14 Milton Keynes College GCSE English learners have had their poems published in an anthology after winning in a national poetry competition.

In May, 26 GCSE students from Milton Keynes College were selected as winners of the national Young Writers poetry competition, awarded with ‘Talent for Writing’ certificates. Young Writers runs national writing competitions for schools and colleges, to support teachers and inspire students’ imaginations, and to allow for poets and writers of all ages to share their work.

The competition allowed GCSE students to expand on their in-class learning and to practice for their English Language exams, which include a creative writing element. Having been invited to participate by Young Writers, the students wrote poems on the theme of ‘Lest We Forget’ based on the topics of war and peace.

The final anthology of poems includes works from several participating colleges, with 14 poems from the winners from Milton Keynes College.

The Young Writers team praised the “maturity” of the students’ poems and their ability to show “sensitivity without shying away from the realities of conflict”. They said: “We were incredibly moved by the powerful and thoughtful poems submitted by Milton Keynes College students for our Lest We Forget competition.

“Writing about war is never easy, but these young poets showed creativity and maturity in their work; their poems showed sensitivity without shying away from the realities of conflict. It’s fantastic to see so many of them recognised for their effort – congratulations to all involved!”

Tamsyn Kramer, Head of School for English at Milton Keynes College, said: “We were delighted so many of our GCSE English students won and were published in the Young Writers’ book ‘Lest We Forget’.  I was really impressed with the excellent poems so many students wrote — they are very talented writers.”

Sherifa, a student at Milton Keynes College whose poem was included in the anthology, said: “Writing the poem was exciting and finding out it was published was a great feeling of achievement. My inspiration was particularly my dreams, family and tutors. The poem addresses the struggle of soldiers on the battlefield, thus we must appreciate their efforts.”

Katie, another student who saw their work published, said: “I was inspired to write my poem, as VE Day was approaching and it reminded me of the lives lost to save our country. Writing it was reflective and a great experience to try educating others on what it was like during the war. It allowed me to explore different aspects of writing. Seeing my poem published was incredibly meaningful.”

On Thursday 8th May, four students from Milton Keynes College participated in a regional qualifier of SkillBuild’s Painting & Decorating (P&D) competition for the second consecutive year. Delivered by Go Construct and CITB, SkillBuild is the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices.

Its P&D category was participated this year by one Level 1 and two Level 2 Painting and Decorating students and a Painting and Decorating Apprentice from Milton Keynes College. The students were accompanied by two staff members at the qualifier at Oaklands College.

Student competitors were expected to follow written specifications, using precise measurements to map out lines, circles and other shapes. They also practiced their painting skills, applying a minimum of two coats of paint to each shape. The students encountered some new challenges, including vinyl lettering which is not currently covered in their courses at the College. Although it was challenging, this excellent opportunity for personal development was enthusiastically welcomed by the students.

The work was evaluated by three judges, who graded the work against a set criteria which included the set-up of both background and foreground, decoration, lettering and wallpaper. Requiring careful planning and preparation as well as a focused approach to work, the competition was an opportunity for the students to feel the pressures of a real-world work environment.

The feedback from the students was positive – they enjoyed the competition despite the strict time limitation of six hours. Despite not finishing their work on time or qualifying for the final, the students were praised for representing themselves and the College brilliantly and producing a high standard of work.

Niamh, Level 2 Painting & Decorating student, said: “I wanted to participate to boost my confidence in painting, challenge my techniques and the material I have learned through the year, and test my speed and accuracy. The competition challenged me in all aspects that a painter and decorator would be challenged in. I enjoyed the competition, it was a fun experience.”

Samuel, Painting & Decorating apprentice, said: “I participated in SkillBuild to give myself a challenge. I don’t typically do the sort of things covered in the competition in my day job, so I thought it would be a good experience for me to broaden my horizons.

“The competition was good with some very competent painters participating. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, despite the time constraints towards the end.”

Ian Bradley, Workplace Trainer for Painting and Decorating at Milton Keynes College, said: “I would highly recommend that other construction departments consider entering their best students; it’s a great experience and pushes them to achieve their highest standards, as well as being introduced to the industry and its expectations.”

To learn more about Painting & Decorating at Milton Keynes College, read more about it here, and to learn more about Apprenticeships with us, read more here.

