We would like to thank everyone who came to support us at the Royal Welsh Show.  The event was a great success with the Hair & Beauty department raising £73.47 for Bracken Trust by offering visitors various treatments, including facial massages, hair plaiting and nail polishing.

The Catering department also made cheese sticks and fruit sticks for visitors to try, as well as decorated cupcakes.

In addition, the beauty department were kept busy at the BBC Cymru building where they were painting nails in a mock up of ‘Salon Cheryl’, which is from the popular Welsh language soap ‘Pobol y Cwm’.

Thank you once again for your support at this event.

Coleg Powys is providing a series of demonstrations on stand D302 at this year’s Royal Welsh. On each morning between 10am and 12pm, staff and students from the hair and beauty department will be demonstrating their skills through a range of activities, including massage, plaiting and twisting, indian head massage, nail filing and polishing, fitness work and reflexology.  Treatments will be offered to members of the public with donations going to The Bracken Trust.

Staff and students from the catering department will also be providing some demonstrations on the Thursday at 10.30am-12pm and 1pm-2.30pm.  They will be decorating cupcakes and producing Welsh cheese sticks with local organic fruit and vegetables.

You will also find some of our beauty students at the BBC Cymru Wales building throughout the week, where they will be offering nail shaping and polishing for a donation of £3 for Children in Need.  They will be doing the treatments in a mock-up of ‘Salon Sheryl’, which is from the popular Welsh language soap ‘Pobol y Cwm’.

Please come and support us at stand D302 and the BBC Cymru Wales building.

Staff will also be available throughout the week to provide information about courses.

Colegau Cymru has kindly allowed us to be part of their stand this year, along with four other colleges from Wales.

Programme of Activities on the Colegau Cymru stand

The inaugural UK-wide Vocational Qualifications Day “VQ Day” is being launched in Wales at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells on 23 July to celebrate the achievements of talented and skilled individuals who have achieved success with their vocational qualifications. The Deputy Minister John Griffiths will be joined by students from further education colleges and training providers who will showcase their skills across a range of vocational areas including catering, forensic science and horticulture.

Vocational qualifications (VQs) come in a range of shapes and sizes because they reflect the world of work - which is itself wide and varied. VQ Day aims to demonstrate that VQs offer a flexible pathway to success, both for companies who want a highly skilled, highly competitive workforce, and for individuals who want to earn a degree or professional qualifications.

VQ Day is the first UK-wide celebration of vocational successes. It will not be the last. Wales needs to nurture success - and to celebrate it, too.

Coleg Powys, the sole provider of Further Education in Powys, is delighted with the success of its students who have proven that Vocational Qualifications open up a world of opportunity.

Examples of individual successes include Matthew Price who farms alongside his father and brother on the family beef and sheep farm in Upper Chapel, near Brecon and attends Coleg Powys, Brecon, where he is studying agriculture. Matthew completed NVQ Level 2 in Livestock Production and then went on to Level 3, and asserts that he is keen to learn new skills and see all types of farming methods. His enthusiasm to learn paid off recently when he was nominated for Lantra Leaner of the Year and was lucky enough to achieve the runner position in the Young learner Category; something which was a great honour for him.

Matthew’s enthusiasm did not stop there and at the end of last year he applied to the National Young Farmers’ Discovery Programme to travel abroad. The selection day in Warwickshire proved to be hot competition. However Matthew was successful enough to gain a place on a six week home-stay trip to Norway. He was also presented with an award to represent the membership of National Young Farmers’ as an Ambassador whilst on his travels.

Matthew left for Norway at the end of June and started his travels in Haugesund. From there he has made his way to the west side of the Country. He is currently living and working on a Dairy Farm an experience which is quite different to the usual beef sector he is used to. Matthew will be returning from his travels in August after visiting the rest of the country and having seen a variety of different farming methods.

Rebecca George, an Early Years student from Coleg Powys in Newtown, has proven herself to be a shining example to her peers and those wishing to follow in her footsteps.

Rebecca, a second year student who has completed her National Diploma in Early Years has recently been awarded with the Montgomeryshire Society Prize after being nominated by Head of School for Early Years, Sue Blower.

Sue said: “Rebecca has been a most diligent student over the last two years, quietly getting on with her coursework and reaching a high standard of work, usually gaining merits and distinctions. She has had glowing practical reports from her work placements resulting in a number of offers for employment, together with University offers where she is planning to go on to do Teacher Training. Outside of college Rebecca is also involved in the YFC, going from Secretary to Chairman of her local club, she is also an accomplished public speaker and has represented her county at all-Wales level. Rebecca is also Chairman of the Rural Youth Forum, Chair of the Montgomery Community Forum and has many commitments with her local church. She even has time to work on the family farm and helps out at the Cefn Lea Christian village. I’m very pleased for her that she has been presented with this award, she really deserves it.”