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Competition success for online learners

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It was a testing time for students at Shropshire’s Derwen College when they competed in skills competitions against Sheffield-based Landmarks Specialist College this week.

Students at the specialist college, near Oswestry, competed in quizzes focusing on Hospitality & Catering, Customer Service and Travel and Road Safety in online competitions against Landmarks College.

The challenges were held virtually through Zoom via the Kahoot quiz app, and allowed students to take part whether they were currently learning from home or college.

Derwen College learners performed well despite the unusual circumstances. College Pathway Leads Alison Adams and Sioned Davies said they were very proud of their students’ achievements.

  • In the Customer Service competition Aaliyah James was first, Adehle Stafford was third, Sam Innes was fourth and Tom Alexander was runner-up.
  • In the Catering and Hospitality competition, William Chapple was awarded third place.
  • In the Travel and Road Safety competition, Millie Clarke was fourth.

Alison Adams, Hospitality & Housekeeping Pathway Lead, said:

“The competitions held via Zoom with Landmarks College were a great success. All students did extremely well to focus on competitions during what has been a very different Summer term for everyone. Credit should also go to the dedication of the staff and parents who worked with the students to prepare them for this week, and to our colleagues at Landmarks College for organising the event.”

Garden Centre and Cafe OPEN

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Derwen College Garden Centre and Gift Shop, near Oswestry, is delighted to welcome back customers from the 20th July.

Safety measures have been put in place to ensure that visitors to the popular Garden Centre and Gift Shop, as well as the Garden Café, in Gobowen, can once more browse, shop and enjoy home-made refreshments.

The Garden Centre and Gift Shop opens with a grand sale in selected areas including special offers on David Austin roses, shrubs, alpines, seasonal plants, and gift shop ranges.

Regular customers will find some changes at the Garden Centre to keep staff and shoppers safe. The Centre has been designed with a new one-way system including separate entrance and exit. Shoppers are asked to use contactless payment where possible and to make use of the hand sanitiser stations. Staff will be available at the entrance and the exit to guide and support customers to shop safely.

The Garden Centre Gift Shop will offer the usual favourites such as home-made cakes, jams and chutneys, and gift items made by students. It will also be selling a range of hand-made cotton face masks with a variety of designs available. The Gift Shop food area will offer a fabulous new range of fruit and vegetables.

The Garden Cafe has a specially selected menu, including customer favourites, home-made cakes and hot and cold drinks. The cafe will feature table service to reduce contact between staff and customers. Tables have been spaced out to maintain social distancing rules, and contactless payment is encouraged where possible.

The Garden Centre will be open seven days a week from 10am-4pm and the Garden Cafe will be open from 10am-3pm.

ComGarden Centre fushciamercial manager Pete Evans said that the team were over the moon to welcome back customers.

He said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome back customers to the Garden Centre, Gift Shop, and Garden Cafe. During lockdown, we have been grateful for all the messages of support, and now it’s wonderful to be finally reopen our doors, again. We have been incredibly busy making sure that the shopping and café experience is safe and enjoyable, and are excited to meet and greet everyone soon.”

For more information click here.

 

 

Olive leads the way for Derwen College Charity

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An Oswestry pensioner has stepped up to raise funds for Derwen College Charity after embarking on her own sponsored walk after the college’s official walk was cancelled.

Olive Morris, aged 76, has raised £250 for specialist Derwen College, in Gobowen, by completing a 10km from her home. The route passed Babbinswood, Middleton and Aston Hall.

Ms Morris, who has completed 51 official sponsored walks for the residential and day college for young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), said she was determined to do her bit for the college.

“I had already raised a lot of money before the walk was cancelled because of the coronavirus. So, doing the walk on my own seemed the right thing to do,” she said.

Ms Morris started walking for Derwen College 52 years ago, and has taken part every year since.

She walked the 10km route on what would have been Derwen College Fete day, another charity event which unfortunately had to be cancelled.

“I’ve always enjoyed walking, and it has become a tradition that I enjoy. This year, was different with being on my own and taking a new route, but it was a lovely day to be out walking. I took some pictures around the route as proof I’d completed the 10km. I haven’t managed to raise as much as I usually do. I normally collect around £500, but it has been more difficult to see people.

“I’d like to thank everyone who sponsored me. I always said I would retire from the walk when I got to 70 but as long as I’m fit enough, I plan to keep on going.”

Olive has kept herself fit by walking and gardening during lockdown, regularly attending to her garden and allotment. Although she says she has missed many of her evening social clubs which include dancing, whist and gardening clubs.

Derwen College fundraiser Anna Evans said she was delighted that Ms Morris had raised such a lot of money for the college, despite the walk being cancelled.

She said: “Olive Morris is an inspiration. We are so grateful that she used her imagination and continued to raise money for Derwen College Charity even when the official walk had to be called off. It’s a difficult time for charities; we have had to cancel big fundraisers including the Sponsored Walk and Run and Summer Fete. We estimate that we have lost a potential £50,000 worth of charity funds due to the coronavirus. We hope that others might take inspiration from Olive to find new ways to raise money which supports students with SEND in developing their learning and independence skills.”

