based on research into adolescent brain development where a scientist kidnaps the girls to use in her sinister experiments.

The three girls were thrilled to be working alongside the likes of Chris Rankin, Nicholas Young and Sammie Winmill: who are remembered for their roles in ‘The Tomorrow People’ made at Thames studios during the 1970’s. Filmed mainly on location at the college and in the local area, ‘Explode’ is due for release on DVD later this month by an independent film company Fantom Films.

For further details contact http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk.

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RAF Scholarship for RuTC Student

Posted: 21/03/2006

Richmond upon Thames College student, Meti Gashi, is one of only a few further education or sixth form students to be awarded a highly prestigious RAF pilot scholarship which partially funds students through AS/A2 levels. Thousands of students apply for the 100 or so RAF scholarships each year which are given for all branches the force. However when you consider that only 2% of RAF personnel are pilots, it’s not surprising that pilot scholarships are the hardest to come by. Meti had to go through a gruelling two day selection process.

Meti, whose father is Yugoslavian, came to the college from Burlington Danes School in Shepherd’s Bush and travels from his home in Harlesdon each day to study AS/A2 levels in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Sociology. “I was drawn to the college by the huge range of AS/A2 levels that were offered and I was able to do almost any combination”, explained Meti. “I also enjoy the flexible timetable. While at college I have also had the opportunity to take part in the Millennium Volunteer scheme.”

“I have always wanted to be a pilot since I was a little kid, so about two years ago I joined the Air Training Corps. Here I attend twice weekly sessions as well as participating in holiday and weekend camps.” Through the Corps Meti has gained his solo gliding licence. After his research revealed that RAF pilots were considered the creme de la creme, it was only a small step to submit his application for the scholarship.

From next September, Meti has a provisional place at Loughborough University to read aerospace engineering. The university has close ties with the RAF’s Defence Technical Undergraduate scheme through which he will now apply for a higher education bursary, worth a very useful £4,000 per year. This will entail an even tougher 4 day selection process. Meti’s tutor confidently predicts that he will get the grades required for his place at Loughborough while all the staff at Richmond upon Thames College wish him well in his quest for Part II of his scholarship and, of course, his ultimate ambition to be an RAF pilot.

RAF Scholarship for RuTC Student

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Chelsea FC coaches students

Posted: 13/03/2006

Richmond upon Thames College is working in partnership with Chelsea Football Club’s Football in the Community Scheme to organise mixed coaching sessions for some of the college’s students with learning difficulties or disabilities.

Chelsea’s Warren Green visited Richmond upon Thames College to introduce himself as coach and get the ball rolling. His top tip to the students was “Every morning you’ve got a choice whether to get up or not. It takes just a few people to motivate the others to take part. If you do, you’ll look back knowing you set up a team that will carry on for years to come. It’s a chance to have fun and gain confidence at the same time.”

Three coaching sessions, starting next month, will be followed by fixtures for 11-a-side league matches against Brooklands, Carshalton, Guildford and West Thames colleges, who have already signed up to the scheme. FITC will continue to operate as a support network.

The students are so keen to get going that they are already discussing which positions they want to play. Rachel Dixon wants to be goalkeeper as she can make ‘great saves’, whereas Andrew Lebosquet prefers to play up front as a striker. He practises every week and is looking forward to playing with his classmates. Albert Price hopes to captain the team.

Peatreace Baldry, who went to Grey Court School, before going on to Clarendon School, is studying for the Further Education Award – a course for 16-17 year olds who want to improve their skills in literacy, numeracy and cooking. As a keen footballer she enjoys playing mid or centre field and admits, “When our tutor told us about this scheme we thought it was a joke at first! I’m trying to get back in to football as I haven’t played for a while so I’ll definitely have a go”.

Chelsea’s FITC scheme has been running for four years and Warren now delivers coaching to 28 schools and colleges and runs a County Development Squad for supported learning students. The club often invites students to play for its squads, including the Chelsea Disability Football Team, which might even lead to England selection!

Nuala Orton, Supported Learning lecturer at RuTC said “This opens up a great opportunity for our students to get more involved in sports in the community”.

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Provisional Oxbridge places

Posted: 03/03/2006

Fourteen students from Richmond upon Thames College have gained provisional Oxbridge places this year - two more than last year. Four students came from schools in the independent sector, four from state schools outside the borough, one from China and the rest from Richmond schools including two from Grey Court and one from Hampton Community College, Orleans Park and Waldegrave. Three of the hopeful students are studying the International Baccalaureate, a course offered by few other state colleges, which provides a vigorous alternative to A levels.

Ria Hylton was delighted with her offer. “When I first came to college I never dreamt of applying to Cambridge”, she admits. Ria had attended a school in South London which did not have a high academic record and felt she had to get out of the area to achieve her full potential. I am glad I came to Richmond upon Thames College as I certainly wouldn’t have achieved my grades anywhere else. “

Ria’s tutor suggested she consider Oxbridge - and when she passed three AS levels with A grades after her first year, she was encouraged to ‘go for it’!

Ria said: “It has been hard at times. The journey takes an hour and twenty minutes and the train fares are going up all the time - £49 a month at present. However, she will be taking a gap year and plans to work and save, perhaps travel a little and take a course to improve her essay writing skills - a condition of her Cambridge offer. “I am afraid something will have to give, but it won’t be the essay writing course!” If Ria passes all her A levels with grade As this summer she will be off to read social and political science at King’s College."

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Colleges and employers working together

Posted: 14/02/2006

Continuing Professional Development Programme for employers and individuals

On Friday 10 March, Richmond upon Thames College and Kingston College will launch their programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for those working in the coaching, leisure and fitness industries.