On Wednesday 23rd April, three intermediate Level 1 Bricklaying students from Milton Keynes College travelled to City College Norwich to participate in the East Anglia regional heat of the Guild of Bricklayers Competition. The Guild is an association that aims to promote and maintain the highest standards of craftsmanship in the field of brickwork and organises a series of regional and national competitions annually.

The students’ work was graded against a set of criteria, including dimensional positioning, gauge, level, plumb, alignment and cleanliness of facework. Despite facing challenges and running out of time, the students were commended for their determination and perseverance.

A panel of two experienced judges evaluated the work. The feedback from the organisers and judges was very positive. Praising the students for their precision and attention to detail, judges stated that the students never left their project until the very end. Competing in the junior section against nine other participants, the College’s learners secured the impressive 5th, 6th and 7th places. Their unwavering commitment to completing the project, even when things did not go their way, earned them well-deserved certificates for participating in the competition.

The students found the competition to be a valuable learning experience. One student said: “It was a great opportunity to showcase our skills and learn from others in the industry.”

Another participating student said: “The competition was challenging but rewarding and the feedback we received was incredibly helpful.”

William Eddington, Course Team Leader for Bricklaying at Milton Keynes College, said: “We in the construction and bricklaying department are truly proud of these learners. Securing this opportunity for our students was a proud moment for MK College. It’s fantastic to see our students excel and gain recognition for their hard work and dedication.

“Congratulations to these young bricklayers for their remarkable effort and spirit!”

To learn more about Bricklaying at Milton Keynes College Group, read more here.

Milton Keynes College Group’s debut in the Planet Earth Games sparked a wide range of activities across both campuses and our prison education network. Running from 1st January to Earth Day on 22nd April, Planet Earth Games is a national competition that inspires Further Education colleges to take part in activities which help to protect our planet.

This is the fourth year of Planet Earth Games’ Further Education competition. The charity behind the initiative, Planet Earth Games, regularly deliver events, activities and experiences that empower people of all ages to connect with nature, take climate action and support their wellbeing. Their competition posed an excellent opportunity for the College Group to take part in a national initiative bringing college communities together to engage in sustainability activities.

Milton Keynes College Group ranked 12th out of 28 Colleges overall. The internal results revealed that Adult English & Maths stood out as the MKC school champions, Marcy Barnes as the student champion and Abbey Humphreys, Employer Engagement Manager, as the staff champion.

There were a wide range of activities submitted to the Games across the College Group. A wildlife photography competition with more than 100 entries saw Arts & Media student Emmy Whitaker’s photograph of a squirrel gain the first prize. 60 students participated in a Recycling Symbol Quiz, 40 students sowed wildflower seeds, 50 students and staff attended the Men’s Mindful Mile and several students hosted a pre-loved clothes sales at Bletchley.

The College also hosted three workshops led by the Supply Chain Sustainability School, including “Embedding Sustainable Procurement,” “Introduction to the Circular Economy” and “Improving Sustainability Using Behavioural Change.”

Individual actions by staff and learners both inside and outside of working hours involved carsharing, taking meetings on a walk outside in nature, participating in Meat Free Mondays and switching to eco-friendly products.

Some of our prison learners also participated in the challenges, with learners from HMP Garth calculating their carbon footprints and HMP Gartree reusing packaging in their design projects.

With the College in the Community Day coinciding with the competition, more than 1,100 staff and students volunteered with over 50 community organisations across Milton Keynes and Bletchley. These included the Buckinghamshire Canal Society, MK SNAP, West Bletchley Sensory Garden and Urb Farm, with staff and students cleaning outdoor areas, planting and sowing, litter picking and painting buildings and benches. The feedback from the organisations involved was highly positive and the efforts of the volunteers helped support environmental projects across the local areas.

Abbey Humphreys, Employer Engagement Manager at the College and the MKC Staff Champion at the Games, said: “For me, participation is important because it raises awareness. Some simple changes to your lifestyle can make a small difference – imagine the change if you influence others to make that change too.

“Talking about sustainability and global warming can feel daunting to those who are not interested or perhaps have misconceptions about it. Knowledge is power and it is our collective responsibility to protect our planet; raising awareness in fun ways is a great way to start conversation and change!”

