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A team of students from Reid Kerr College reached high with their fundraising activities recently when they scaled an aerial assault course as part of their organised events.
NC Administration student Fiona Robertson is part of the Reid Kerr Squaddies group.
She and her colleagues organised a double event in December, including a raffle which helped raise a huge amount of money for their chosen charity, Help for Heroes.
Fiona said: “We are very grateful to the many organisations who have dug deep to support us.
"Staff from Climbzone at Xscape donated their time and equipment for us to use, as well as other Xscape businesses who have donated prizes for our raffle including Braehead Clan, Monkey Business, Nandos, Odeon Cinemas and support from St Mirren Football Club.
"We chose Help for Heroes as we think it is a cause close to many people. Most of us know someone in the forces and this charity is a magnificent way to support those that are injured in the line of duty.”
The Reid Kerr Squaddies were sponsored to complete the aerial assault course at Xscape, and along with their raffle, raised just under £600 for their chosen charity.
Press release: Friday 3 February 2012
Reid Kerr College in Paisley proudly congratulates their Schools Liaison Manager Cherry Briggs on her recent MBE announced in the New Year's Honours list for 2012.
Honoured for her services to Scottish Further Education and Young People in Renfrewshire, Cherry is among the many extraordinary people who have been recommended to The Queen for an award.
She said: “I am totally thrilled to be given this recognition and I was absolutely amazed when I heard the news. This is a real honour for the work I do, all of which I carry out with a very supportive team here at the college.
"We have a strong relationship with our schools and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see pupils enter the College during their third year of school and witness their success as they continue to move on through school, join us full-time here at the college and then graduate with Reid Kerr College Certificates and Diplomas at Paisley Abbey every year. These experiences and more have made working at Reid Kerr College a real pleasure.”
Reid Kerr College Principal Audrey Cumberford added: “I was delighted to see Cherry recognised for her commitment, over many years, to ensure school pupils in Renfrewshire have the opportunity to experience a college education.”
Press release: Monday 30 January 2012
The Paisley Underground events are collaboration between Paisley Arts Centre and the Music department at Reid Kerr College. Following the success of last year’s programme, Paisley Underground returns with a fantastic line-up of live gigs, panel events and workshops.
Reid Kerr Music HND graduates open the show for established Chemikal Underground artists with bands they formed on their Music courses. The Seventeenth Century will play the opening night for FOUND this Friday 16 September and The Magick Circle, who have just completed their HND in Music at Reid Kerr, will be opening for Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells on Friday 7 October. The line-up for the final gig with Strike the Colours on Friday 4 November, will be announced later this month.
The Paisley Underground Panel Events are great opportunities to meet music professionals, hear what the experts have to say and ask the questions you’ve always wanted answered. They’re free and take place earlier in the evening before the gigs on Friday 7 October and Friday 4 November. Reid Kerr Music students suggested the panel themes and members at a meeting with the organisers earlier in the year.
Reid Kerr Music students will get the benefit of Rod Jones of Idlewild's experience at the song writing workshop. John Hogarty, lecturer in Music at Reid Kerr said, "It's great that our students have the opportunity to play beside more established acts and have direct access to music professionals via the panels and song writing workshop. This year the students have been even more involved, helping choose the guests for the panels. The standard of the bands from Reid Kerr is really high and I'm looking forward to all the gigs."
Christine Martin, Event Organiser added, "We are especially excited about the fact that emerging bands from Reid Kerr College will be supporting these headline acts. They already have a following due to their song writing skills and musical talent."
For more information about Paisley Underground, or to purchase tickets for the September, October and November gigs, please contact Renfrewshire Arts and Museums Box Office on 0141 887 1010 or online.
Paisley Underground gigs are on:
- Friday 16 September at 8pm – FOUND plus support from The Seventeenth Century
- Friday 7 October at 8pm – Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat plus support from The Magick Circle
- Wednesday 12 October at 6pm – Rod Jones songwriting workshop
- Friday 4 November at 8pm - Strike The Colours plus support.
