News
College Tech Demonstrator in Spotlight at Meta’s first VR Educators Summit
An Emerging Technologies Demonstrator at The Sandwell Colleges was a featured speaker at Meta’s inaugural VR Educators Community Summit hosted at its London headquarters.
Ben Haddock, part of the Fab Lab team, delivered an inspiring lightning talk on their ground-breaking research into smart glasses and education to an audience of top academics and industry figures including former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg, now Meta’s President for Global Affairs.
The event brought together educators and professionals in the field of extended reality (XR) to discuss the current landscape and future prospects of virtual reality (VR) in education and highlight how innovation is shaping the future of learning.
Ben delivered a compelling presentation on how futuristic smart glasses are being used at the College for innovative learner assessments across a wide number of departments, including Professional Studies, Teacher Education, Construction and Automotive.
In 2021, the College’s Fab Lab received a £50,000 grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority to carry out a research project to investigate the use of smart glasses for assessment in further education. The project was led and managed by Debbie Grace from the College’s Teacher Education team.
Last year their work was published in a leading global research journal: “Human Data Interaction, Disadvantage and Skills in the Community” co-authored by a number of prominent university professors, researchers and doctors from around the world.
Sandwell College was the first institution to trial and demonstrate Bodyswaps’ Job Interview Simulator in VR, now utilised by over 250 universities and colleges globally.
Ben says: “Never doubt that a small group of committed people cannot change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
We’re Celebrating T Level Week!
It’s T Level Week, and we’re ready to celebrate all things T Levels at the Sandwell Colleges!
This week, we’ve got a jam-packed schedule of activities for our T Level students at Cadbury Sixth Form College and Sandwell College. Here’s what you can expect:
– Inspiring experiences and successes of our T Level students and alumni
– Exciting T Level events, including breakfasts and Q&As
– Showcases of our incredible T Level teachers who make a real difference every day
We’re looking forward to spotlighting the achievements of our students and staff. Stay tuned to see all the amazing things we get up to!
Cadbury Sixth Form College learner wins national Stephen Spender Trust accolade
A talented linguist from Cadbury Sixth Form College has achieved national recognition, winning the prestigious Stephen Spender Trust Prize for Poetry in Translation: KS5 Portuguese Spotlight.
Dennis Casey’s translation of Fernando Pessoa’s Mar Português, will be published in the Stephen Spender Trust Prizewinners’ Booklet 2024 and online. This achievement is particularly remarkable as Dennis had no previous knowledge of the Portuguese language.
Dennis, who is studying A-Levels in French, Philosophy, Maths & EPQ, expressed delight at the accolade.
“I was really surprised to have won this award, especially given that I’ve never studied Portuguese before. The fact that it was on a national scale as well was massive – I definitely wasn’t expecting to win.”
The competition required participants to translate a poem and provide a creative interpretation that captured its essence. At last week’s online award celebration, the judge spoke warmly of the sensitivity of language used in Dennis’ translation, and in the
remarkable watercolour with its striking image that Dennis painted for the creative response activity.
Reflecting on life at Cadbury Sixth Form College, Dennis credited the Languages department’s supportive environment and enriching activities for nurturing linguistic passion and skills.
“The Languages department is a community – we do a lot of extra-curricular and enrichment activities that have boosted my confidence socially as well. This year, I am a Languages Mentor helping within the department, and one of my roles is as editor of our multilingual poetry anthology.”
Sue Simson, Languages Lecturer, who organised entries to the competition, was delighted at the result: “we are very proud of Dennis’ superb achievement in gaining this outstanding award. It is well deserved, and I hope it will inspire Dennis to further literary heights in the future.”
Lydia Maher, Principal of Cadbury Sixth Form College, also commended on Dennis’ accomplishment:
“This national recognition is a reflection of the dedication and excellence we cultivate at Cadbury Sixth Form College. Dennis’ achievement not only highlights his exceptional ability but also the outstanding support and opportunities provided by our Languages department. We are incredibly proud of him and look forward to seeing his continued success.”
For further information about Cadbury Sixth Form College and its Languages department, visit www.cadcol.ac.uk.
Older News & Event Articles
The Titan Award finalists have been announced for 2023 – and one of the nominees for Further Education/Higher Education Student of the Year is from Cadbury Sixth Form College!
Zainab Mallah is an A Level Science student at Cadbury.
Here’s why she was nominated by her personal tutor Emily Broome:
“Zainab is a conscientious, kind-hearted, caring student who holds a real maturity beyond her years and always treats both staff and students with an incredible amount of respect and kindness. Zainab is very well liked and willingly gets involved in group discussions and speaks out appropriately if she has any concerns. She willingly supports those around her and has volunteered for open days as a student tour guide, supported fundraisers and petitions and has been involved with external companies such as SafeUp. She also started her own Medicine and Healthcare Society and always supports her peers with genuine care and enthusiasm.”