Lauren Gallyot, Sustainability Lead at Milton Keynes College Group, said: “For our first year taking part in the Planet Earth Games, I am thrilled by the diversity of activities and level of engagement across our staff and learner teams. The Games are a great opportunity for us to engage in the topic of sustainability in a fun and competitive way, and to recognise the hard work of individuals and departments for their contribution to climate action.

“I hope it has inspired us to think even more creatively next year and climb further up the leaderboard!”

To learn more about sustainability at Milton Keynes College Group, read more here.

On Wednesday 5 March, Milton Keynes College students competed against four other colleges in the Green Challenge as part of the South East Midlands Inter College Competition (SEMICC). The Green Future Challenge was hosted at the South Central Institute of Technology, with Milton Keynes College, Moulton College, Northampton College, Cambridge Regional College and Barnfield College all taking part. In SEMICC, the group of colleges across the region come together for competitions in a range of curriculum areas, skill sets and topics to support students with developing their skills for the future.

Competing to see whose idea for a sustainable future would come out on top, students researched, planned and presented a solution to a local sustainability issue. The panel of sustainability experts featured Stephen Frampton MBE, Founder of Sustainability Support for Further Education (SS4FE) and Paul Thompson, Employment and Skills Manager for South Midlands Authorities. The event was endorsed by WorldSkills UK, a partnership between education, industry and UK government to help raise standards in education and meet future skills demands.

The competing teams presented their ideas on sustainability issues, including disposable vapes, sustainable construction, using hair waste from hair salons to tackle oil spills and pollution, and overconsumption of fast fashion. The Milton Keynes College team won with their idea to encourage recycling on campus and reduce the use of single use plastics with a rewards scheme – inspired by the incredibly successful German “Pfand” (or deposit) system.

Paul Thompson said: “What impressed me was the quality of the content from the teams, the way they worked together and the level of organisation they showed.”

Stephen Frampton MBE agreed, adding: “For me, what stood out was how respectful the students were of each other, how inclusive their presentations were and the winning team’s approach of using humour to convey their message was great because it’s not just about having a great idea, we need people to act on it. We’re in a climate crisis, we need urgent action at pace and scale, and I think the winning presentation would have persuaded people to go away and do something engaging, that’s for sure.” 

Katherine Watkiss, a student from MK College and a member of the winning team, said: “I had the idea for our entry into the competition late last year, about introducing a way that students could gain money from their recycling, because I had seen an absence of recycling. I’d sort of forgotten about it until this competition was mentioned. When we put together our PowerPoint of our original ideas, Jonathan and I had the exact same idea and they matched up really well. Winning for our presentation has given me a massive confidence boost in my ability to do things like this.”

Katherine’s teammate Jonathan McTeer added: “I wanted to take part in the competition because I want to make a change in the world. I believe that sustainability is a thing that should be accessible for everyone, and our idea is a very good realisation of that. I’ve also gained a lot of confidence in my presentation skills, which will stand me in good stead for my future career.”

Lauren Gallyot, Sustainability Lead at Milton Keynes College, commented: “What a fantastic competition! We were so excited to host the Green Future Challenge here at Milton Keynes College this year, bringing together learners from five colleges across the region to present their ideas, showcase their hard work and share their thoughts on how we can tackle climate change and the complex and challenging issues it presents to us all.

“The students’ presentations were all very impressive, demonstrating the huge amount of research they’d put into their ideas and the passion that they have for sustainability.”

To learn more about sustainability at Milton Keynes college, read more here.

On Tuesday 4^th March, a team of four Level 3 Business students from Milton Keynes College participated in the South East Midlands Inter College Competition’s (SEMICC) Business Skills Competition, hosted at Aylesbury College. Accompanied by Dan Purdy, the Deputy Head of School for Digital and Business, and Jade Timpany, a Progress Mentor for Digital and Business, the students created and pitched a business idea to a panel of judges consisting of local employees.

SEMICC is an inter-college initiative focused on skills improvement, focusing on identifying skills that students can benefit from and organising competitions that provide an opportunity to showcase these skills while working as part of a team. In the first-ever Business Skills Competition, the team from MK College competed against six other colleges to present a business pitch they developed themselves.

