With the New Year underway, we revisit some key pointers for effective learning, brought to you by our award-winning careers team at the Sixth Form College in Angel.

Know your learning style

“It’s important to first understand how best you take in information,” says Head of Careers, Joanne Bishop. “Many people make the mistake of assuming there’s one way to learn new things, but everyone has their own relationship with their work: some people learn quickly, and others need a little more time and deliberation. Some people learn best by hearing information and others need to repeat it.”

The VARK questionnaire, available here, is a twenty question assessment that helps you understand your learning style. A five minute test might be your key to making better notes and developing a more efficient strategy for taking things in.

Incentivise yourself

While we can wish we were always perfectly self-motivated and well-enthused, it ain’t always that simple. A 2013 study found that the anticipation of a good reward enhanced memory in both younger and older adults. A fifteen minute break and something to eat might be just what you needed to pass your exams after all!

In 2011, a study at the University of Illinois found that study performance started to decline after 50 minutes of constant work, but that this could be avoided with occasional pauses.

For your health, the NHS recommends you should spend two hours of the working day stood up; we advise you get up and walk around at least every twenty minutes to help flush out the waste lactic acid built up while sitting in one position.

Keep to schedule

“Organise your learning around a clear and consistent schedule. Be realistic about the amount of time you can devote to studying each day – it’s better to promise yourself twenty minutes and do it than aim for an hour and not,” says Jo. A small but achievable goal is much more likely to motivate you to keep going past your target than something overly ambitious and demoralising.

Breaking up your schedule also helps reinforce learning as you find yourself consistently going over the same ideas; cramming ten hours of work into the first day and taking the rest of the week off is not only stressful, but ultimately doesn’t help to strengthen the muscle of retaining information.

Work together

It’s easy to tell yourself you would have got that right ion the exam or that you think you understand what that quote means, but checking with a friend is a safer bet. “Find somebody who will help you keep to schedule, and that who you can talk with candidly when you don’t understand something.”

Teaching somebody something is also a great way to check you fully understand a concept, and more – that you can verbalise it in a clear way. Even if you’re sure you know what you’re talking about, make sure you know what you want to say before going into the exam.

Put distance between yourself and distractions

Enduring hard work is always going to come a close second to mindless distraction, but it’s your responsibility to help get the balance right.

A number of apps are now available for iOS and Android, offering points-to-prizes schemes based on how long you can leave your phone untouched. Consider tying in devices and social media access to your reward schemes, but first do the kind thing and minimise temptation. It’s much harder to procrastinate when you remove sources of entertainment, and faced with nothing better to do you may find yourself working harder!

As part of Global Enterprise Week, the College of Haringey Enfield and North East London invited business owner Gabrielle Phillips to talk to Hair and Beauty students about starting their own business.

Gabrielle, the founder of a business called Wig Wash and Drop, hosted seminars on what it takes to create a business in the hairdressing sector, at both our Tottenham and Enfield centres. She gave a motivational speech about her journey and what it takes.

Gabrielle said “We offer a range of services at Wig Wash and Drop. We revive all wigs, both synthetic and human hair, hair bundles and hair extensions. The simple three-step process makes it easy for customers to drop off their wigs, have them refurbished or cleaned and pick them up.

“Coming in and talking to the students today was really fun. It’s nice to give back and share my knowledge with the students. It felt good to share my experiences and journey and hopefully I can help someone else start their own business.”

Inspired by Gabrielle’s talk, the classes had shared ideas and had discussions that sparked good plans for future businesses. This was the aim of the seminar as part of Global Enterprise Week, a week of global events aimed to inspire and create awareness of entrepreneurship.

Organiser of the seminar, Louise Webber, said, “Sessions like this are key for our students, to motivate them and give them honest and vital information needed to succeed in the real world. The students were really engaged and I know they took a lot away from Gabrielle.”

On 22 January 2020, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, a leading provider of accountancy training, hosted over 120 prospective students at Make Your Future Count – its accounting apprenticeships and careers conference.

The half-day event brought together local employers and household names, including CIMA, CIPFA, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, BKL Chartered Accountants, Haringey Council, Adroit Accountax and AAT – the world’s leading professional body for accounting technicians.

