West Herts College | News archive

News archive

Catering students read between the lines

Used to preparing and serving food to the general public in Cassio’s Restaurant on Cassio campus, the students were delighted to be given the opportunity to provide food and refreshments for a differ...

Students turn travel reps for trip of a lifetime

As part of their course, the second year Travel and Tourism students worked as travel reps, organising excursions for each day of the trip. Split into groups, the students had to organise and run an ...

College indulges in retail therapy

Designed for school leavers looking for their first step into retail, the courses will teach the essential skills needed to be successful in the fast-paced world of retail, finding out how retailers ...

College helps stub out smoking

West Herts College has teamed up with the NHS to offer Stop Smoking clinics every Tuesday during term time, at Watford campus in Hempstead Road. As well as offering advice and guidance to College sta...

School and College share Academy vision

If agreed, Francis Combe School would become a state-of-the-art academy offering a range of resources and facilities specialising in art, media and sport. As well as being the first of its kind in Wa...

Student therapists de-stress council employees

Twenty students from the Hair and Beauty department at West Herts College will be soothing the nerves of the weary Watford Borough Council workers by giving Indian back, neck and hand massages. The ...

Ofsted: 'West Herts College continues to improve'

The College was rated as a Good College with Outstanding capacity to continue to improve when it underwent a full Ofsted inspection in January 2006. Inspectors revisited the College this summer to ca...

Give the gift of learning

West Herts College is taking part in a national pilot project launched by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), to promote further e...

College scoops gold at media industry Oscars

It may not quite be the Oscars but there were certainly heartfelt speeches, posh frocks and champagne, not to mention awards to take pride of place on the mantelpiece for West Herts College this mon...

College ladies are top of the league

West Herts College Ladies football team consistently rose to the challenge and performed outstandingly in every match they played in the league, which was run over a five-week period. Many of the te...

Former hostage gives inspiring talk

In a rare public appearance former hostage Norman Kember, from Pinner, visited West Herts College in Watford recently to share memories of his ordeal with students.More than 150 students, all hoping ...

Plane lands at Cassio campus

West Herts College secured funding from Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in order to purchase a fuselage of an out of service BAC1-11, which will be used by students studying Travel a...

Destination Hong Kong for high flying students

Travelling the world and experiencing different cultures is all in a day’s work for Travel and Tourism students at West Herts College, with one group of second years fresh off the plane home from Hon...

Experiencing life on the piste

The School of Sport, Travel and Public Services at West Herts College waved goodbye to the cloudy UK weather and Bonjour to excellent skiing conditions at the resort of Les Deux Alpes in France last...

We are top of the league

The second year Centre of Football Excellence team finished the season top of the league, after winning their final league match 3-1. The boys were ecstatic with the win, which confirmed their posi...

Voters of the future quiz Lib Dem leader

Students studying for their A Levels in politics at West Herts College had a taste of what life is like on the political frontline last week, when Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg paid a visit to t...

Education ministers visit future Academy school

Staff and learners at Francis Combe School and West Herts College were celebrating last week, as the College’s bid to sponsor the school as an Academy was formally approved by the Department for Chi...

Students take part in hard-hitting fire safety campaign

West Herts College is supporting a campaign to raise awareness of using tea lights safely, launched by Herts Fire and Rescue Service this week in memory of the two firefighters who lost their lives ...

Nothing hidden for film-making duo

Two budding film makers from West Herts College have been making headlines after making a short film tackling the topical issue of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Students Edwin Elkington an...

New prices for hospitality courses

West Herts College has slashed the price of its door supervisor and personal licence holder training, following the Government’s announcement that it intends to crackdown on alcohol-related crime by...

Sun, sea and sport

Sun, sea and sport was the order of the weekend for a group of students studying on the Active IQ course at West Herts College, as they headed to Camber Sands recently for a few days of sporting acti...

Students learn important lessons in safety

The importance of keeping safe over the long summer months was the focus of the latest student enrichment campaign to take place at West Herts College this month, as several outside agencies includi...

SOS call for College's plane fuselage

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service had a training session with a difference last month, when they used the plane fuselage at the College’s Cassio campus to simulate a plane crash and subsequent ...

Showing racism the red card

Students studying for their Foundation Degree in Sport Studies brushed shoulders with stars from the world of football recently, as they assisted with the running of the Show the Racism the Red Card ...

Experiencing the great outdoors

First-year students studying for their BTEC National Diploma in Sport got to experience adventure in the great outdoors on a recent end-of-year trip to Poole harbour and the New Forest. Forty-two s...

Training plane ready for 'take off'

>While holiday makers get ready to jet off to the airport and take-off to sunnier climes, one group of high-flyers kept their feet firmly on the ground during the inaugural official ‘flight’ of th...

