July 2019 - Page 2 of 2 - Capital City College Group
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Elvie-Jo: Director and Apprentice

In October 2018, Elvie-Jo Shergold joined Capital City College Group as the Director of Marketing and Communications. Despite having worked in management roles in Further Education for 11 years, Elvie-Jo is always looking to improve her understanding, knowledge, and skills. And in 2018, she embarked on a very unusual bit of personal and career development, when she started a  Level 5 Institute of Leadership and Management apprenticeship course. 

Here is what Elvie-Jo had to say about being an apprentice:

How long is the course?

“The course is quite flexible it depends on the speed of the group. My group is a group of 4 and we all have high pressured, high-intensity jobs so although we have the option to come together once a month we can’t always make it. 

“When we do come together we learn a lot, but because of our jobs we do a lot of long distance and individual learning and our tutor is always there for us. 

“We started just over a year ago, our ambitious aim was to complete the course within 18 months; however, it is looking more like two years because of the number of assignments.”

When do you study?

“It’s not exam based but it’s a mixture of coursework, assignments, and assessment. You learn the theory then you complete assignments with the theory you learn. 

“You also have to evidence that theory through what you do in the workplace that may be via coursework or a professional conversation.

“Not having strict deadlines has helped get things in on time and keep things moving.”

How do you think it has helped you professionally?

“I think for me it is about understanding the management theory. I am not new to this profession or new to leadership and management, however, I have learnt through doing it rather than through theory. 

“I think this course has allowed me to understand the theory behind why people do what they do and especially working in the busy FE sector has helped me plan a little better.”

Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship at this stage of your career? 

“I think it is about continued learning and professional development. I have always had an insecurity about my education because I was one of those kids when I was younger who lost interest then went from one thing to another. Despite having two successful careers, I have never had that self-validation, I suppose this is why I decided to go back and study. 

“I chose to study a CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) course a few years ago and then since that point, I saw that continuous learning and building my qualifications helped make me feel ‘legitimate’. 

“This has given me complete self-confidence to take on more and more as well as broadening my capacity to take on more and more.”

What is your favourite thing about your apprenticeship?

“There are several, it’s difficult to say just one. I suppose it has given me more confidence. When you go into a practical career, learning as you go, you can sometimes have a little bit of self-doubt that says ‘ooh am I qualified to do this?’ so to finally be able to say ‘Yes I am absolutely qualified to do this’ without that little nagging doubt, I think that’s been the best thing about it. Confidence.”

Find out more about our Manager: Operations/Departmental – Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship

Denislava achieves national BTEC Awards success

WestKing science student Denislava Andreeva couldn’t even order a McDonald’s when she arrived in the UK just two years ago. Now she is headed for top grades on her Science – Level 3 Extended Diploma course and has won silver in the final of the BTEC Awards – a prestigious national student competition. We caught up with her and form tutor Luke Brown recently, to find out more about her amazing story and the reason why she wants to dedicate her career to finding cures for diseases.

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria 17 years ago, Denislava comes from a family of female scientists: her Grandmother was a chemist and her Aunt studied Physics. Aged just 12, she came face-to-face with cancer when two close family members because very ill. “Caring for members of my own family who were suffering from illnesses, has inspired me to seek knowledge in subjects such as biology and chemistry.” she says.

Denislava came to Britain just two years ago and in that time has not only adapted to the very different UK education system, but has mastered English to the extent that she is now proficient enough to be aiming for top grades in her Science – Level 3 Extended Diploma, which would be equivalent to three A level passes and will set her up for university and ultimately a job in any number of scientific or research fields, including as a Biological scientist, biochemist, chemical scientist or a laboratory technician, among other roles.

Denislava’s Science – Level 3 Extended Diploma is a demanding 2-year course, which includes biology, chemistry and physics. Within, for example the Biology component of the course, Denislava is studying diseases and infections – this has given her a general understanding of diseases and their treatment, which she will then be able to study further if she decides to go to university. As Denislava explains: “Doing a vocational course is ideal for me because when I first came to the UK I wasn’t able to take GCSEs, which meant I couldn’t do A Levels, so that route was closed to me. The advantage of a vocational course over A Levels is that it is so much more practical and I am not sat at a desk, but am able to do research, which really appeals to me.

“The course has given me information about the chemical composition of drugs like Penicillin.  The knowledge I have gained whilst studying will be beneficial to my future career, which I hope will be in drug development.  I have a passion for research and a strong desire to further my knowledge in medical innovation. I would like to be a part of a society which develops different technologies or drugs which prevents people suffering from illnesses.

