hospitality

Inspiring words from Welsh cake entrepreneur

25th November 2021 by Eluned Watson

Students were given a unique opportunity to learn business skills and receive expert tips when they recently met Welsh cake entrepreneur Michael Beynon.

Michael Beynon, creator of Coalpit Welsh Cakes, made a virtual visit to college. He met with students on Hospitality & Food and Retail & Enterprise pathways online, to tell them about how he set up and runs his business.

Michael, who now lives in Chirk, in North Wales, has Down’s Syndrome. He launched his Welsh cake business back in October 2018 following his love for both baking and local history. He used his grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s Welsh Cake recipe to develop his unique black Welsh Cake. The cakes are a way to celebrate the lives of the miners from Ammanford, the mining town where he lives. Michael said he always wanted to start his own business, despite his disability.

Our students found Michael inspirational and were really motivated by his work. Following their morning talk, some they said they felt encourage to start their own business.

Hospitality & Food student Jodie said she found his presentation fascinating and had enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions.

She said, “Michael started with just a £50 budget, and has grown to become an independent business which produces unique black Welsh cakes and traditional Welsh products.

“It made me think about the possibility of starting my own micro business one day.”

Curriculum Manager Jennifer Fawcett-Jones said: “Thank you so much to Michael for taking the time to talk to our students about how he was able to set up a successful business from scratch.

Students asked lots of interesting questions, and were inspired to think about their own future ambitions.

Michael said: “I’m so glad to have inspired some students to start their own businesses Hopefully, I’ll see their products for sale soon!”

World Skills finalists

19th November 2021 by Eluned Watson

Hospitality student Maisie practices for the table laying competition as part of WorldSkills UK competitions. — Maisie got in some practice before the Table Laying Competition final.

Derwen College students impressed judges, when they showcased work skills and reached the national finals of WorldSkillsUK.

Four students from Hospitality & Food demonstrated their catering and table laying skills. Four students from our Ludlow satellite campus took part in the Media competition finals in World Skills competitions. These were held on 17 November, and judging took place live via online Teams call.

Hospitality & Food competitions

Peter and Aaliyah made it through to the World Skills competitions final in the catering competition. They were tasked with cooking and presenting a three-course meal comprising a cold starter and grilled meat kebab in a dough product. This was followed by a fruit salad made of five different fruits, and presented in the shell of a fruit.

Anna and Maisy were finalists in the Restaurant Service competition. They were asked to set a table for two for an afternoon tea with an Armistice Day theme. This involved wiping and polishing glasses, cutlery and crockery, creating a centrepiece and presenting the table.

Media competitions

For the media competition, Business Support and Enterprise students Louis, Logan, Iman and Jeffrey, produced a media campaign focused upon Respect. The students, from our new Ludlow campus, completed a design and marketing idea from scratch. They conducted research, produced a board game, designed a logo, a web page and a poster, and created a PowerPoint presentation. They even composed and sang a song for a radio jingle. All within the allocated two hours!

Overall medal winners will be named by presenter Steph McGovern on her Channel 4 television programme Steph’s Packed Lunch on 26 November. The WorldSkills UK virtual medal ceremony of the National Finals will be broadcast from 4pm on Friday 26 November live from the ‘Packed Lunch’ studio. The virtual medal ceremony will also be broadcast on the WorldSkills UK event platform

Derwen@Telford’s first pop-up stall

20th May 2021 by Eluned Watson

Visitors from local business, families and friends of students flocked to Derwen College’s first Telford market stall.

Students with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism practised their hospitality, customer service and business skills on a pop-market stall at Derwen@Telford this week. The stall was run by day students at the college’s Telford satellite, and visiting Retail & Enterprise students from the college’s site near Oswestry.

Derwen College, which opened its newest satellite site in Telford last September, invited families, supporters and the community, to join them at their Stafford Park site for drinks, snacks, and gifts and goodies galore.

Derwen@Telford students, who are based at Stafford Park 7, in Telford, were joined by staff and students from the college’s Gobowen site who brought home-made bread, jam, chutney and cakes made in the college’s on-site Food Centre. There was also handmade jewellery and bags, candles, soaps, snacks, chocolates, crisps and drinks.

Derwen@Telford satellite lead Lucy Harrison said that students and staff were excited to use their work skills for the first of many stalls and that the day was a great success.

She said: “Day students at Derwen@Telford learn business and hospitality skills which they were able to put into practice in preparing for this event, as well as serving and greeting people on the day. We created flyers and posters to encourage visitors from the local business area, and contacted families, parents, professionals and families from local schools.

“We were extremely busy printing promotional materials such as stickers with our branding on.

“So were really happy to be rewarded by so many visitors to our site. It was wonderful for students to enjoy their first customer-facing roles, and for people in the community to find out more about what we do. Our stall also made a grand total of £340!”

To find out more about learning, independence and work experience as a day or residential student at Derwen College, then sign up to the College’s Summer Open Day on 26^th June.

Or sign up to find out more about our satellite sites at Telford, Baschurch and Craven Arms.

Students star in Down Syndrome campaign

14th March 2021 by Eluned Watson

Derwen College is privileged to have worked on a project promoting a message that we feel very strongly about.