The CPD courses, seminars and workshops are part of the colleges collaborative Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) and have been developed to provide the skills demanded by employers and professional bodies such as SkillsActive, the Register of Exercise Professionals and Sports Coach UK.

The courses on offer in Spring and Summer 2006 have been developed in response to extensive research carried out by the CoVE with local employers and individuals over the past six months and have been tailored to meet the specific needs of the sector.

The focus is on providing the professional skills needed to work in the coaching, leisure and fitness industry, with updates on the latest techniques, government legislation and professional body guidelines. These courses will ensure individuals, employees and organisations are equipped with the experience and knowledge needed to meet the increasing demands of this competitive industry.

The event on Friday 10 March, held at Kingston College, is an opportunity for employers, employees, self employed instructor / trainers / coaches, PE teachers and volunteers to discuss the courses in detail and to take a look at the facilities and resources on offer.

Dave Warnes, CoVE Manager at Richmond upon Thames College said “this is a fantastic opportunity for people to gain new skills and learn more about working in the industry, giving them the professional development needed to advance their career.”

The courses have been endorsed by SkillsActive for the Register of Exercise Professionals and Sports Coach UK, and many can be used as evidence of CPD to gain credits.

Lee Buck, Development Officer at SkillsActive commented “SkillsActive supports endorsed training which offers instructors a wide range of training opportunities. Continued professional development encourages instructors to think about and question their own practice and we would support the further developments of CPD programmes”.

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Student volunteers for Seychelles expedition

Posted: 09/02/2006

Richmond upon Thames College student Louise Bird, now in her final year of her International Baccalaureate Diploma course, is planning an expedition that will contribute to conservation research in the Seychelles and help preserve its wildlife and environment.

Since starting the International Baccalaureate Diploma in September 2004, Louise, who came from Hampton Community College, has exploited the opportunities offered by the Community Activity Service (CAS) aspect of her course, which encourages students to develop community spirit and to try new things. Last summer she spent six weeks in Mexico carrying out voluntary work on a turtle conservation project and this summer she hopes to build on this experience by spending 10 weeks in the Seychelles, working on biological studies and conservation programmes.

Louise is organising this trip through Global Vision International, which sends volunteers on projects worldwide and has been invited by the Seychelles government and local NGOs to assist with research programmes.

On arrival, Louise will undergo training to acquire the skills necessary for research diving and marine survey work, including scuba diving, fish and coral identification and oceanography. Louise said, “I am really enthusiastic to see how conservation is carried out in different parts of the world as I hope to practice veterinary medicine, conservation and animal care abroad in my future career.”

Louise will be there from 9 July-21 September 2006. The total cost of the expedition is £2,695, or £35.90 per day, for 75 days. Louise has written to local businesses asking if they would sponsor her for one of the days. Louise added, “This project will help me with my future career plans, as I hope to study veterinary medicine after college, and put my degree to good use around the world by combining veterinary practice with conservation.”

Louise plans to keep her sponsors updated on her preparation prior to the expedition, and progress whilst carrying out the research. She hopes to follow this up when she returns by keeping in touch with the local businesses that will have supported her, and would be able to give talks and advice. Louise concluded, “I think this expedition will give me an amazing experience of living somewhere I’ve never visited before and at the same time a sense of achievement at having contributed to priority research.”

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Tate awards Twickenham students

Posted: 24/01/2006

Two students from Richmond upon Thames College, Twickenham, were awarded for their interpretation of a piece of art, as part of Tate Britain’s Visual Dialogues project.

On 10th January AS/A2 level Art students Sonia Yekinni and Helena Foster attended the Visual Dialogues Launch at Tate Britain, along with Peter Moore and April Spencer, Richmond upon Thames College lecturers.

The project is funded by the Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education and Skills, as part of the national partnerships programme for education 2004-06. It involves a group of young people, including the Tate Forum, to engage in contextual and interpretative studies relating either to a single work already on display, or a sequence of works. Sonia studied David Hockney’s ‘My Third Love’, a painting inspired by male public urinals and the messages scrawled therein. Audience participation at the event involved finding numbers within the painting and dialling them up on the telephone to hear phrases of love or “this number is unobtainable”, and visiting male and female toilets and viewing them or writing one’s own love message on designated cubicle walls. Sonia feels that this improves peoples’ understanding of Hockney’s painting by taking visits to the toilets, returning them to Hockney’s original inspiration. Sonia and Helena pursued this activity outside of college
in association with Tate Britain and other students from Manchester and Newcastle. April Spencer said, “All the art staff were very impressed with these students’ motivation to participate in this launch as an extra curricular activity.” Both Sonia and Helena were duly awarded prizes and certificates for their accomplishments at Tate Britain.

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Charity Lunch in aid of The Shooting Star Children’s Hospice

Posted: 18/01/2006

Second year catering students at Richmond upon Thames College are planning a charity lunch for up to 60 people on Monday 23rd January to raise funds for the local children’s hospice.

Karen Jennings, Hospitality and Catering lecturer feels that this lunch would be invaluable experience for them to arrange such a large event. She says “Last year as part of their studies students had to organise a catering event as part of their qualification. Unfortunately this could only be a paper exercise. This year students have the opportunity to organise real events as part of their ‘industry day experience’ where tutors from Richmond upon Thames College will help them to prepare for employment in the catering industry. In December they organised a Christmas lunch for a local nursery school, which was very successful both with children and staff”.

The Shooting Star event will be held in Merits restaurant at Richmond upon Thames College, Egerton Road, Twickenham. The cost of the lunch is £15.00 with all proceeds going to the Shooting Star charity. Laura Duncan, who is one of the students involved in this project comments “I feel that this event is definitely worthwhile for all the second year students. Not only are we supporting and raising funds for a local charity based in Hampton but we are also improving our skills and knowledge of the catering industry”. All the students have been involved in both the organisation and running of the event. Laura added “all of the students put ideas forward for the menu. My idea was chicken with a cream and cider sauce, which I will be cooking on the day as one of the main courses”.