Students from Reid Kerr College’s HND Music class recently received a letter of thanks from the International Red Cross for organising a charity gig for Japanese Earthquake victims earlier in the year.
The students organised the gig during the summer break, using the skills learned on their HNC and HND Music courses at Reid Kerr.
The students hired Glasgow hipster venue Nice ‘n’ Sleazy’s for the event and all four bands from HND Music gave their services for free.
Organiser and HND Music student Laura Carswell, 19 from Johnstone said, “The event was a great success. All of the HND bands played brilliantly and thesupport at the event from the HNC students was greatly appreciated. We raised over £300 for the victims of the Japanese Earthquake.”
The four bands from the College were The Great Notion, The Southern Economy, The Magick Circle and The Moscow Olympics.
Press release: Friday 9 September 2011
Opportunity to Promote your Business
It's a fresh start to the new term at Reid Kerr College and the Student Association's Fresher's Fayre is just around the corner. If you are a business looking for an opportunity to promote your company, why not take up a stall at this popular annual event. Building on the success of last year, Reid Kerr College Students' Association are holding their 7th annual Fresher's Fayre for new and existing students and offers you the opportunity to promote your business and advertise your products and services at a fun packed event.
Reid Kerr College student president Stacey Devine said, "Over 1,000 students attended last year's fayre and this year’s event is guaranteed to be bigger and better than ever. Held within the College's main campus and running over two days on the 21st & 22nd September 2011, the fayre will provide you with a captive audience and a unique platform to advertise your company."
A large number of organisations have already signed up including Vienna's, Fury's, Motorskool, and Renfrewshire Leisure There are only a couple of stands remaining for each day at this year's event, so to find out more contact Stacey on 0141 581 2132 or, alternatively you can e-mail sapresident@reidkerr.ac.uk
Students from Reid Kerr have elected their Student President who will represent them for the forthcoming 2011/2012 term at college.
Stacey Devine, 24, has just completed her Higher National studies in Beauty at the college and follows on as President following a stint as Vice President last year.
Stacey, a mum of one from Glasgow, was delighted to be named as President and is very excited about her post. She plans to continue to help the student experience at Reid Kerr.
Stacey said: "I was overjoyed on hearing the election result and can't wait until students return this month so we can take the work of the Student Association to a new level.
"I hope with my experience and enthusiasm, we can move forward together and as stronger, united voice for students."
Press release: Thursday 11 August 2011
Partnership cuts a clear path to success
As the demand for the Renewables market continues to grow, so does the need for installers to maintain the right certification and industry standards. Paving the way in quality training is CORGI, one of the leading operators of The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and who have just launched a brand new and unique partnership with Reid Kerr College in Paisley.
Reid Kerr and CORGI have developed a joint initiative that will provide an innovative route to MCS approval. The programme includes a number of key components that will drive forward a normally complex progress helping candidates obtain a simple and fast access route to achieving accreditation.
John Martin, Managing Director, CORGI Membership said, "We are pleased to be involved with Reid Kerr College as part of our ongoing Partner Centre initiative where we look to work with professional, well equipped centres who have approachable and friendly staff.
"We were overwhelmed by the quality of the facilities and the commitment of the staff and look to a bright and productive partnership with Reid Kerr as we roll out the MCS Route to Approval providing a simple and cost effective route to obtaining MCS approval, cutting through the myths and rumours surrounding it."
Andrew Fogarty, Head of Energy and Utilities at Reid Kerr added, "The MCS Route to Approval is a direct response to our customers needs in terms of simplifying the MCS process and providing support at approval stage.
"This innovative one day course includes comprehensive quality management template documentation to allow contractors and installers to develop their processes in line with MCS requirements."
For more information about the MCS Route to Approval course, please contact Elaine Anderson at Reid Kerr College on eanderson@reidkerr.ac.uk or call 0141 581 2344.