Ceremony marks start of new campus building work

An official ‘marking out’ ceremony was held at West Herts College’s Watford campus in Hempstead Road on Monday 9 June, to formally mark the start of construction work on its state-of-the-art new buil...

Ground Force treatment for College garden

Foundation Studies students at Dacorum campus in Hemel Hempstead have transformed the garden at the Learning Centre into a relaxing, tranquil setting in a project that even Alan Titchmarsh and his G...

Working together pays off for fundraisers

While most of us take being able to get and about for a walk for granted, for a group of students at West Herts College, it took a combination of teamwork, courage and determination to overcome phys...

Dizzy heights for Construction students

Construction students at West Herts College had the opportunity to experience life on a building site from on high, when they paid a visit to the Kodak Tower development in Hemel Hempstead. The stu...

Students celebrate A Level success

Careers, ambitions and university life came one step closer to reality for the successful students collecting their A Level results from West Herts College on Thursday 14 August. Nails were bitten...

All the fun of the fair

Bucking broncos, climbing walls and sumo wrestling are not sights you see everyday in Watford but they were just some of the activities on offer for new students to West Herts College last week, as ...

Window of opportunity for fashion students

Shoppers indulging in a spot of window shopping in Hemel Hempstead town centre last weekend were forced to look twice when the mannequins came to life. Students from West Herts College dressed in...

X Factor stardom for former student Amy

A former Music Practice student from West Herts College is enjoying a taste of stardom after shooting to success hit TV show X Factor. Nineteen-year-old Amy Connolly completed her National Diploma ...

Media students' movies make the big screen

Media students at West Herts College will see their work on the big screen after their films were selected for screening at this year’s Co-operative Young Filmmakers Festival. Each year, organiser...

Healthy training on the menu for school caterers

Proving that school dinners have come a long way since Jamie Oliver’s campaign to banish the Turkey Twizzler from the our dinner plates, nine staff from Hertfordshire Catering have so far achieved t...

RAF support for Public Services students

The Royal Air Force has chosen the First Diploma students to be their supported group for this year. As well as providing shirts and sports equipment the RAF will also be conducting psychometric test...

Putting trust in the club in order to achieve

Local youngsters are being offered the opportunity to get involved in a new initiative offered by West Herts College in partnership with The Prince’s Trust, designed for 14 to 16 year olds who would ...

Watford Observer give inspiring talk to budding journalists

The students, all in the first year of their National Diploma in Media Production (Journalism) were keen to hear what life is like as a reporter on a local newspaper and took some valuable advice on...

AoC Conference November 2008

West Herts College led a breakout session at this year’s conference, entitled ‘Beyond Carver, Beyond Excellence’. The materials from that session are available here.

The Class of 2008 – ‘A community of achievers’

It was a day of laughter, tears and enormous pride at West Herts College on Saturday 15 November 2008 as students who completed their higher and professional qualifications in the summer returned to...

Young chefs take cookery challenge

Cassio’s training restaurant and kitchens played host to the local final of the national Rotary Young Chef competition recently, with budding chefs of the future from three local schools serving up a...

Fashion students’ collections take to the charity catwalk

Fashion students the world over dream of the glitz and glamour of designing clothes to be worn Hollywood’s finest and one group of West Herts College fashion students had good practice when they too...

On course to being drink aware

With the Government looking at ways to curb Britain’s binge drinking culture, West Herts College is offering a range of discounted fees on its alcohol awareness and licensed trade courses to ensure ...

The sty’s the limit for Jason

Since leaving West Herts College three years ago with an NVQ in Catering – and turning down the chance to work for Gordon Ramsay – Jason Burgh has not looked back, securing work at several top local...

On the buses

Students from the School of Hair and Beauty at West Herts College have been doing their bit to help busy local bus drivers de-stress as part of Arriva’s annual safety campaign, Drive Smart. Beauty ...

Writer’s talk inspires new readers

“Reading opens up a whole new world,” were the inspirational words from sports journalist and author Mick Dennis who visited West Herts College last week to give a talk to members of the public sign...

A skiing success

Students from the School of Sport, Travel and Public Services at West Herts College have just returned from a week's skiing in Chatel, France. The group of 19 students and two tutors enjoyed a week o...

Footballing ladies enjoy evening of pampering

There was an extra treat in store for ladies arriving for pre-match drinks and dinner ahead of Watford FC’s clash with Swansea earlier this month, with the opportunity to be pampered by beauty therap...

Emotions run high for newly-qualified counsellors

Caring and sharing in the community is set to become all in a day’s work for the latest batch of counsellors to complete their diploma at West Herts College in Hemel Hempstead, as after four years of...

