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Derwen College market shop opens for business

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Retail students Megan Allmark and Bethany Higton, and learning support assistant Amy Woosnam welcome Mel Jones, their first customer at Wrexham Butcher’s Market.

Derwen College students were pleased to welcome their first customer to a new shop unit at Wrexham Butcher’s Market.

Students from the specialist residential college in Gobowen launched the Derwen College shop in the town centre market this week. They were delighted to welcome shopper Mel Jones as their first consumer through the door.

The new Derwen College shop will be open every Monday and Friday. It will be staffed by Retail students and supporting staff, sells hand-made bread, cakes, jams, chutneys, gifts and crafts made by the college’s Hospitality and Creative Arts students. Additionally, it will stock a range of plants from the college’s Garden Centre and screen-printed greetings cards designed and created by students at the college.

The shop also serves as a showcase for student-led upcycling business Hwre which is based at Derwen College satellite site Ashdale House, near Wrexham. Students at the site near Wrexham produce upcycled crafts, furniture and gifts as part of their learning and work placements.

Derwen College Commercial Development Manager Pete Evans said he was pleased to launch the new shop to sell the college’s Made@Derwen range and provide work placement opportunities for students.

He said: “We were excited to be able to open at Wrexham Butcher’s Market and sell our hand-made produce, crafts and plants every Monday and Friday. Being part of this bustling market offers an ideal opportunity for us to sell our Made@Derwen range of produce created by students as part of their vocational learning. Our students enjoy meeting new customers and practising their customer service skill in a real working environment.”

Retail students also have a stall at Oswestry Market every Wednesday and Llangollen Market every Tuesday.

St David’s Day celebrations

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Beautiful ceramic daffodils
Megan, Carter and Grace create daffodil shaped breads
Louis’ Welsh design chair

Derwen College students, who hail from all over the UK, embraced St David’s Day on 1st March, using the Welsh patron saint as inspiration across the college’s pathway areas.

Hospitality students Megan Sheppard, Carter Gough and Grace Bennett combined celebrations for St David’s Day and Real Bread Week by making daffodil-shaped breads as part of their learning in the Training Kitchen.

The college’s Creative Arts students created beautiful ceramic daffodils to sell to customers in the Garden Centre shop.

Students working at Derwen College’s Ashdale House satellite site near Penley, Wrexham, designed and produced upcycled furniture inspired by Wales as part of their upcycling enterprise Hwre. They transformed a bookcase using decoupage images from Welsh song Calon Lan (meaning Pure Heart); and Louis Thomas designed a chair using images of a Welsh coal mine, daffodil and dragon.

Hospitality and Housekeeping students also excelled themselves in producing bread Welsh dragons in the Training Kitchen. The team managed to mark St David’s Day, Real Bread Week and Maths Week in one fabulous project.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Helping to paint a brighter future

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Creative students at Derwen College – a specialist college for young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities – have been given a boost thanks to a generous donation of free paint for a whole year.

Derwen College satellite site Ashdale House, near Wrexham, runs furniture upcycling business Hŵre (Welsh for Hooray!), providing work experience for its students. They are delighted to have received support from Brewers Decorator Centres, in Wrexham, who have sponsored Ashdale with paint for the year.

Ashdale Satellite Manager Lona Manford said she was over the moon to receive the kind sponsorship from Brewers Wrexham, and thanked manager Shaun McKenzie for his backing.

She said: “I cannot express how much this means to us and our upcycling business Hŵre. The students were so thrilled to receive such a kind donation in supplying us with paint to transform unwanted furniture into classic statement pieces.”

Coleg Derwen@Ashdale opened as a satellite of the main site in Gobowen four years ago providing day placements and work experiences opportunities in the arts and land-based studies subject areas.

Lona continued: “It has taken passion, dedication and commitment from our specialised staff to enrol more Welsh-funded learners to come and experience the work and learning environment we have helped to create.”

Ashdale House students will be showcasing their upcycled furniture and gifts at a stall at the Derwen College Summer Fete, at the main site in Gobowen, on 31st May from 12pm.

For more information on Derwen College events, satellites, curriculum and work experience visit www.derwen.ac.uk.

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helen_derwenHelen Evans@helen_derwen·
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These students are fantastic! We are looking at how to ask the question: do you feel safe at college? Some great ideas and understanding of how some of their peers may find this a difficult question. Looking at creative and accessible ways around this... @DerwenCollege @Natspec

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Our ground-breaking on-site training hotel is four years old today! Thanks to Premier Inn and @_NovusSolutions who believed in the power of providing opportunities for young people with SEND through learning work and independence skills. Read here how student Oliver found employment with Premier Inn after finishing at Derwen College www.derwen.ac.uk/next-steps/student-outcomes/oliver-independence-after-derwen/ ... See MoreSee Less

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