Press release: Wednesday 27 July 2011
She said, “Returning to full-time education was a tricky decision to make. My current employer offered flexible working hours and I was able to enrol for the Access to Primary Education course at Reid Kerr College. This programme has been an ideal platform to not only get back into education at this stage in my life, but also an ideal and well paced course incorporating core subjects and a well rounded qualification providing access onto a university degree.
It has been a packed year at Reid Kerr and although there were a number of subjects that were completely new to me, the course opened my eyes to a lot of new knowledge and various new skills throughout the year making it a challenging but achievable experience. I made good use of the College facilities while I was here and there was always plenty of resources on hand when you needed them. The unlimited supply of computers meant that you could drop in and study in a variety of areas around the College when it suited you and in particular the College library, which is well equipped and a useful place to get on with your work.
A guaranteed place at university was certainly a draw to the course at Reid Kerr and motivation alone to work hard and achieve the ultimate end result. I have been accepted for a 1st Year place at Strathclyde University to study a BEd Honours Primary Education and the training so far has confirmed that I have definitely made the right decision to follow a career in Primary Education.”
Gordon Murray, Head of Science & Social Sciences at Reid Kerr added, "Any student that may be apprehensive about returning to education, can be assured that other students have very similar concerns and are all very supportive of one another on this programme. The Access to Primary Education aims to build confidence and skills that candidates may not have used since leaving education themselves several years ago - it is about developing individual’s ability so that they are fully equipped to deal with 1st year of a degree at university."
Successful candidates can progress onto a degree course in Primary Education following a successful interview for a university place and providing they complete all units in the designated programme. Students can also be given a guaranteed place on other university programmes. Applications for university are made through SWAP who co-ordinate college and university progression routes and provide information and support for successful learners.
Reid Kerr College also deliver an Access to Humanities with both Access programmes offering excellent progression routes to other guaranteed places on a wide range of degree programmes at university. For more information about studying Access to Humanities or Access to Primary Education at Reid Kerr College you can speak to a Student Services Advisor on 0800 052 7343 or log on to www.reidkerr.ac.uk. You can now follow Reid Kerr College on Facebook and Twitter.
Press release: Monday 25 July 2011
Students from the STEPS course at College recently celebrated their end of year presentations. Students, their families and friends and College staff were all invited to a lunch at the Renfrew Room in Reid Kerr College where an excellent meal was prepared and served by the HNC Hospitality students, followed by a presentation of certificates by Rose Brown, Head of the Centre of Learner Development and Support.
Student of the Year, Matthew Kennedy, was recognised for his determination, increased confidence, maturity and exceptional team building skills throughout the STEPS programme. Matthew was recognized for his overall attainment and achievement over the two years and has been offered a place on the NC Creative Industries course at Reid Kerr.
Matthew commented, "I think that the Step Course has given me more of a wider scope on what I want to do in the future and it has also made me realise how confident I really am."
All of the students were presented with a certificate and a trophy and Rose congratulated everyone for their hard work and commitment to their studies at Reid Kerr and encouraged them to work hard for what they wanted in life.
Press release: Monday 18 July
First Class for Gas
If you are a Gas Safe Engineer looking to renew your vital gas qualifications, look no further than Reid Kerr College in Paisley. With a fully equipped Gas Assessment Centre, Reid Kerr can provide first class training and assessment facilities aimed at those candidates seeking or renewing Gas Safety Registration. Flexible training solutions can help meet the needs of employers and the Gas Assessment Centre is easily accessible via the M8 with free parking.
John McCormack, Senior Lecturer says, "We have been working closely with business and industry for a number of years to deliver relevant and fit for purpose training and our gas training courses are specifically designed for either current or new Gas Safe Registered installers and heating engineers aiming to achieve their Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) Gas qualifications.
Our assessment centre offers the full range of ACS gas safe courses for current fitters as well as a range of assessments suitable for those candidates who carry out gas work on an infrequent basis or extending their scope of work. We are also an accredited BPEC centre providing candidates on our courses with the best training materials and assessment documentation."