Emily added: “Zainab is a genuine delight and always makes me smile and brightens my day! I really hope her nomination will provide her confidence and allow her to see how truly hard-working and special she is! She is a credit to our college and an outstanding role model to our students! Our college truly wishes her the best of luck in her nomination and her future, I have no doubts that she will excel in everything she does!”
The winners will be announced at the upcoming Titan Awards & Charity Dinner in July at Aston University, and each will receive a trophy, framed certificate and Amazon gift voucher.
Good luck Zainab!
We were delighted to host Group Captain Deputy Lieutenant Ian Sargeant OBE today for our Big Coronation Party and tree planting ceremony.
Many of our staff and students have been making big preparations for this event to commemorate the historic Coronation of King Charles III.
Creating colourful bunting and learning about the significance and history of the Monarchy, students also enjoyed Coronation-inspired cakes and games and sang celebratory songs live on stage.
Royal representative Group Captain Sargeant, who is also a Queen’s Honorary Surgeon, joined in with the celebrations and met members of staff and students, before helping Head of Curriculum Ian Vogel to plant a commemorative tree in the campus grounds.
The Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Crabtree OBE, who attended the Coronation on Saturday, is appointed by the King to represent him in the region and attend events and activities on his behalf.
He said: “The Coronation is really bringing people together to celebrate and get involved in some amazing projects. You can feel the excitement mounting across the region and there is a wonderful community spirit with many people volunteering for the first time to support their community.”
The West Midlands is the second largest Lieutenancy in England and Wales supporting nearly 3 million people across seven local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The Lieutenancy is active across the community supporting projects and initiatives that benefit the community and it helps recognise people through the Honours awards. It also coordinates Royal Visits and acts as a connection between the civic, military, religious, armed forces and emergency services.
The Lieutenancy is involved in a number of events that will be held across the region for the Coronation.
We asked our Digital Design and Production T Level students what they were enjoying most about their course so far, and to tell us a bit about themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
Abas – The reason why I have chosen this T Level course is because I believe it teaches me everything to send me in the right direction to become a software developer. Since the start of college, we have learnt a lot such as python, HTML and SQL. The teachers are also pushing us to work hard in building websites during our lessons and to do research at home. The course offers us the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand how the work environment is. My hobbies include playing basketball, reading and spending quality time with family.
Haneef – My experience of the new T Level Digital Production course I am taking has been excellent. I have expanded my knowledge of Computer Science and understanding of the Digital World, additionally I have learnt many core skills such as using tools from the Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office. I would highly recommend this course for anyone looking to go into any computer related career such as Web Design, Software Engineering and Cyber Security. It is a great environment and I couldn’t ask for more. The amazing support I get from my lecturers has really helped prepare me for any future industry placements.
Hassan – I have chosen this course as it will help me achieve my ultimate career goal of becoming a software engineer at Google, Facebook and TESLA. I have already learned a lot, like how to use CMS software Drupal. I have also learned a lot of different coding languages including python, JavaScript, HTML, SQL, CSS and PHP. My teachers are good and have real-world experience in the field of STEM and building websites for clients. We have learned how to use applications like Photoshop and InDesign to create the front end of a website. This course will help me achieve my future career goals because it offers me the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand what it is like to work in the software industry and how it operates. I’m enjoying this course because it’s helping me to understand how games, websites and apps are built. It also teaches us how to create and maintain databases with advanced security, plus how to build a really well functioning website and how to add good security features to prevent it crashing and breaking down. My hobbies are going to the gym, gaming and helping my brother build computers.
Shahzeb – Since this course became part of my schedule, I’ve come to understand how committed and enthusiastic I am about this subject. This T Level is excellent because it opens doors to careers in the digital industries, including web design, programming, game design, data analytics, software engineering, cybersecurity and many more. Outstanding instructors that have real-world expertise teach the course, which makes it easier and more entertaining. Amazing web design instructor Stuart has expertise creating websites for paying customers. I’ve learned how to design a website front end using Photoshop and InDesign. My career goal is to learn how to operate the (CMS software) Drupal and also learn the different computer languages such as python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, HTML and PHP. I am already very good with computers and how they operate, but this course offers more challenges which is what makes it so attractive and fun. I always wanted to understand and learn how to build/design different games and software, which this course allows me to do. Studying this T Level course opens up a lot of opportunities for me and allows me to work on actual digital projects. This is one of the best courses in Birmingham, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in computers.
If you’d like to find out more about our T Level or Digital courses, register here now for our next Talk & Tours event or Open Day.
