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Creative work by talented Cadbury students has been selected for a national art exhibition exploring environmental challenges when times are hard.

The ‘Your Money Or Your Life’ online exhibition has been launched by the Sixth Form Colleges Association and will run from June 14 until June 30.

Successful submissions by A Level Photography students Lucy Greetham and Zaynah Tariq will showcase their reflections on how to maintain the focus on sustainability when money is scarce.

Lucy created her installation entitled ‘The Cost-of-Living Crisis’ as a response to the current economic state of the UK and the rising prices of food, petrol, heating and electricity.

She says: “In this installation, I wanted to highlight what that struggle looks like through the voices behind those being most affected by the problem. Consisting of a set of propaganda inspired posters, and street photography of real people, I’ve created a set of images emphasising the fears and struggles that the public are being put through to maintain a normal lifestyle under money pressures, sinking them into further debt and poverty, in contrast to the politicians who are a part of the problem.

“This installation also features a shelf with cans across it, highlighting the scarcity of food and the difficulty to obtain such a mundane item due to the rise in prices and growth in poverty in the last two years. I wanted to highlight the frustrations at the rise in prices, the conflict it adds on regular people and their lives, using street photography to emphasise the people affected as well as a wall of quotations where I vent about those in lower incomes being most affected by the problems caused by those higher in power. In relation to this idea, I also screen-printed faces of political figures in the last year that have contributed to the growth in the Cost-of-Living Crisis onto the floor of the installation, allowing those viewing the installation to physically walk over political figures to view the art piece. This work was inspired by artists such as Rodchenko’s graphic design work and artist Lincoln Agnew.”

Zaynah created two posters for her piece called Attachment To Money.

She says: “The first poster shows obsession with money and a teenager’s viewpoint on it. I combined a high key poster of the subject saying what money means to her, followed by a projection shot of her obsessing over it.

“For my second poster I combined my money macro shots with the homeless shots I took. The meaning of this poster was to show our needs and how money does in fact have a big impact on your struggles and life. It shows the double imagery of how we need money to survive and how it does affect your mental state.”

Law students from Cadbury Sixth Form College have been getting real-life Crown Court experience in a Bar Mock Trial Competition.

The students have been working together to prepare legal arguments and to present a case in front of real judges.

Teams take part in a regional heat and go head-to-head with other schools across the country to prosecute and defend their cases. Winning teams will then compete in a National Final.

Our learners got to play all the key roles involved in a criminal trial, from lawyers to witnesses.

This helps them build on their critical thinking, employability skills and general confidence boosting.

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.