Claudia Saahene is another student involved in the event. She says “There has been loads of work involved in planning this event. So far I have been involved in selling the raffle tickets, counting all the money and typing up recipes and table plans. We have to find out what everyone has ordered to help service go smoothly”. Claudia will be head waitress on the day. She adds “I will have to take control of the restaurant. I will have to make sure all the prep is done, the restaurant looks good and motivate my colleagues so good service is given”.

Local businesses, Thomas the Butcher’s in St Margaret’s and Sandy’s in Twickenham have donated the meat and fish for the lunch. Many other Twickenham based companies have donated prizes for a raffle which will take place during the lunch. The raffle will be drawn by the fundraising manager from Shooting Star will also give a short talk about the charity and its work.


Main course - Merits Restaurant	Dessert - Merits Restaurant	Raffle Draw

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Vocational Arts Fashion Show - 5th January 2006

Posted: 12/01/2006

The Vocational Art and Design Fashion Show is an exciting event, which has become a permanent fixture in the college calendar. It is a live show of work by students studying Intermediate GNVQ Art and Design, BTEC National Diplomas in 3D Design, Textiles (with Fashion), Fine Art and Graphic Design. The garments, accessories and pieces of work produced by the students are inspired by a variety of themes and issue. Intermediate GNVQ Art and Design students are creating garments inspired by the theme of Protection in the human and animal world, and first year National Diploma students are creating hybrid garments inspired by a range of Art Movements. The second year specialist students are manipulating a range of media and materials specific to their chosen specialist area, exploring themes such as ‘Protest’, ‘Image and Identity’, ‘The Animal Kingdom’ and ‘History’. The resulting array of garments, costumes, slides and body adornments range from the sculptural to the political and decorative. The students explore and use a diverse range of media, materials and technology to realise their ideas and concepts.

This year ‘A’ Level Theatre Design students have also been invited to participate in the show; they will present costume designs based on artists such as David Hockney, Salvador Dali and Wassily Kandinksy

The Fashion Show is a platform for the range and quality of work produced by the Vocational Art and Design students at Richmond upon Thames College. The whole event, which is in aid of ‘Off the Record’ (a local counselling charity) is a testament to the student’s enthusiasm, commitment and creativity and gives them valuable experience of presenting their work to a live audience.

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RuTC kicks off with its first Rugby League side

Posted: 21/12/2005

On Wednesday 14th December Richmond upon Thames College fielded its first ever Rugby League side in a competitive match against St Mary’s University, Twickenham. This exciting event was the result of a working relationship between the college’s CoVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence) arm and the newly relocated Harlequins, London’s only professional rugby league club (formerly the London Broncos).

The side was chosen from the college’s successful Rugby Academy players, with coaching support provided by Harlequins. Two Harlequins Regional Development Officers came along, with representatives from the Rugby League’s governing body who were impressed by this initiative. RuTC’s Richard Hewison, who scored four tries, Sam Knight and Jasper Nketiah, all delivered outstanding performances. With a final score of RuTC 28 V St Mary’s 52, Daniel Wortley, RuTC’s coach, commented, “We were very happy with the result as our side was made up of 16-18 year olds who had only had one training session, whereas St Mary’s Under 21s had been playing together for some time."

Becoming a Centre of Vocational Excellence has supported RuTC’s growth in developing new partnerships with local organisations and has increased its sports specific coaching and education provision. As a result of the match, Phil Jones, Harlequins’ Player Performance Manager, has asked five RuTC students to train with his team, based on their potential to become good rugby league players. Daniel added, “We are now keen to run a combined Rugby League and Union Academy, with input from Harlequins regional development officers. This would open up opportunities for more of our own players to turn professional with Harlequins and for some of their already signed younger players to study at RuTC."

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Student Geographers in the French Alps

Posted: 21/12/2005

Thirty-seven students and four lecturers from the Geography department at Richmond upon Thames College recently witnessed the effects of global warming for themselves after climbing up to the Glacier Blanc in the Ecrins National Park in the French Alps. The glacier has retreated about 50 metres since the College’s first field survey there in 2003.

Richmond upon Thames College’s Programme Manager for Earth Sciences, Jenny Linter, said: “Academically it was a real opportunity to put theory into practice.”

In addition to this work on glaciers the students investigated the sustainability of economic activity in the Alps, carried out micro-climate studies in the Claree Valley and paid an enjoyable visit to the Italian city of Turin. The city is hosting next year’s Winter Olympics and is using this as a chance to redevelop many of the sites left derelict by the decline of the car industry. The students felt that this showed the kind of benefits the 2012 Olympics could bring to London.

Jenny Linter concluded: “The field work was regarded as being very successful: everyone had a really good time whilst learning, many made new friends and it was a good opportunity to develop staff- student relationships. It comes as no great surprise that many of these students will carry on their Geography at University!"

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Launch of Centre of Vocational Excellence

Posted: 01/11/2005

In October 2005, Richmond upon Thames College officially launched its Centre
of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Digital Media and Design.

Members of staff and governors from both colleges attended the event where they experienced a ‘hands on’ demonstration of the college’s latest technology which is housed in the new AppleMac facility.

This facility has been brought about due to the funding made available through the CoVE and will provide industry standard training and provide business support services for New Media Technologies. The award enables the Centre of Vocational Excellence to develop a demand led curriculum based on the skills shortages in key creative industries such as Video, Film and Photography, Digital Publishing and Digital Design. Richmond upon Thames College will work with Richmond Adult Community College to improve opportunities for younger students in these vocational areas. The two colleges welcome the opportunity of working with local businesses in this field.