Opening the conference, Robin Hindley, Interim Deputy Principal of CONEL, said: “Our aim today is to inspire the next generation of star accountants. CONEL’s accountancy faculty is one of the college’s shining stars and we hope that you’ll want to enrol here to start your accountancy career.”

Sarah Ebanja, Chief Executive of the Spurs Foundation (Tottenham Hotspur football club’s award-winning charitable body) and a Governor of the Capital City College Group, said: “When you are in an apprenticeship and linked to an employer, what you are doing is contributing and really making a difference every day, not only for yourself but for your community.

“CONEL is the club’s local college and what’s really important at CONEL is not just what goes on at the front of the classroom; there’s lots of support as well that enables the learner to get the best out of their course.”

Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB) is a social mobility charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into meaningful roles with major firms. They have worked with CONEL for a number of years and Catherine Gurner (Employment consultant) and Kevser Kilinc (she studied at CONEL and found work through us and LTSB), both spoke at the conference.

Catherine told us: “Part of what we at LTSB believe in so much through the charity, is that we really can make a difference to young people.” Kevser, who is now a financial analyst at Redington, said, “When coming to CONEL, you’re coming into a huge amount of support that becomes your second family. They’re forever there to contact and they work 24/7 to get you that job.”

The conference aimed to inspire the next generation of young accountants, so the programme included talks and sessions from current and ex-CONEL students. Level 2 AAT Accountancy student Arun Singh, said: “When I was looking for a college to study at, CONEL stood out to me and now I am here, I’ve learnt a lot about accounting and work life. I have also learnt a lot about myself and how to change myself to become a professional in this industry. If you have a head for figures then a career in accounting could be for you.”

Our courses and apprenticeships will provide you with the skills and experience you need to get the best possible start in London’s financial world, whether you want to be a high-flyer in the city or managing the books for local businesses.

On Tuesday 14 January, three City and Islington College students, studying at our Sixth Form College, presented new scientific findings at the Institute of Physics following months of research.

Merian Alit, Toma Kolev and Dimona Videnlieva, A Level Physics students, were received by their scientific peers, having spent the last sixth months investigating the link between urban pollution and cosmic particles reaching earth.

The students kicked-off Tuesday with an interview with the Islington Gazette before heading over to the Institute of Physics HQ in Kings Cross to present their findings alongside University of London physicist Dr Ben Still.

The sixth formers garnered attention for their work after receiving a research award from the Sussex University-based High School Project on Astrophysics with Cosmics (HiSPARC). They were noted as being the first students in London to build a cosmic particle detector.

The detector, which sits on the roof of the Institute of Physics’ building, tracks high-energy particles from space known as cosmic rays. These interact with the Earth’s atmosphere to produce showers of secondary particles that can reach the planet’s surface. The detector collected data on one such secondary particle called a muon, and compared pollution levels in London with data from other HiSPARC research around the world. The results showed a small negative correlation between pollution and muons – that is, the more pollution there is in a city, the fewer muons reach the ground.

Dimona, 19, told the Gazette: “I really enjoyed working in the team. Because we were a small group it helped and we became friends.

“Air pollution is something we are concerned about and wanted to look into. We have come a long way since the 1950s in terms of finding solutions for tackling the problems that affect London, but there is still a lot left to do.”

At the Institute of Physics the students explained their findings to an audience of scientists and fellow students, before learning more about muons and particle physics in a lecture with Dr Ben Still. Talking about the unknown areas of particle physics, Dr Still concluded: “These are the important questions that we hope will be answered by your generation.”

The students later confirmed that they all intended to pursue careers in science, with Dimona heading off to study Physics at university, Toma looking towards Computer Science and Merian interested in further study in Biomedicine and Health.

Before Christmas, the Metropolitan Police visited the College of Haringey Enfield & North East London’s Tottenham and Enfield Centres to deliver their Makepeace session as part of our Young Londoners Fund programme.

Makepeace is a presentation delivered by specially trained Metropolitan Police firearms officers to young people aged 11 and above, on the consequences of youth violence. Makepeace is designed for young adults growing up in London and provides an opportunity to discuss this vital issue and build trust between them and the police.