Derwen College has worked with NHS Acute Trust in Croydon to raise awareness of people with Down Syndrome in the workplace.

The foundation was keen to promote and support opportunities for work for those with learning difficulties. Like Derwen College, they recognise that people with learning difficulties have important skills to offer and are a valuable addition to the workplace.

Derwen College, in Shropshire, is a further education college for young adults with a range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We support students to develop work and independence skills. Equipped with these skills, students can aspire to their ambitions on leaving College. Currently, a quarter of our 121 students have Down Syndrome.

So, for Down Syndrome Awareness Week (from 15^th to 21^st March, incorporating World Down Syndrome Day on Sunday, 21^st March) students in Performing Arts, and other work pathways, were challenged to create a video as part of our Performance Production work experience placement.

Performing Arts lead Jessie Vaughan said:

“Students were tasked with creating a short clip from home to promote the many abilities that they have. We all have something amazing to offer, and our students are absolutely no exception!”

Derwen College is an award-winning specialist further education college. Students, aged 16-25 years old, receive the learning and work experience to support them into employment and supported living. Work-based pathways offered at College are: Performing Arts, Retail & Enterprise, Gardens & Plant Production, Hospitality & Food, Learning for Life.

This video is being showcased in the Croydon area. We also wanted to share it on our social media sites.

Virtual competitions to highlight student skills

4th February 2021 by Eluned Watson

Specialist colleges across the UK are signing up to an exciting week of national skills competitions hosted by Shropshire-based Derwen College.

The specialist FE college has launched Skills Live @Derwen, a week of virtual competitions showcasing the vocational and independence skills of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Judging will take place from 1^st to 5^th March to coincide with National Careers Week.

Careers Week will finish off on Saturday, 6^th March with the College’s Virtual Spring Open Day.

The college has been excited to already hear from a number of specialist and mainstream colleges from across the UK. keen to sign up for the competitions which focus on skills in Horticulture, Hospitality, Performing Arts, Retail, Work Skills, Independence, Work Skills and Functional Skills.

Creating opportunities for young people with special needs to work and live as independently as possible is at the heart of all learning at Derwen College, near Oswestry. With this in mind, the college has been part of national competitions showcasing the vocational skills of people with SEND for ten years.

Competitions will be held virtually

For 2021, the college has had to rethink the competitions around Covid-19 restrictions, and is preparing for virtual online competition. Entries will need to be submitted by 25^th February to be judged by industry experts from 1^st to 4^th March.

The competitions are open to young people aged 16-25 years old with SEND who are currently in mainstream or specialist colleges or schools. The competitions are aimed at students working up to Entry Levels 1,2 and 3. Only two students from each organisation can participate in each competition.

Derwen College Principal Meryl Green said that the college was proud to be able to hold online Skills Live competitions for 2021.

She said: “The college has had to adapt to the times, finding innovative ways to improve opportunities for students, now more than ever. We have become used to working, teaching and learning virtually, and have already held successful virtual Open Days, graduation ceremony and teaching sessions. The virtual Skills competitions were the natural next step.

“At Derwen, we are privileged to have the facilities and industry connections to run competitions to showcase the skills demonstrated by students following vocational pathways. We are able to bring together students from a variety of schools and colleges to compete in a professional way and demonstrate their learning and employability skills.

“We are looking forward to welcoming students from schools and colleges across the UK to showcase the vocational skills they are learning in preparation for employment after college.”

For more information or to register to take part go to www.derwenskillslive.co.uk or email skillslive@derwen.ac.uk

Happy to serve up delicious dishes

13th October 2020 by Eluned Watson

Derwen College’s Garden Café has been open since July, providing a delicious menu of home-made lunches, breakfasts, snacks, cakes and drinks.

The café has been adapted to ensure visitors, staff and students are kept safe. But you can still expect the same quality fare and service with a smile that we’ve always served up. Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Customers to the café are expected to wear masks until they are seated at their tables, with service now all provided at the table. Tables are limited to six unless a group are all from one family bubble. And all surfaces and facilities are regularly sanitised.

Regular customers have said how nice it is to see homemade meat and vegetarian specials are back on the menu again, alongside a variety of fresh, home-made food. The usual Garden Café menu includes lunches, light bites, breakfasts, cakes and drinks.

Front of house shift leader Fiona Owen says that customers are getting used to the new way of eating at Garden Cafe. She says, most are really happy with the measures in place.

She says: “Customers are welcomed by the main door by a member of staff. We then take contact details or asks visitors to scan the ‘track and trace’ barcode if they have it on their mobile phones. We take everybody’s temperatures before showing to a table.”

Fiona and the team have been delighted with comments from customers who have appreciated the efforts they’ve gone to.

Here are just a few:

“The café was well presented and I felt it was a safe environment,” – a visitor who works locally

“It’s so nice to see that homemade specials are on the menu again” – a regular customer

“ I feel safe and welcomed, “ – a customer with COPD

“I think this is the cleanest place I’ve been to!” – a first-time customer

“That was the best homemade veg pie I’ve ever had, and the scones are delicious” – lunchtime customer

hospitality

Inspiring words from Welsh cake entrepreneur

Students were given a unique opportunity to learn business skills and receive expert tips when they recently met Welsh cake entrepreneur Michael Beynon.