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Outstanding A-Level Results

Posted: 18/08/2005

AS/A2 Level Exam Results 2005

Richmond upon Thames College in Twickenham, has once again produced outstanding A level results, strengthening the college’s position as the top further education college in the London league tables.

This year, 930 students sat 2243 exams and achieved an overall pass rate of 98.1%, well above the national average of 96.2%. In 27 subjects, every student who sat the exams was successful and there was a pass rate of more than 95% in a further 17 subjects.

Students who previously attended schools in the borough of Richmond achieved a 50.1% pass rate at A and B grades which is an increase of 1.4% on last year.

Those students who came to the college with at least 5 GCSEs and an average grade of B or above performed even better achieving a 99.7% pass rate. These students gained a 73.7% pass rate at A and B grades.

Principal, Kevin Watson, said “These results are testimony both to the talent and application of some excellent students and to the considerable skill and dedication of staff. When one considers the sheer number of students and exam entries involved – 930 students taking a total of 45 subjects – it is clear that this constitutes success on a huge scale.”

He went on to say, “This time last year, I was the Principal of a Sixth Form College delighting in the achievements of a smaller cohort of young people in a college which focused exclusively on advanced level work. This year, I take even greater satisfaction in presiding over a comparable set of academic accomplishments attained in an institution which caters for a far more comprehensive spread of interests and abilities through a range of different courses. Anyone still considering where best to take A levels from September should feel confident that, with suitable effort and motivation, extremely pleasing results can certainly be gained at Richmond upon Thames College and each year around 900 of our students progress to higher education destinations all over the country.”

Paul Mudge, Chairman of Richmond upon Thames College, commented, “I share Kevin’s sentiments absolutely. Governors of the College are consistently impressed by the breadth and depth of what our students achieve. Moreover, our results become more impressive still when final A level grades are compared to qualifications at point of entry. A great many of our students, whether starting with a host of As and A*s at GCSE or from more modest beginnings, make major leaps in value-added terms. Very well done to all concerned.”

Please click on the links below for full details of our AS/A2 level examination results for 2005.

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College increases flexibility for borough students

Posted: 13/07/2005

For the second year running Richmond upon Thames College has successfully completed its Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP), which is one of the Government’s initiatives intended to broaden the curriculum offer. It enables year 10 and 11 pupils from Richmond borough’s link schools to attend the college one day a week to study vocational subjects that their schools are unable to offer.

47 year 10 pupils from Richmond borough’s schools have just completed their courses in art, catering, construction, engineering, health and social care, and additional IT qualifications. For many of these talented pupils it means that they have gained an insight into the employment industry by working on tasks that relate to a specific field. It is hoped that many of them will return to the college as full time students after completing year 11, having enjoyed their experiences whilst still at school.

In 2004-5 the college has been fortunate enough to have the support of a youth worker, who has worked with the young people to ensure they are happy and successful, including running a lunchtime club, providing a mix of games, videos, career talks and discussions. The youth worker acts as a bridge between staff and students, whilst the IFP administrator has played a key role in maintaining close links with all our borough schools to ensure both the college and the school are kept fully informed of students’ attendance, punctuality and progress.

Richmond College’s 14-19 Curriculum Director, Gill Cumberland, said: “We have worked very hard with school staff to select and encourage suitable candidates for the programme and parents have put their trust in these new courses for their children. They work with us to help ensure success for all who participate.”

The college has received over 150 applications for the next programme starting this September and all students have had an interview or taster session to help them make the best possible decisions for their future progression and aspirations.

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College presents first annual Art, Media and Performance Festival

Posted: 04/07/2005

From 27 June – 4 July Richmond upon Thames College will be bursting with creativity. Students, who are studying visual and performing arts or media, will be exhibiting or demonstrating their hard work over the last year at the first annual Art, Media and Performance Festival to be held at the college. “It has entailed some extra work and rehearsals - but basically we have already been examined on all these pieces so we can just relax, perform and enjoy ourselves,” commented Georgina McConnel, a performing arts student. “Also it is a great opportunity to see what everyone else has been up to over the past year!”

A huge number of drama events are planned for the week including a production of ‘Macbeth’, recently returned from touring alongside the Brighton Festival, which will be performed in the college quad. Mehran Shahabaldine, a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts student, spoke enthusiastically about his own experiences of touring Somerset primary schools earlier in the year. “The highlight, for me, was visiting a special school and seeing the smiles on the children’s faces as we performed.” The same play, ‘Aboriginal Tales’, will be recreated for the festival.

Self choreographed work will be presented by the dance students and an especially gathered ensemble will perform ‘In the Streets’ – a piece which includes a variety of dance styles. Meanwhile the music department will be staging a variety of concerts and music recitals and, weather permitting, the college jazz band, ‘RuTC Dropouts’, will be performing on the front lawn.

The art students will be celebrating with an exhibition of work from all courses which will culminate in their annual end of year show on Monday 4 July. The work, which represents a range of styles and influences, will include textiles, ceramics, graphic design, fine art, 3D, architecture, fashion and photography.

Media students will be screening their own films and promoting their web design installations as well as benefiting from guest lectures given by well known figures from the world of film and television.

We are proud of the fact that 223 of our students went on to university last year to study art, media, and performing arts courses while many more went to specialist art colleges or on to professional training in drama, dance and music. The festival is primarily a celebration of the success of all our students, whose creativity and commitment never fail to delight us,” said Tim Bale, Head of the Faculty of Art, Media and Performance at the college.

