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Welcome
to the latest edition of the Fircroft College enewsletter.
Here’s what’s been happening recently.
Celebrating
one hundred years of learning
New short course programme
launched!
Exciting new courses for 2009
The Centenary Appeal - help us to build a better Fircroft
Thank you for the music!
Join us on Facebook
Celebrating
one hundred years of learning
Fiona Larden with the
Lord Mayor of Birmingham |
Fircroft College celebrates its centenary in 2009 and
will be marking this milestone with a series of events
throughout the year. The first event was a Civic
Reception at Birmingham Council House, hosted by the
Lord Mayor of Birmingham
Councillor Chauhdry Rashid, himself a former student at
Fircroft. The Civic Reception took place one hundred
years to the day since George Cadbury Jr originally
founded the College to provide educational opportunities
for some of the most disadvantaged and excluded members
of society.
Radio WM listeners may have heard Fircroft Principal
Fiona Larden, along with staff members Helene Pursey and
Sean Mullen, on Carl Chinn’s Sunday afternoon programme
the day before the Civic Reception. Carl is a former
tutor at the College and spent an entertaining 45
minutes chatting and reminiscing with Fiona, Helen and
Sean about Fircroft and its history.
Read more about the Civic reception
here. Keep an eye on our website for news on
future Centenary events. |
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New short
course programme launched!
We are delighted to announce that short courses are running again at
Fircroft from the end of January 2009. The new short course programme featuring courses running the
end of January through to July has just been published at
www.fircroft.ac.uk.
As you may be
aware, Fircroft College suffered a serious fire in October 2008
which caused major damage to the main building. Although we were
able to keep the Access to HE and Ransackers courses running, we
took the unavoidable step of postponing the short course
programme. Since then, much cleaning up and renovation work has
been carried out, and staff have worked tirelessly to ensure
that students will benefit from the quality learning
experience and friendly and supportive environment for which
Fircroft is renowned.
Short courses
at Fircroft are split into three distinct categories –
Foundation Learning features English and Literacy,
Maths and Numeracy, ICT, Employability and Personal and Social
Development. Voluntary
and Community Sector includes courses on fundraising,
budgets and finance, project management, community development
and more, while
Professional Development features courses in areas
such as public speaking/presentation skills, report writing and
Training the Trainer.
View the
full list of courses running from January to July 2009
here.
Exciting new courses for
2009
PTLLS course now enrolling
2009 sees two
new courses launched at Fircroft College.
Preparing to Teach in the
Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) is a two
part course developed in conjunction with the University of
Warwick, and is
a
nationally recognised introductory qualification designed to
help people who teach, tutor or train in the voluntary and
community sector.
The new
three-part Gardening programme is an introduction
to the skills and knowledge needed for garden horticulture. It
covers basic plant identification, propagation, plant care and
pest control. The programme is intended to provide an
opportunity for people to develop their self confidence and
personal development as well as act as impetus for further study
and possibly employment in a related area. Fircroft College has
six acres of beautiful gardens and the College’s kitchen garden
has been renovated to create the perfect setting for this pilot
programme.
For more
information, or to apply for any of our courses call us on 0121
472 0116 or visit our
website.
The Centenary Appeal – help us to build a better Fircroft
A Centenary
Appeal has just been launched aimed at raising funds to
guarantee the continuing success of Fircroft College.
Adults of all ages come to Fircroft, from very diverse
backgrounds. Some overcome great personal difficulties and
barriers to be here, and many arrive with few or no formal
qualifications. Fircroft provides an environment where students
are able to escape from pressures or problems, so they can focus
on benefiting from a positive learning experience, achieving
personal goals and fulfilling their potential.
As
government funding continues to reduce, the College requires
additional funding in order to improve and develop new and
existing facilities, providing a better experience for our
students, whilst continuing to offer opportunities and an
education that would otherwise be closed to them.
Please take a minute to read more about the
Centenary Appeal and
find out how you can donate.
Thank you for the music!
Alex poses with student
Jason |
Having fun was the name of the game at Fircroft College
as staff and students took part in a special ‘Mamma Mia’
night, to celebrate the DVD release of the recent
blockbuster starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and
Birmingham girl Julie Walters.
A
big screen was hooked up to show the film and plenty of
food and refreshments were available to help the evening
go with a swing. As a special surprise, the management
team of Fiona, Alex, Michael and Jonathan came dressed
as ABBA, complete with platform boots, wigs and fake
beards (and looked very convincing indeed).
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Join us on Facebook
It’s been
described as a ‘social networking phenomenon’ with over 150
million users worldwide. So why not sign up (if you haven’t
already!), find out what all the fuss is about and join the
official Fircroft College Facebook group, an online community
where you can get in contact and chat with other friends of
Fircroft, including current and former staff and students, as
well as view Fircroft photos and other items. Go to
www.facebook.com.
To find out
more about Fircroft College call us on
0121 472 0116,
email us
or go to
www.fircroft.ac.uk
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