X Factor’s Amy helps pick first W Factor winner

Ten contestants battled it out for their chance to win £100 in the W Factor – West Herts College’s very own version of the X Factor – at the recent Watford campus open evening. Proving that there i...

Painting project helps students Get On

Students on the entry 2 employment programme at West Herts College have been putting their creative skills to the test during a two-month painting project at Boxmoor House in Hemel Hempstead. The ...

Stomping to the rhythm

Performing Arts students from West Herts College spent the day perfecting their rhythm and movement recently, when the Stomp Theatre Company visited Watford campus on Hempstead Road to deliver a one-...

Author gives inspirational talk to A Level students

They say everyone has a book in them and one group of A Level students received all the inspiration they needed to think about writing one of their own after a recent visit from published author Alex...

Language no barrier to politician's talk

Watford MP Claire Ward paid a visit to West Herts College recently, to take part in a question and answer session with students on the English for Speakers of Other Languages course (ESOL). As par...

Sporting chance

More than 90 students from West Herts College took part in the Herts Sports Partnerships 16 - 19 Games last month. A number of colleges, sixth forms and School Sports Partnerships were involved in t...

Inspiration from afar for local art show

Art and design students from West Herts College have been preparing for their end of year show in fine style – by making good use of the Space 2 exhibition area at Watford Museum to show off their wo...

Football Excellence boys are SESSA champions

West Herts College’s Centre of Football Excellence were crowned Champions of the annual Southern England Students Sports Association (SESSA) six-a-side tournament on Wednesday 1 April. Despite a bu...

Successful first year for Prince’s Trust xl Club

For one group of young people in Hemel Hempstead the idea of achieving seemed like an impossible task just a few months ago, as many of them were disengaged and not even attending school. Then they...

Black is the new black for Gothic themed event

Beauty students at West Herts College took to the catwalk this week as they modelled their creations in the annual make-up competition. Students from all levels of study took part in the competitio...

Sound advice from Watford FC’s man at the top

The former Chelsea reserves coach took over as manager at Watford Football last November, and with a background in coaching youth team players at both Chelsea and Reading, he was keen to visit the Co...

Job club looks to the future

Local people looking for work after redundancy can now include in their job search a quick and easy way to review their personal values and career aspirations. My Future is a new service from West ...

‘Be the best you can be’

The success and personal endeavour of students from across West Herts College was honoured at a special ceremony held at Cassio campus in Watford on Thursday 21 May. The annual Celebrating Success...

Students have a point to make about design

West Herts College scooped all three places on the winners’ podium at the National Student Design Competition 2009, organised by the British Display Society (BDS) in conjunction with the Shop and Di...

Volunteering time and resources in South Africa

While school’s out for summer Ellen Robson, learning centre co-ordinator at West Herts College’s Dacorum campus in Hemel Hempstead, will leave behind the computers, laptops and other technology in th...

Career in sculpture takes seed for Pius

Pius Yiga’s sculpture was chosen to front a new Barratt Homes development in Church Road, Watford, after students from West Herts College were asked to design a piece of art for the Willow Grange dev...

New Watford campus ‘tops out’

Building work on the redevelopment of West Herts College’s Watford campus on Hempstead Road reached a key point this month, when contractors bam Construction held an official ‘topping out’ ceremony f...

Big Skill success

West Herts College scooped no fewer than six awards at the glittering annual Big Skill Awards, including the overall Big Skills Excellence Award 2009. Sixteen-year-old hairdressing student Anthony Hu...

Success paves the way to higher education

High success rates on the wide range of BTEC National Diplomas offered by West Herts College mean that a large number of young people from the local area who completed their studies at the College t...

Numbers add up for accountancy

If you’re in search of an accountant to help you balance your books as the credit crunch continues to bite you’re certain to find one in the Watford area, as the accounting courses offered at West He...

Students enjoy enriching experience

The first week of the new academic year got off to a flying start at West Herts College, as students got into the full swing of college life at the annual enrichment fair. Students from all four W...

Donating for a doughnut

Students and staff at West Herts College have been getting in the charity spirit by donating their once much-loved but now unwanted clothes, bags and other garments to the Peace Hospice. During the...

Aarons double up with awards

Two West Herts College students who have turned their lives around since signing up to the Prince’s Trust xl Club last year have had their hard work recognised at a top awards ceremony. Aaron Blac...

Young chefs battle it out in the kitchen

On a cold and frosty morning in mid-November seven young Masterchefs in the making gathered in the training kitchens of West Herts College’s Cassio campus in Watford, ready to take part in this year...

Bag some free learning on your way to the shops

West Herts College is delighted to be involved with the Dacourm Horizons project in Hemel Hempstead, offering free learning taster sessions from the site of the former Post Office in the town centre...