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RuTC successfully completes first year of the IB Diploma

Posted: 04/07/2005

On Monday 4th July, Richmond upon Thames College opens its doors to over 50 prospective International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma students and their parents at an event organised by the college’s staff and current IB students.

During the evening, prospective students will listen to current students talking about why they chose to study the International Baccalaureate Diploma and in particular, talk about the Creativity, Action and Service programme which involves participation in a community activity and is an integral part of the course.

The IB Diploma is an internationally recognised broad-based qualification offered as an alternative to AS/A2 levels and prepares highly motivated students very well for university work. Sarah King, who came to the college from Orleans Park School, chose the Diploma after her GCSEs because she felt she wanted a new challenge as well as a broad-based programme of study. Sarah says, “the best thing about the course is meeting people from different nationalities and educational backgrounds which challenges the way you look at things”, she adds “the IB is a very integrated programme, everything is linked and there is lots of coherence between the subjects.”

During the past year, the students have been involved in a number of community activities including the Duke of Edinburgh awards and fund-raising events for the Tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. Many of the students are spending their summer holidays working on international projects including an orphanage in Romania, a hospice in Spain and environmental work with tortoises in Mexico. It is these kinds of endeavours which, alongside the rigorous academic training, recommend IB students so powerfully to universities.

Student, Katerina Elias-Trostmann comments “The College prepares you for university as you have to undertake a lot of independent research on the course. The teachers are enthusiastic about their subjects and want to get the best out of the students.”

Kathleen Wildman, Head of Communication, Languages and Literature, who is also responsible for managing the IB diploma has clear views on the benefits of the course. She says, “The International Baccalaureate Diploma course is designed to educate the whole person, intellectually, culturally and emotionally. Its aim is to encourage a generation of young people who are prepared to make a difference in the world. This is what we see happening at the College. During this, our first year of the course we have seen huge enthusiasm, hard work and success on the part of staff and students alike. Both have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of the wide-ranging curriculum and the stimulus of working in a truly international group.”

Richmond upon Thames College launched the IB diploma in September 2004 with an intake of 28 students and to date remains the only state institution in London to offer the course. Kathleen comments “The popularity of the course has spread quickly and interest from local schools is very strong. Weekly we are receiving applications from both home and overseas students and we have already filled our 38 places for this coming academic year. We hope to increase this in 2006.”

To find out more about the event on the 4th July or the IB Diploma at Richmond upon Thames College, please contact Stephen Winfield on 020 8607 8294.

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Celebration of School Link Course 2005

Posted: 18/05/2005

On 29th April year 11 students from Richmond borough’s secondary schools who had attended a link course in Catering, Child Care, Construction or Sport at Richmond upon Thames College, joined school and college staff for a presentation of certificates and prizes. Many parents attended as well.

The staff teaching on each course gave a brief description of the achievement of the pupils and photos and samples of their work were on display. The new college Principal, Kevin Watson, gave the certificates and prizes to the best student in each group.

The year 11 link course, which allows the students to attend college for one day a week throughout year 11, has been running for a number of years and is one of the college’s original offers to the borough schools. Gill Cumberland, 14-19 Curriculum Director at Richmond upon Thames College, is responsible for organising the course. Her role involves meeting the students on their first day to give them a talk, and dealing with any concerns from students, lecturers or their schools. She commented, “The main challenge we faced when the programme started many years ago was that schools found it hard to identify the right students – the courses are for those who will benefit from a vocational offer.

“Most of the problems have been ironed out now and we have a high conversion rate to full time courses in following years. The staff enjoy teaching these courses and are very much committed to giving the students a good practical experience without the constraint of exams. For some students the day in college is the best day of their week.”

This year has been one of the most successful since the programme started and many of the pupils are hoping to enrol on full time courses at the college in September.

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RuTC Staff Forge Links with European Schools

Posted: 18/05/2005

Lecturers from Richmond upon Thames College have become actively involved with the British Council’s “Comenius School Partnership Project”. The project supports school partnerships across Europe, in particular promoting language learning and mobility across the continent.

In November 2004 the College hosted a two-day planning meeting to develop ideas for joint educational projects, inviting fourteen teachers from Luebeck in Germany, Bilbao in Spain and Stavanger in Norway.

This April, four College staff (Jenny Linter, Earth Sciences; Judy McNair and Sheralyn Coates, Travel and Tourism; and Paul Malham, Business Studies) travelled to Germany for an intensive programme, hosted by Head Teacher Juergen Runge and his staff at the Ernestinenschule in Luebeck. The delegation reviewed student projects initiated during early 2005 and planned the next stages for European co-operation. The trip was highly successful and the lecturers involved are now very keen to move towards student exchanges in the near future.

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RuTC awarded Centre of Excellence status

Posted: 29/04/2005

Richmond upon Thames College, in partnership with Kingston College, has been awarded ‘Centre of Vocational Excellence’ (CoVE) status in Coaching, Leisure & Fitness in recognition of the outstanding quality of provision in this area.

The award of CoVE status is worth £500,000 over the next three years and will enable the colleges to develop a demand led curriculum based on skills shortages in the key industries of coaching, fitness and leisure.

Richmond upon Thames College and Kingston College have worked collaboratively over the past 12 months to develop a comprehensive programme of courses that meets the needs of individuals and employers in the local area. New courses will start at both colleges in September 2005 and are suited to adults who are either new to the industry or who wish to develop their existing skills further. Many of the courses offered are recognised by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) as providing credits towards the continuing professional development requirement. All the courses will start in September 2005 and will lead to recognised industry qualifications.

