Building for the future OUTSTANDING RESULTS AND A pounds 4M INVESTMENT

SOLIHULL College has had a fantastic year. Not only has itachieved outstanding A Level, HND and degree results, but has alsoseen the opening of a pounds 4 million building that is set to takethe college into the 21st century.

The building was officially opened in September by BaronessBlackstone, Minister of State for Further and Higher Education. Itrepresents a great investment for the college in both financial andeducational terms, and will no doubt prove to be the envyo f manyhigher education institutions in the country.

The emphasis is on the delivery of learning through newtechnology, with opportunities for students to develop their ITskills or to study with the help of Internet on-line resources inthelibrary. The library also has Internet links to partneruniversi tiesincluding Coventry University and the University of Warwick.Colin Flint, principal, said: "This new building, for which I havebeen working for 11 years, is the cornerstone of our plan to createthe best college campus in Britain. It is the heart of our 'Collegeof the 21st Century' vision, utilising newtechnolo gy for teachingand learning."Lesley Donoghue, director of student services, explained: "Thisbuilding is all about helping students achieve their best by givingthem the best facilities to enhance and support their studies. Wewant our students to achieve their maximum potentialand we believethat by offering this quality of environment and equipment, all ourstudents will benefit."The new building has already proved to be a success with studentsand will help to ensure Solihull College retains its position as oneof the foremost providers of quality education in the West Midlands.This year has also seen building work begin on a new sports halland a new art block at the college. The sports hall will be open toboth students and the public and will offer outstanding facilities.The first phase of building will see the completion of badminton,volleyball, basketball and netball courts as well as facilities forindoor five-a-side football and hockey pitches. The second phasewill include a dance and fitness studio.CommunityMr Flint commented: "The sports hall is a major project which willbe of great benefit to our students and all of our customers. We area community college aiming to serve the people of Solihull and thesurrounding area."This summer, the college won a Heritage Lottery Fund grant ofpounds 17,000 for its restoration plan for the gardens of TudorGrange House.Formerly the home of Sir Alfred Bird and his family, who acquiredthe property in 1900, the house now forms part of BlossomfieldCampusand is both a teaching area for business-based courses and the homeof the Solihull Training Consultancy (STC).As well as improving college facilities for students, 1998 hasproved to be an excellent year for A Level exam results.Art, physics, Chinese, biology and media A-level exams resulted inan outstanding 100 per cent pass rate, while pass rates were alsohigh in psychology and English literature (95%), general studies(92%), maths (91%) and English (89%).Angela Myers, vice-principal, commented: "We were delighted withour A-level results. There were over 400 entries and students haveworked very hard. The number achieving A-C grades has increased overthe last year with 10 per cent of candidates gainingAs in Englishliterature and psychology."Links with partner universities such as Warwick, Coventry,Sheffield, Manchester and Staffordshire have remained strong thisyear. Summer 1998 degree graduates obtained excellent results, withsix per cent receiving a first and 85 per cent obtaininga secondclass honours degree.A-level students who left the college to study at universities allover the country are also reporting good results this year.Graduates from as far afield as Manchester, Edinburgh and Luton haveachieved 2:1 degrees in subjects such as engineering,fineart,psychology and media production.Two particular success stories are those of Ken Jukes, who studiedfor his A-levels at Solihull College before embarking on a degreecourse, and Sandra Forsdike, aged 42, who both have a keen interestin archaeology.Ken was a full-time worker for Rover and took advantage of hisfirm's scheme to provide money towards further education. Shift workallowed him to attend full-time A-level classes in history andpolitics, in which he gained grade A passes.He then studied A-level economics and chemistry in evening classesat the college and later spent a year brushing up his old Icelandicin courses at The University of Birmingham and in Iceland.In 1995, he began a degree course in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celticat Girton College, Cambridge. He graduated this summer with a 2:1and is now studying for a masters degree in archaeology.Sandra, from Balsall Heath, took an Access course at SolihullCollege before embarking on a degree in archaeology at TheUniversityof Birmingham. She left school at 15 and found adjusting to study atuniversity level a challenge at first, especially asshe was a maturestudent.However, Sandra quickly settled into her studies and graduatedthis summer with a 2:1. She is hoping to go on to study for an MAwhich will help her achieve a job in archaeology.The college was officially recognised by The Chartered Instituteof Marketing (CIM) this year as an approved centre for the trainingof professional marketeers when it was awarded a nationallyrecognised Kite Mark by the CIM for the quality of itsmarket ingCertificate and Diploma courses.ExcellenceKaren Beamish, education manager of the CIM, presented the collegewith a commemorative plaque at a special ceremony in November. Shealso met Vicki Washwood, who studied for her Advanced Certificate inMarketing at the college and was named Studentof the Year for 1998bythe Midland Branch of the CIM.Solihull College accountancy courses have also produced a prize-winning student this year. Samantha Fellows won the Raftery & CoAccountancy Award after completing her Association of AccountancyTechnicians (ATT) course.The award is in recognition of the student who has made a specialcontribution to an accountancy course at the college throughdetermination, hard work, achievement and commitment.Samantha was presented with the trophy at the college's annualCelebration of Achievement which took place at the NEC in November.The Art and Design department has seen a number of success storiesthis year, especially in the Fine Art and Fashion Departments.Fashion students spent a third year running at the Clothes Show Liveevent at the NEC in December.The work of HND textiles students appeared in the College Forum, aspecial catwalk show for further and higher education students fromaround the country, whilst other students assisted in the pressoffice and backstage dressing models.Emma-Louise Cullen, a former Solihull College fashion student,celebrated earlier in the year when her garments created a catwalksensation. She was one of 50 young designers whose work appeared atthe Alternative London Fashion Week in March.Aged 23, Emma-Louise spent three years at the college studyingfashion and now specialises in designing exclusive snow-board andski-wear for girls.Third year BA fine art students and a group of practising artistswho trained at Solihull College pulled off an impressive coup inNovember and December when their paintings and sculpture appeared ina series of exhibitions in Birmingham.The venues included up-and-coming art galleries such as theCustard Factory and the Works Gallery, and the exhibitors includedAdrian Dunne and Julie Flanagan who completed their foundationstudies in art and design before going on to higher levelstudy.ReputationTUC general secretary John Monks officially opened a new tradeunion education centre at Blossomfield Campus in October. Thecollege has successfully provided training in industrial relationsand health and safety for union representatives for over 20ye arsandhas a national and international reputation.The college's hair and beauty department was named as one of theten best in the country by the International Institute(DermatologicaUK Ltd).Education for all ages in basic skills and literacy has developedthis year, with the college holding a very successful LiterarySchoolthis summer. A new award for exceptional contributions to life-longand family learning has also been created by thec ollege this year.The Learning to Learn as a Family Award originated from theLearning to Learn as a Family project, funded through the NorthSolihull Regeneration Budget. The aim is to enable whole families tolearn together.Solihull College's current Prince's Trust Volunteers Team met withHRH The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at Castle Vale LibraryinOctober.The college runs a 12-week voluntary programme aimed at 16-25-year-olds and they embarked on a community project based in CastleVale which involved painting murals on the local library.Finally, college students and the public were treated to a flyingvisit from two of Russia's most famous Cosmonauts in October.Alexander Volkov and Alexander Martynov gave a series of illustratedlectures to students and local school children.Solihull College is well prepared to meet the challenges of thenew millennium. This has been an outstanding year and 1999 shouldprove to be even better.