The sessions covered a number of topics such as the causes and consequences of youth violence, discussion of real-life case studies, footage from live incidents, basic first aid, how young people can help stop the violence and the work of Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19) in London.

Organiser of the event and CONEL’s Head of Learner Experience and Industry Placements, Anthony Robinson, said, “Sessions like this are great for two reasons. Firstly, they build a relationship between the young people who take part and the police who deliver them. Secondly, they spread awareness of not only the great work the Metropolitan police do but also the horrible effects that knife and gun crime have on the community. The sessions were a great success and all of the students gained something from them.”

Both sessions had the groups fully engaged and got great feedback. Sports Level 3 student Kay Kyprianou, said: “I thought it was very informative. I think statistically it was shocking to see the level of crime and the effects these crimes have on people and their families. It made us more aware of the problems that crimes like this cause on a larger scale.”

Al Campbell, who led the session, said: “It was great to have the opportunity to come down and speak to the students of CONEL. As armed officers we are on the frontline of dealing with knife crime and its victims. Throughout our presentation we use real life case studies and operational footage to deliver a message with an impact around the ongoing issue of serious youth violence and how we can work together to try and prevent it.”

If you would like to find out more about the Makepeace sessions, please click here.

On 15 January 2020, our award winners from City and Islington College attended the annual Jack Petchey Foundation Presentation Evening.

The winners’ nominations were read out in front of a large audience at Islington Assembly Hall as they received their medallions and shook hands with Mayor of Islington, Rakhia Ismail. It was an exciting evening that allowed both students and staff to be recognised within the local community.

The Jack Petchey Foundation was “set up to inspire and motivate young people across London and Essex by providing exciting projects and programmes for them to get involved in.” They “also recognise the outstanding achievements of today’s young people by awarding them for their hard work and positive impact in their community.”

Award winner Harry O’Connell told us: “I was ecstatic to win the Jack Petchey award. To see that my work is valued and appreciated with a Jack Petchey award is very uplifting and inspiring and I’ll continue to keep at it.”

Harry’s award followed his work on regular Open Mic events at the Sixth Form, promoting a number of good causes.

Well done once again to each of our 2019 winners for their achievements:

Student Achievement winners (Centre for Applied Sciences)
Zahra Gaal, Laura Bido Cruz, AnthoniaTara Ilesanmi, Ryan Dawson, Charlie O’Connell, Jacob Larsen and Lauryn Wasiama

Staff Leader Award winner (Centre for Applied Sciences)
Dawn Platten

Student Achievement winners (Sixth Form College)
Harry O’Connell, Nkemdilim Anisiobi, Mason Clancy, Hollie Peterson, Ryan Fluin, Giada Toppo, Alex Charlton, Katherine Chan and Habel Moges

Staff Leader Award winner (Sixth Form College)
Mike Govender

Student Achievement winners (Centre for Business Arts and Technology) 
Mia Benson, Naveena Dhera, Lucky Mugala, Kinga Matyja, Antone Louis, Shakila Tasnim Uddin, Alex Fernando Altamirano, Samuel Spencer and Ibrahim Kuntas and Jade James

Staff Leader Award winner (Centre for Business Arts and Technology)
Anne Farrell

Student Achievement winners (Centre for Health and Social Care)
Asen Ivanov, Nikolay Tirov, Kolawole Oni, Sherri Ugurlu, Foibe Nehemia, Anne-Marie Deterville, Levy Marlone Mbungu, Caiyle Eagar Lowe and Jardel Joyeux Arnele O. Reid

Staff Leader Award winner (Centre for Health and Social Care)
Dyana Altenor

Student Achievement winners (Centre for Lifelong Learning)
Revel Ancara Thompson , Alexander Martins, Harley Adamou, Valentina Quiros, Luiz Felipe Almeida, Ci Shan Joey Lee, Mark Oluwayemisi Joseph, Bianka Kulicsek and Siar Kanik

Staff Leader Award winner (Centre for Lifelong Learning)
Jane Broderick

Ahead of the City and Islington College Climate Change Learning Week, commencing 10 February, the Centre for Lifelong Learning’s library has announced its ‘Climate Change Stories’ writing competition. 