Courses on offer include coaching qualifications in athletics, basketball, football, netball and rugby. In addition, exciting new courses in fitness training, personal training and sports massage will be run at the colleges. Both Colleges are accredited by the major awarding bodies such as YMCA (CYQ), 1st For Sport and the British Sports Trust. Richmond upon Thames College also aims to improve opportunities for younger students in the vocational area of sport and recreation over the next few months by developing new Apprenticeship programmes for young people between the ages of 16 to 24 years.

Kevin Watson, Principal at Richmond upon Thames College commented, “The award of a Centre of Excellence reflects the superb provision of resources and teaching staff in a specific curriculum area and Richmond upon Thames College is proud to have achieved that recognition in the field of coaching, leisure and fitness. Many members of staff from both colleges have worked closely over the last few months to develop an innovative programme of courses. We are looking forward to a productive working partnership with Kingston College which will benefit many individuals by providing real opportunities to acquire new skills and excellent career prospects for the future.”

Dr Nick Sinnamon, Deputy Principal at Kingston College, remarked, “We are absolutely delighted to be working in partnership with Richmond upon Thames College in developing this area of the curriculum, and the award of ‘Centre of Vocational Excellence’ status is a fitting acknowledgement of the terrific investment Kingston College has made in building the 'state of the art' sports and leisure facilities that now form part of our ‘Arena Complex’”.

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Success at Apprenticeship Awards 2005

Posted: 29/04/2005

The Skills Development Team at Richmond upon Thames College nominated 4 Apprentices and 2 employers for consideration in the categories of Apprentice of the Year, Advanced Apprentice of the Year, Personal Achiever of the Year and Employer of the Year at this year’s London Regional Apprenticeship Awards organised by the Learning and Skills Council.

The college was delighted to receive news that Victoria Odubore had reached the finals for Apprentice of the Year and that the Community Initiative Partnership (CIP) had been nominated for Employer of the Year.

In support of her nomination, Victoria said “I have gone from working 16 hours per week as a part-time receptionist, aged 16, at Fitness First in Shepherds Bush, to becoming their Customer Care Manager at the age of only 19!

I feel that without the Apprenticeship Scheme and the support of my Skills Development Advisor, Diana Holden, together with my managers, I would not have been given the opportunity to progress as far as I have in so short a time. Also, in my experience, I have not come across many young black men or women in this role and feel that I am proof of what young people in ethnic minorities can achieve. I have shown my peers within the college that they can strive to become managers and that with the right attitude, maturity and ambition, it is possible to make such progress even at a young age.”

Alan Smith, employed by Community Initiative Partnership as Assistant Manager of Isleworth Recreation Centre, has supported several of the college’s Apprentices in recent years. Diana Holden acknowledged Alan’s continued support and commented, “The partnership between the college and CIP is a huge success, which has been greatly enhanced by the ‘hands-on’ approach of Alan Smith. As well as supporting Apprentices employed by them, he also regularly comes in to the college to give talks to students who are considering becoming Apprentices to give them an insight into what employers in the leisure industry require.”

The glittering Awards Ceremony took place at Madame Tussaud’s and the college’s two finalists were accompanied by their colleagues and members of the Skills Development Team. Both finalists had the honour of becoming “Highly Commended” runners-up in their categories and Sir Trevor McDonald very eloquently made the presentations. They will now automatically be put through to the National Apprenticeship Awards in June.

The event was a tremendous success, run with precision and a credit to the Learning Skills Council and their organisers.

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A sporting success for Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 18/04/2005

47 students from Richmond upon Thames College recently took part in the British Colleges Sport National Finals which is an annual weekend event hosted by Loughborough University. This competition is like a mini Olympics where the students compete in 14 sports. This year Richmond upon Thames College is South East Regional Champion in 7 of those sports.

The students were accompanied by members of staff from the college’s Sports Department to the Championships and represented the South East team that comprises of students from colleges in the region. All the students performed extremely well throughout the championships and at the end of the weekend the team walked away with a clutch of medals for various team events including a gold medal for mens trampolining, silver medals for mens cross-country, rugby and football and bronze medals for mens basketball and volleyball.

Overall the South East region mens team shared first position with the East region team. The combined mens and womens results placed the South East team in third place which was two places higher than last year and the highest position ever achieved by the team.

This success reflects all the hard work and training that the coaches and athletes have been undertaking over the year and gives the athletes a real target to aim for. Next year the college is looking to its female athletes to achieve the same level of success as this year as although the college’s two swimmers performed well in their individual events (2nd place) only the overall team points count.

Kevin Watson, who joined Richmond upon Thames College at the beginning of April as its new principal commented, “although I am new to the college, I am already aware of the success of the Sports Department in terms of sporting accomplishments and academic results. These latest triumphs are a credit to both the students and staff and reflect the college’s commitment to achieving sporting excellence”.

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College ambassadors to work with local school pupils

Posted: 15/03/2005

During their half-term 30 keen students, studying a variety of courses at Richmond upon Thames College, undertook a day’s student ambassador training, run jointly by college staff and a trainer from South Bank University.

The students, many originally from local schools, practised their communication and presentation skills, learned more about the college courses offered at all levels and enacted role-plays on how to deal with different situations.

At the end of the day students were presented with certificates by the Principal, Eric Kirby. Gill Cumberland, the college’s 14-19 Curriculum Director said, “Although the content of the day was serious, a lot of fun was had by all!”

The students are now ready to visit local schools and talk to the pupils there, greet visitors to the college on Open Days and help local school pupils who visit the college for taster days.

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RuTC response to Govt 14-19 Education White Paper

Posted: 01/03/2005

On Wednesday 23 February the Government published its 14-19 education White Paper which retains the system of A levels and GCSEs and does not adopt the overarching diploma advocated by Sir Mike Tomlinson, former chief Inspector of Schools for Ofsted and Chair of the working group set up by the Government to take forward the 14-19 agenda.