“Due to my academic performance, I was also offered the opportunity to take part in a week-long placement at the Francis Crick Institute. During my placement, I worked as part of a small team. This was a positive experience and I used all of the collaborative skills I had gained in my course to benefit the team. I was inspired by the work experience due to the direct industry knowledge that I gained. I needed to display a professional attitude toward the workplace and my colleagues and behave professionally in the laboratory during the experiments. This experience fascinated me and solidified my choice of pursuing a career in this field. There was a sense of camaraderie at the Francis Crick institute which I found to be inspiring. Everyone had their own tasks to complete but still worked collaboratively. Overall the experience was vastly beneficial, and I found research and development to be a hugely exciting field.

“My course has also given me the opportunity to be a part of the college STEM Ambassador team. As an ambassador, my job at different events was to motivate and show people how essential science is to our daily life. Having the opportunity to explain a difficult subject like science has definitely helped my communication skills.”

Denislava with her tutor, Luke Brown

Luke Brown is Denislava’s form tutor and has seen her develop and grow her knowledge and confidence during her time with us. “I really can’t praise Denislava highly enough” he told us. “She is hard-working and diligent and always applies herself to her studies. And, thanks to her dedication and hard work at Westminster Kingsway, Denislava has an offer from University College London (UCL) to study on their new Medical Innovation and Enterprise degree course. Everyone at the college wishes her all the best in the future!”

A level arts students are a hit with London law firm

On Thursday 26 June, 15 talented A Level students, from the Sixth Form College, saw their work exhibited at the London headquarters of global law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, as the shortlisted finalists of our annual Visual Arts competition.

As well as seeing their creations framed and hung in the Charles Russell Speechlys corporate headquarters (where they will be on display to the firm’s clients for the next year), they also had their work judged by the globally famed artistic duo Langlands & Bell, Suzanne Marriott from Charles Russell Speechlys and Peter Murray, Director of City & Islington’s Sixth Form College.

The students are studying a range of different subjects including Art, Film, Photography, Media, Art: Critical and Contextual Studies and Maths. Entries came from artists in years 12 and 13, so, for our older students, being shortlisted marks the end of their time at City & Islington College, while the year 12 artists and photographers will have the chance to enter again next year to compete for the top prize.

One such student is Harry O’Connell, who is studying A Levels in Film, Media and Photography. He said of his entry, from a series of photos titled ‘All The Pretty Lights’: “The competition theme was energy and at first I thought about doing something abstract. But then I thought, ‘Hold on, how about capturing energy in a more everyday form?’ Lightbulbs encapsulate this perfectly for me because we use them all the time without much thought of the energy that runs through them.”

Year 13 student Jokubas Vaicekauskas, has just completed his A levels in Fine art; Art: Critical and Contextual Studies; and Photography. He submitted two pieces to the competition – including the stunning winning piece – and told us about how he made it.

Jokubas Vaicekauskas’ winning piece

“I went down to the Thames at Canary Wharf during a low tide and collected all the manmade objects I could find.” He said. “I photographed them and, in Photoshop, turned them into more simple forms – bringing energy back to them and converting them from trash into objects of beauty and interest.”

The judges were unanimous in selecting Jokubas’s piece of digital fine art as the winner, and as well as a cash prize, Charles Russell Speechlys want to buy it, to add to their permanent collection.

Jokubas has completed his studies at City and Islington and, fresh from his success in the competition, is off to the London College of Communication to study illustration.

Heather Maizels, Senior Advisor to Charles Russell Speechlys and Curator of their Art collection, said‎:

“Jokubas deserves the recognition of Langlands & Bell in awarding him the 1st prize in our third annual student art competition, having selected one of his two pieces from an exceptional group of entries. 

“We are delighted to bring the energy and creativity of all the finalists to our international clients and employees by showing their works for a year in our London headquarters. We strongly believe in sharing our connections and space to encourage and promote young artistic talent within our local community. 

“It was wonderful to meet the artists and to learn about their pieces. We look forward to following their individual journeys and bringing further support and encouragement to them.”

Joanne Bishop, Head of Careers at City and Islington Sixth Form College, has nurtured and managed the college’s relationship with Charles Russell Speechlys for a number of years now. She told us: “Every year, some of our A level students come to Charles Russell Speechlys to do 2-week work experience placements and about 3 years ago, we started working with the firm on the art competition.

“This is the third year we and Charles Russell Speechlys have run the competition and it has been great to come here to see the shortlisted pieces in all their glory and celebrate with the students and our friends at Charles Russells Speechlys.”

Queen's Award for Enterprise