Congratulations to the class of 2009

The big day finally arrived for students completing their higher and professional education at West Herts College on Saturday 21 November, as they came together at The Colosseum in Watford to graduat...

Ski to success

If all the cold weather we’ve had this winter has left you with a taste for hitting the slopes then West Herts College has just the course for you, as it has teamed up with The Snow Centre in Hemel ...

Ladies Football Academy

West Herts College in partnership with Watford FC’s CSE Trust is delighted to announce the launch a new Female Academy. This exciting programme will give talented female footballers between the ag...

Rambling for charity

Nick-named the West Herts Ramblers, the students took the walk as part of the Rural Tourism part of their course, helping them to appreciate that travel and tourism isn’t just about long-haul flights...

Going the extra mile for Sport Relief

Watford’s Cassiobury Park was awash with fun runners on Monday 8 March, as staff and students from West Herts College completed their Sport Relief mile. Following weeks of organising sponsorship fr...

Party time made brighter with new mural

Three students from West Herts College transformed the party room at Sir James Altham Pool in South Oxhey last week as part of their work experience. The students completed the renovation with two la...

College leader celebrates success at Downing Street

As Principal of one of the highest performing and most quickly improving colleges in England, West Herts College’s Elizabeth Rushton was invited to a celebration of success at No 10 Downing Street o...

Gold medallist inspires others to aim high

Former athletics World Champion Derek Redmond visited West Herts College in Watford last week to give a motivational talk to students about what inspired him to go for gold and overcome all the odds...

Students put questions to Chancellor

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling visited West Herts College’s Cassio campus in Watford last week, answering some tough questions from students who will be voting for the first time in th...

Students’ political viewpoints make national headlines

On the eve of the General Election Channel 4 News visited West Herts College’s Watford campus in Hempstead Road on Wednesday 5 May, where presenter Jon Snow chatted to students about what they though...

Outstanding students honoured at award ceremony

It was an evening filled with party poppers, champagne bubbles, laughter and more than a few tears of pride as the achievements and personal endeavour of students from across West Herts College were ...

Students exhibit at prestigious Art in Clay event

West Herts College students will be exhibiting at the prestigious 16th annual Art in Clay exhibition being held at Hatfield House in Hatfield. Running from 6 until 8 August, this is an exciting weeke...

Students aiming to unify the dance community

The five students from the School of Performing Arts were the first to experience the College’s new facilities this week when they took the time to rehearse the routine for Unified 2010 in one of the...

Thinking about a degree - part-time courses enrolling now

Choosing to study a degree part-time offers you the flexibility to meet family or work commitments. Choose from: • Advanced Practice in Beauty Therapy• Advertising and Marketing Communications• Bus...

Record levels of achievement for West Herts College Students

The college revealed that more than nine out of ten pupils gained the qualifications they had studied for in the 2009-2010 academic year. Of the 6,434 further education courses taken last year, an...

Proud day for class of 2010

The venue for this year’s ceremony was Rickmansworth’s Watersmeet theatre and students arrived from as early as 9am to don their caps and gowns. Proud families waited with cameras at the ready as the...

Christmas closure

Wednesday 15 December and will re-open on Tuesday 4 January.

Art and Design Pop Up Gallery

The Pop Up gallery, at 60-62 Queens Road, Watford, will be open Wednesday to Saturday between 11am and 4pm until February 19. On 20 January the gallery was opened with a special launch night and ...

WHC at Smaart Skills & Careers 2011

The event is taking place at Wembley stadium on February 16 and 17 and is said to be the place for young adults 15-24 to discover the huge range of careers, training schemes, apprenticeships, educati...

The Big Night

Full to bursting with the facilities that help you get the most from College life, our Watford campus is a truly inspiring environment where you will be encouraged to develop your own talents. Mond...

Government announces plans for EMA

How does this affect existing students currently attending West Herts College who receive EMA? This year: all students currently receiving EMA will continue to receive the equivalent financial sup...

Student visit to Jacksons & sons

The purpose of the visit was to interact with the craft operatives and engage in some practical work. Students are at present engaged in similar practical activities at college and it was a great c...

Students paint mural at Oxhey Wood school

The South Oxhey school invited the students to paint a mural the full length of one of its corridors and the mammoth task took three days to complete. The theme for the work was a combination of ...

Students to exhibit at Living Crafts this weekend

The student's work will be on display and available for purchase throughout the show which is running at Hatfield House from May 5 to May 8. The Festival of Living Crafts, Art, Design & Innovat...

EMA update

Help will be available for students in financial need to assist with essential costs such as travel. Eligible students can get financial help from: The Learner Support FundIf you are on benefits or...