Richmond upon Thames College responded by stating that the core of the Government’s White Paper seeks to divide even further the two educational routes of academic and vocational. The college fears this schism could lead to the development of a 2-tier system of education similar to the old grammar versus secondary modern education model. The college feels that it is unfortunate that after commissioning Tomlinson to look into the reform of the 14-19 education system that they are not taking the key recommendations onboard which would help iron out the disparity between academic and vocational qualifications as well as increase success and progression rates for 14-19 year olds

Over the last few years Richmond upon Thames College has worked closely in partnership with the Richmond borough schools in order to offer a wider choice of learning opportunities for young people from 14 years onwards. Successful examples include the college’s Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP) which focuses on achieving results for students who live in the borough and are disaffected by the national curriculum route. This programme started in 2002-3 and students complete courses in Engineering, Health & Social Care, Information and Communication Technology, Catering and Construction and the Built Environment. All IFP students follow a two-year course leading to a nationally recognised qualification and to date the college has achieved a success rate of 91%. The college is delighted that 62.5% of its IFP students have progressed on to Further Education courses.

In addition, the college aims to provide accessibility to a broader curriculum offer to students in the whole 14-19 age range. The college already provides one of the largest A level curriculum offers in the country, this is being extended in certain subjects such as engineering to 14 year old borough students who unable to study certain subjects to GCSE level at their school.

The college recognises the need to provide education and training skills to meet the Government’s Skills Strategy agenda for the 21st Century and continually looks at new ways to fulfill this strategy and plug the existing skills gap. The proposed new college development would provide greater facilities and training opportunities for all 14-19 year olds in the borough.

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Richmond College IB Success

Posted: 02/02/2005

Richmond upon Thames College, the only state college in London to offer the International Baccalaureate, has deemed the course a success based on its first intake of 28 students this year.

Half way in to their first year, International Baccalaureate (IB) students from Richmond upon Thames College gave feedback on their experiences of the course so far. IB students study six subjects plus Theory of Knowledge, which involves students reflecting on their own learning, and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), which encourages them to develop community spirit in addition to strong academic skills.

IB student Sarah King came to the college from Orleans Park School, Twickenham, and believes that “IB changes how you learn things, with more focus on how you learn and more free choice on what you study.” As an all-rounder, Sarah did not fancy being restricted to three or four subjects at A level and the IB has allowed her to take English, French, German, History, Maths and Biology.

Alex Hopfenblatt joined the college from abroad as he was born in the U.S and grew up in Germany. He said, “What I think is great about the IB programme is that you’re tested every week to see how you’ve improved.” His advice to those considering the IB is “You have to be able to deal with pressure, be well organised and take it seriously – it’s not an easy way out of A levels. It is positively challenging and prepares you in the best way for later life, for whatever career you choose.”

All our IB students are not only highly academic but also very immersed in extra-curricular activities. As part of CAS Alex has taken up golf and said “I think CAS is excellent because it gives you an incentive to consider new things. It’s important to focus not only on keeping healthy mentally but also physically.”

Sarah and class-mate Katherina have initiated a Tsunami fundraising project to include a 60’s party on 4th March which is expected to raise at least £400. They will be opening a bank account for all the money raised and fundraising activities such as car washing and cake sales will continue until the end of term.

Holly Grantham came from the nearby Teddington School and says it is an additional bonus that the college closest to her happens to offer the IB. Overall she feels that her “subjects link well with one another and therefore create a good feeling of overall learning.”

All these young students have promising futures ahead of them, supplemented by a lot of hard work no doubt. Sarah hopes to apply to Oxford University to study languages or PPE but is keeping her options open about careers for the moment. Holly would like to study natural sciences at an Oxbridge University, and Alex intends to go to university in the States to study law or biology.

The students are confident they are being well prepared for university work, as Sarah pointed out, “The extended essay involves a lot of independent research, which requires you to write a lot of words on a subject of your choice, like a mini-dissertation.” Holly added, “The workload on the IB is a lot more like university than A levels are, so it shouldn’t be too much of a big step up.”

Richmond upon Thames College’s IB Course Co-ordinator Stephen Winfield says, "It's a privilege to be working with so many motivated and adventurous students, from such a wealth of different backgrounds. The IB Programme is really drawing out the best in them and in us as teachers and represents the kind of forward thinking so urgently needed in English education today.”

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Project encourages students with learning difficulties to Aimhigher

Posted: 04/01/2005

Richmond upon Thames College is delighted to be a partner in an exciting project entitled AchieveAbility which aims to encourage young people, especially those with specific learning difficulties, to progress on to higher education.

The £0.5 million project, funded by the National Aimhigher board, will help students with dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia, to overcome their learning difficulties which may include problems with word recognition, writing, spelling and numbers.

The project will be managed by Katherine Hewlett, Head of Educational Liaison and Development at the University of Westminster, and is being backed by the Dyslexia Institute and National Disability Team.

Other partners include University of Westminster, London Metropolitan University, City of Westminster and Westminster Kingsway Further Education Colleges and Pimlico School. Cross partnership collaboration will develop the project nationally over the next two years.

Richmond upon Thames College has been involved from the outset and as Katherine said: “It was identified as a college looked to for advice and guidance in this area.” She added “The college has a highly professional team of experts integral to the project in paving the way in Best Practice.”

The project comprises three strands – raising awareness and understanding of the needs of students, outreach work and supporting teachers and lecturers to support learners. The project team is currently preparing for its National Conference in February 2005.

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A chef for the future

Posted: 01/01/2005

The catering department at Richmond upon Thames College has cause to celebrate as one of its students has been offered a permanent position at a top London hotel.