Derwen College is busy planning alternative fundraising events including a challenging virtual walk for staff and student families in August. Find out more about supporting Derwen College Charity here or contact Anna Evans at [email protected] for more information or to share your fundraising ideas.

Best foot forward for AoC Challenge

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Looking to get active with a new challenge? Derwen College needs students and staff to pop on those trainers and walk or run for the Go the Distance Challenge as part of AoC (Association of Colleges) Sport.

The Go the Distance Challenge is an inclusive run or walk team challenge using the free Strava app, which can be connected on mobile phone or running device.

We know you’re a sporty lot. So, between all of us at Derwen College, we hope to run or walk 456 miles – the equivalent distance from AoC’s most southern member (Truro and Penwith College) to the most northern member (Northumberland College).

We’d also love to see your Go The Distance photos of where you’ve been walking or running.

For more information about the challenge, and to see the latest leaderboards click here.

To log on to our Derwen College Strava running club go to

https://www.strava.com/clubs/DerwenCollegeRunningClub

It is important that you ensure that all your Strava privacy settings are marked as ‘private’, and are not visible to the public.

Please note that walking will need to be recorded as a run on Strava for it to count towards your college’s total distance. To do this students will need to select the ‘run’ setting on the app whether you are walking or running.

So, come on Team Derwen. Between us we can do this.

 

 

PUBLIC NOTICE UNDER SECTION 121(2) OF THE CHARITIES ACT 2011

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PUBLIC NOTICE UNDER SECTION 121(2) OF THE CHARITIES ACT 2011

The Trustees of Derwen College (registered charity number 1153280) hereby give notice that they propose to dispose of the property known as:

Ashdale House, Higher Penley, Wrexham, LL13 0NB

 

by way of sale of the freehold. The property to be disposed property/land is held on designated charitable trusts.

Any member of the public wishing to make representations on the proposed disposal is invited do so by 11 July 2020.  Representations must be made to Carol Thompson, Clerk to the Trustees

By post to: Derwen College, Whittington Road, Gobowen, SY11 3JA

By email to: [email protected]

 

For the Trustees

 

Meryl Green

Principal

8 June 2020

The walk must go on

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Derwen College Charity sponsored walk
Carter and mum Pam walked 10km.

A Derwen College student and his family have raised more than £1500 for the college on a sponsored walk around their home village.

Student Carter Gough, who is a Hospitality and Housekeeping student at the specialist Shropshire college, took on the 10km challenge when the college’s charity sponsored walk was cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Student Carter, his parents Pam and Lloyd, and his sister Madison decided to honour their commitment to the Derwen College Sponsored Walk by walking 10km around their home village in Worcestershire.

The family took on the walk on April 5th, starting at 11am which was the exact time that the original walk had been due to take place. The family were delighted to raise a phenomenal £1500 for Derwen College Charity.

Pam Gough said: “We had already gathered lots of sponsorship before the walk and before the government lockdown measures were put in place. But we wanted to honour the donations made by our friends and family. Also, the event was on the family calendar, and Carter was adamant it had to happen so we did the walk our way.

“We then posted pictures doing the walk on our Facebook page, and other friends and family decided to sponsor us too, therefore we raised even more money.”

This is Carter’s final year at college, and his friends and family were keen to support the college to show their appreciation of his progress.

“Many of our friends and family are aware of how important Derwen College has been for Carter,” said Mrs Gough.

Derwen College Charity sponsored walk 2020
Dad Lloyd took a selfie of the family sponsored walk.

“The independence skills and confidence he has gained has been huge. We have gone from a young man who mainly communicated using sign language, pictures and very limited speech to now having conversations. It has been amazing. He is leaving college with real work and life skills, and we know he is capable of working independently.

“For Carter, being able to communicate his thoughts and feelings, and frustrations, has been vital. He can tell us how he feels and what he wants; it has made such a difference to his confidence. That is how much of a game changer Derwen College has been for Carter.”

Thank you to the Gough family

Fundraiser Anna Evans said:

“We are so grateful to Carter and his family for thinking about Derwen College during these very uncertain and worrying times. To have raised this amount for the college is wonderful, and we will be using this donation to boost our Agnes Hunt Village project appeal, which is still ongoing.

“We aim to refurbish and renovate our unique complex of bungalows at Derwen College which provide students just like Carter with the setting to learn how to live independently and to care for themselves. Carter himself has lived in the Agnes Hunt Village, and he knows just how important these facilities are for young adults with SEND. We thank the Gough family for their wonderful support.”

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19h

Well done to #Hospitality & #Housekeeping and #Retail students who made #DerwenCollege proud, competing in online skills competitions hosted by @LandmarksSc. Read the full story at http://bit.ly/38Vqa09 @hh_derwen @rbs_derwen

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Well done to Hospitality & Housekeeping and Retail students who made us proud, competing in online Skills competitions hosted by Landmarks Specialist College. Read the full story at bit.ly/38Vqa09 ... See MoreSee Less

21 hours ago  ·  

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