This time last year, the centre, based in Finsbury Park, found large success during the #WeAreAllImmigrants themed week, reflecting the college’s values of diversity and inclusion. Students were invited to take part in a range of activities including expressive dance routines, singing and spoken word performances around the theme of immigration.

This will be the sixth consecutive year that the college brings together all five of its centres to get creative and find innovative news ways to celebrate the theme of February’s learning week.

The centre’s library often leads the charge for themed weeks, most recently in the nationwide Festival of Learning event in June. Students were asked to share their thoughts on how returning to study had affected their life. 

This year, as part of the new theme of climate change, the library asks students to contribute their experiences and reflections on the main issue facing the international community today.

Library team leader, Simon Nelson said: “As the impact of climate change becomes clearer, the need to turn thoughts into words and actions becomes ever more urgent. 

“Our students show a keen awareness of these issues and bring with them relevant ideas from all around the world. We look forward to giving them a platform to share their views!”

Many students at the Centre for Lifelong Learning are enrolled on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses and are over the age of nineteen, offering a wealth of worldly experience and unique perspectives. 

Students are invited to provide their own story, essay, poem or song based on fictional or real-life events pertaining to the central topic. Related images or photographs are also welcome. 

Entries are due in at the Centre for Lifelong Learning library by 3 February 2020 and a number of prizes – to be revealed at a later date – are up for grabs. 

The Climate Change Learning Week commences on 10 February. Other upcoming activities will be announced closer to the time.

On 9 December 2019, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London welcomed a class of foreign-exchange make-up students and celebrity make-up artist Liz Martins to its Tottenham Centre near Seven Sisters.

As part of a recurring cultural exchange with the college, around 30 Japanese students were invited to explore the differences and similarities of the English teaching system.

With The Salon, its industry-standard studios, and training workshops on-site, the college was the perfect place to start for our guests, who also benefited from a demonstration with celebrity make-up artist Liz Martins.

Liz’s portfolio spans 20 years and has seen her working across a range of palettes and genres, including editorial, beauty, advertising and celebrity. Known for her work in fashion (including for fashion royalty Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Eva Herzigova) and music, Liz demonstrated make-up in a western ‘music video’ style for the exchange students and a class of CONEL students, before she opened the floor to questions.

Liz said: “It’s a hard industry to get into and one that takes a lot of work. I started in 1995, back when it was a very small industry. It was the dawn of the celebrity make-up artist – people like Pat McGrath and Mary Greenwell – but very undercurrent. That’s what made me want to get into it.

“I was very into art. I loved to draw and wanted to get into graphic design. It’s hard to find a way to make money out of art. Computers and maths didn’t take me but I had an affinity with fashion.

“I took a short course and started assisting. If you want to get into fashion, it’s imperative you go and assist. I started painting toenails. I hate feet. But it was anything to get on that Fashion Week team.

“From there I started working with the Spice Girls, and then Girls Aloud. Now I work with Rita Ora. In editorial I work with Vogue, which is very different to what’s expected from music. But it all started with assisting.”

Liz’s demonstration explored some of the differences between skin tones, face shape and trends, replicating some of the vibrant styles of this year’s London Fashion Week.

“It’s important to develop your own style and have some fun with make-up. Relax. I try to collect references from everywhere. I took a lot of inspiration from David Bowie’s make-up in the 1970s, but I’ll also read wildlife books and, of course, fashion magazines. Find what works for you and don’t be afraid to get creative.”

As part of the visit, students later moved to the MAC flagship store on Carnaby Street where they found out more about the world of beauty.

CONEL’s Head of School for Hair and Beauty, Ann Atkin, said, “It’s important that students have the opportunity to experience diversity of thought and practice in their studies. Our guests were interested to learn how to apply make-up on unfamiliar skin tones and saw a number of new, western practices. It is also important for our students to exchange ideas and understand the differences in training and client expectations in other countries. External relationships are vital in giving students a greater understanding of the wider industry.”