Dane Keogh age 18 from Hampton joined Richmond upon Thames College in 2003 to study for an NVQ1 in Catering and Hospitality. He successfully completed the course and then progressed to the next level which he should complete in May 2005. However, last November, Dane was offered a full-time job at the prestigious five star Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge. Dane starts working at the hotel at the end of February and is being fast-tracked to complete his NVQ2 before this date.

Before coming to Richmond upon Thames College, Dane attended Whitton School where he gained a number of GCSEs including Food Technology, English, History and PE at grade C.

Dane decided on a career in the catering and hospitality industry when he started his Food Technology GCSE course in Year 10 at school. Upon leaving school, Dane chose to study his NVQ at Richmond upon Thames College because of its modern facilities and training restaurant as well as its excellent reputation for teaching and achieving good results.

Dane says “over the last 2 years my tutors have really looked after me and given me lots of encouragement and support”. He added “the course has been excellent and a highlight was last year’s trip to Spain. All the catering students went on this trip to find out about Spanish food and culture. It gave everyone a chance to get to know each other properly, away from the college’s busy kitchen and restaurant. I have made lots of friends and will definitely keep in touch with them after I’ve left college”.

In addition to the field trip, another valuable part of the course is work experience. Through the college’s industry link programme, Dane spent two weeks at the Carlton Tower Hotel in May 2004 and then returned later that year for the whole month of November. During his work experience placements, Dane helped the chefs prepare food for the restaurants and the banqueting section. At the end of November, he was offered a permanent job starting at the end of February 2005.

Dane is looking forward to at the Carlton Tower Hotel and says “I like food and there are so many different dishes you can do with the same ingredients. I enjoy the variety and through working at Richmond upon Thames College and the Carlton Towers Hotel, I’ve seen ingredients from all over the world, some things I’d never seen or tasted before. The best thing about catering is that everyday you learn something new – you never have the same day twice. The worst thing is the long hours. One day I worked at the hotel from 9.00am until 11.00pm. You need to be dedicated and motivated. But its definitely worth it. Even though the hours are long – you get lots of variety and the more you do, the more you learn”.

When Dane was asked about his favourite type of food, he commented “I most enjoy cooking starters and I particularly enjoy cooking chilli prawns on toast which is one of my favourite Jamie Oliver recipes. I cook all the time at home for all my family and friends. Eventually, I want to open my own restaurant but at the moment I want to get as much knowledge and skills as possible”.

Stephen Parker is responsible for Richmond upon Thames College’s industry link programme scheme which enables young students to gain valuable work experience in some of London’s most impressive organisations including the Grosvenor House Hotel, Carlton Tower Hotel, Conran restaurants and the Lensbury Club in Teddington. The college is also able to provide in-house and external training courses for these organisations.

When asked about Dane’s achievement he stated “since Dane has been with the college he has worked hard and remained motivated towards learning new skills. He has been fully supported by all members of staff within the departments and we’re all proud of his success so far.”

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Archived News and Events

News in 2009:

News in 2008:

News in 2007:

News in 2006:

News in 2005:

An Italian Exchange in Royal Holloway

Posted: 17/12/2009

Gifted Theatrical Student makes his debut at the Globe

Posted: 17/12/2009

Richmond upon Thames College Students win Royal Holloway’s prestigious ‘Apprentice style’ challenge

Posted: 02/12/2009

Entrepreneurial students tackle climate change

Posted: 17/11/2009

Richmond upon Thames College Celebrates Colleges Week

Posted: 10/11/2009

A taste of Italy

Posted: 08/10/2009

Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning

Posted: 01/10/2009

College recognises students’ achievements

Posted: 28/09/2009

RuTC’s Rugby side get a taste of South Africa

Posted: 22/09/2009

Inspirational students gearing up for 2012

Posted: 08/09/2009

Results Day at Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 20/08/2009

Richmond upon Thames College at the UK School Games

Posted: 19/08/2009

Leavers Event 2009

Posted: 12/08/2009

Welcome Day

Posted: 12/08/2009

Student Union Summer Fair

Posted: 12/08/2009

A taste of France

Posted: 12/08/2009

Sporty Students

Posted: 12/08/2009

FUTURE STARS International Junior Basketball Tournament 2009

Posted: 15/07/2009

Richmond College students make the grade - IB Diploma results 2009

Posted: 14/07/2009

Future stars shine at basketball

Posted: 06/07/2009

RuTC Training Solutions for local businesses launched

Posted: 29/06/2009

Supported Learning Students crowned Surrey County League Champions

Posted: 23/06/2009

Art students get a taste of exhibiting

Posted: 22/06/2009

Richmond College student part of prestigious online exhibition

Posted: 09/06/2009

Richmond College sports coach named Basketball Coach of the Year

Posted: 09/06/2009

Student recognised as RuTC’s Best Learner

Posted: 04/06/2009

Richmond students are true blues

Posted: 29/05/2009

Students look to the future

Posted: 06/05/2009

RuTC student highly commended at the Workforce Development Awards 2009

Posted: 28/04/2009

Richmond upon Thames College student part of winning England Basketball team

Posted: 28/04/2009

25th Anniversary Celebration of Apple Tree Café and Serious Snacks

Posted: 21/04/2009

Ex Richmond students shine on the rugby world stage

Posted: 20/04/2009

International Baccalaureate Diploma Success for Richmond upon Thames College

Posted: 20/04/2009

RuTC students ‘Dare2Dance’

Posted: 17/03/2009

RuTC awarded Academy Provider status

Posted: 11/03/2009

Youth Parliament Leaders Elected

Posted: 26/02/2009

Ex RuTC student a sporting superstar!

Posted: 20/02/2009