For more information or to arrange a tour of the College facilities, meet the trainers and discuss your training requirements, please contact Elaine Anderson on 0141 581 2344 or Audrey McCrone on 0141 581 2350.
Press release: Monday 18 July
Following the success of a digital games competition last year, Reid Kerr College linked up with Lochfield Primary to produce a game to promote the environment, which also ties up with their Eco School programme.
HNC Computer Games Development students were tasked with working on a range of games and Computing lecturer David Renton said, "This year we asked the students to come up with ideas for Eco games and produce materials which they could present to the kids at Lochfield Primary for feedback. The Computing students visited Lochfield Primary and exhibited their ideas to the Primary 6 class at the school. Following discussions and group feedback, the children selected what they thought was the best idea."
The Computing students then worked on the chosen concept to produce a series of finished games and during a visit to the College this month, the school children voted for the best game. After a morning on the consoles, the children selected Lumberjack Attack as the winning game, which has now been given to the school to use to promote the Eco School programme.
Marie Renton, Depute Head (Acting) at Lochfield Primary said, "This has been a great opportunity for the P6 pupils at Lochfield to participate in an enterprise project with their local College. The project developed their enterprising skills and attitudes, encouraging our pupils to be innovative and creative and develop a ‘can do, will do’ attitude. It was also a fantastic opportunity for career education, making partnership links with Reid Kerr and finding out about some of the courses on offer there.
Our pupils have been very excited about this project and one child summed it up nicely when he said, "This has been the best day! We are now looking forward to trying out the game along with other children in the school. With its environmental focus, we hope this will help us attain our Green Flag status as an Eco School."
David continued, "The winning game featured a Bear trying to stop Lumberjacks from cutting down the trees in his forest. The game was easy to play and although challenging as well, it wasn’t set too difficult for the range of children playing it. The children picked it because they found it the most fun, along with the fact that it had a strong environmental message.
The winning team received £100 in Braehead shopping vouchers, kindly donated by Braehead Shopping Centre for the event. One lucky Lochfield pupil, Jack Field aged 11, received a T-Shirt featuring the “Wheel-E Bin” game for being the best at nearly all the games. This is certainly the type of project we will be looking to run again in the future."
Press release: Wednesday 6 July
A group of students from Reid Kerr College were celebrating at a recent awards ceremony, to mark the end of their studies at College. Head of the Centre for Learner Development & Support, Rose Brown, presented each of the Steps 2 Work students with their certificate and congratulated them on completion of their course.
Kathleen Flint, Senior Lecturer said, "This awards ceremony celebrates the achievements of students on the Step 2 Work Course which supports young people into employment. It develops and nurtures the skills needed for today's ever changing work place and instils in young people the confidence and values necessary to enter the labour market. These students have lots to contribute to our community and society and this course at Reid Kerr College has enabled them to explore the opportunities available to them as they progress into employment, training or further education."
Press release: Tuesday 5 July 2011
Students from Reid Kerr College's Academy of Creative Arts organised and delivered their end of year show at the prestigious HUB venue, Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
Higher National Diploma Graphic/Interior Architecture and Higher National Certificate Fine Art Students held a very successful exhibition that showcased the very best of the students work.
The Exhibition included work from the students final year projects and there were a number of awards given on the night.
Interior Architecture student Janice McKinven, 22 from Clarkston was named Outstanding Student of The Year and said, "I think it has been excellent learning the skills required to organise and carry out an exhibition as part of a unit on our course. It has taught us skills that will be invaluable for a working environment and give us experience for any future exhibitions that we are involved in."
Lecturer Lola Paterson said, "The students have been a fantastic team to work with and they have generated some great sponsorship for the event including support from Pocapoc, Scottish Leather Group and Academy for Music. A big thanks must go to the sponsors for supporting our young Designers and Artists."
Peter Pringle, Head of Creative Arts said, "Congratulations to everyone for delivering a very successful event. It was well led, well presented and well done. It was a pleasure to view the work of the students and see first-hand how they have progressed."
Press release: Tuesday 28 June 2011