Pitching a business named NeuroDen, the students created a plan for an application that would use generative AI chatbots to support young adults and parents facing long waiting lists for diagnoses for neurodiverse conditions through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The idea stemmed from the students’ personal experiences with neurodivergence and the complicated road to diagnosis. Identifying a gap in the market for many young people in similar situations, the students worked independently to develop this concept on the day, supported by Mark Jones from Blue Peak Consulting in creating a pitch deck.

The students had the opportunity to pitch their idea to a panel of employer mentors. Telling their story, the students presented a vision statement and an exploration of the issue, defining their technical solution and strategy for bringing the app to the market. Conducting a market analysis and a summary of what the company’s finances might look like, the students also discussed how they can make their product sustainable and carbon neutral.

While the top prize was won by Moulton College, the judges complimented the MK College team for their work and identified them as close runners up. The students were awarded Amazon vouchers as a token of appreciation for their participation. The students walked away with a sense of achievement, having created a business pitch from scratch and confidently pitched it to a panel of employers. The team’s entrepreneur mentor offered support in turning the business idea into a real service – the next step would be to build an app prototype.

Jacob from the MK College student team said: “I wanted to participate but at first there was a bit of worry about speaking in front of people. It meant I had to choose between fear and taking a risk – and I knew which would be more beneficial.

“I enjoyed the day of the competition, collaborating with my friends outside of the classroom displayed how well we can work together, even under pressure. Despite us being nervous before speaking in front of the judges, we walked in as if we knew we had won already. That gave us the confidence to speak without worrying about the result and walking out of the judges’ room felt great because of how well we had done despite the pressure. We didn’t think we’d do so well and all of us being proud of our project felt great.”

Fellow teammate Colby said: “It was a very enjoyable experience – it allowed me to expand on some of my skills and work together with different groups while learning about their new ideas. I think the competition was well designed, allowing each team to have their own space and a fair amount of time to communicate positively with each other.”

Dan Purdy, Head of School for Digital and Business at Milton Keynes College, said: “I have been blown away how incredibly well these learners have done to come up with a viable technological product that provides a meaningful service in such a short time frame. To then pitch this so confidently in front of a team of entrepreneur dragons was the highlight for me. They demonstrated a whole host of essential, entrepreneurial, and vocational skills throughout the competition process, and I would love to see them take this tech product further if they choose to do so.”

To learn more about Business Studies at Milton Keynes College, read more here.

Students from the South Central Institute of Technology (SCIoT ) in Bletchley recently took part in a competition to design a brand new video game concept, presenting to judges from two world-renowned games brands. 

The SCIOT’s first ever Games Jam competition involved more than 20 Higher Education Games students teaming up to to create a working concept for a game based on the theme “Technology”. Each group was allocated workstations and given 24 hours within the week to develop a concept and build it into a working prototype. At the end of the week, the students showcased and pitched their games to a judging panel including industry experts from global gaming brands. 

The judges assessed the projects based on their creativity and innovation, how closely they adhered to the theme, the gameplay and mechanics, aesthetics and overall polish. The winning team was made up of students Sam Scotchings, Loki Walford, Kyle Allwood, Gloria Ng, Josh Cooper and Olly Inchley. 

Jim Nowell, Head of School at the South Central Institute of Technology (SCIoT) in Bletchley, commented: “We are delighted to have hosted our first Games Jam at SCIOT, providing a unique platform for our students to showcase their skills.  

“This event allowed students from various disciplines to collaborate, reflecting the diverse skill sets they have honed during their courses. Free from the constraints of the curriculum, students were able to assume roles that best matched their expertise, resulting in teams full of creativity, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. 

“I am incredibly proud of the remarkable achievements of our students. This success is largely due to the exceptional guidance of Robin Ayre, our dedicated Games Development Lecturer, who consistently delivers industry-standard tutoring to our learners. The level of engagement and the quality of the projects produced by our students was truly overwhelming and garnered high praise from our judges. They were not only impressed by the technical skills displayed but also by the professionalism and enthusiasm exhibited during the project presentations.” 

Sam Scotchings, SCIoT student, said: “The Games Jam event was the best opportunity I’ve had since starting the course, allowing me to get an in-depth look at producing games from start to finish, and has allowed me to hone my skills in working with development teams. And I look forward to returning next year as an alumni coach for any potential Game Jams.” 

To find out more about Higher Education courses at the SCIoT in Bletchley, visit Access to higher education computing.