Community Week is an ongoing commitment where students and staff from across the College take part in social action projects.
It is a wonderful opportunity for students to use the skills they have learnt, or are currently learning, by putting them into practice to help the local community.
Let’s take a look at some of the activities that the College completed last week:
Catering | Cook-off to raise money for the College food bank
As part of Community Week, our Level 2 and Junior College Catering students worked together to cook and serve a delicious lunch using leftover ingredients.
Level 2 Catering students cooked a variety of meals to sell to staff and students, with the hope to raise money for the College Food Bank. The Junior College student’s role was to help serve the food, practising their customer service skills. They had been working on this project for 3-4 weeks ahead of community week to ensure they were fully prepared for the busy service.
The activity was organised by Chef Vass, he commented: “We used produce that we’ve already ordered in for other events and then worked out what we can use and what menus we can make. We’re trying to be more sustainable.
“This kind of event helps the students learn collaboration of doing a service, which we don’t often do in a lesson. They’ve all chipped in and helped each other showing great teamwork skills.”
We popped into the kitchen to see how the students were getting on. At the time they were making a Butternut squash soup, it smelt divine. We asked one of our students, Jodie, why Community Week and raising money for the food bank was important, she told us: “We’re doing this to help people that can’t afford food. It feels nice to help people that aren’t as lucky.”
Automotive | Students perform winter car checks
Our Level 2 Automotive students offered free winter car checks to staff and the wider community. Students checked over each car with precision. They checked the oil levels, tyre pressure, and ensured the cars were ready for the winter months.
Thomas, one of our students performing the checks commented: “Some garages would charge money just to have a look at your car, so having people have it done for free helps everyone out. Every penny counts.”
When asked about why this activity helps both the students and the wider community Automotive lecturer, Walter, told us: “The students are exposing themselves to a genuine car. We normally show them cars that don’t go anywhere, they don’t belong to anybody in terms of usage. I’ve drummed it into them that they know they need to take extra care with these cars.”
This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain experience working with real customers and cars straight off the road, while also using their skills to help keep the wider community safe on the roads.
Students’ Union | Remembrance Day service
Pastor Chris Matthewman gave a moving talk at the Welcome Building at 10:50, setting a reflective tone for the morning. This was followed by a poignant two minutes of silence, allowing students and staff to pause and remember.
After the reflection, everyone was invited to enjoy hot chocolate and sausage rolls in the Welcome Building, which proved extremely popular, with many taking the opportunity to come together and have a chat.
Patisserie | Afternoon Team at Maurice House
Our Patisserie students put their culinary skills to the ultimate test – delivering a range of specially made pastries to Maurice House in Broadstairs, a care home exclusively for the Armed Forces community.
The impressive display included a selection of goodies such as carrot cake, chocolate éclairs and cheese scones. The poppy displays were made with pastillage, a hard-drying sugar and added a fitting decoration to the table. The baked goods went down a treat with the residents, who thanked the students profusely for their efforts.
During the event we spoke to Alex, one of our Level 3 Patisserie students, they told us: “It’s great bringing these baked goods to Maurice House. It’s been fun making all of this. It cheers up the residents and makes their day. I’ve enjoyed seeing it all come together.”
Sport | Helping to run a football event for local schools
Our students helped at the Thanet Pass Sport Football Festival, an event organised by the Thanet Pass Sport Association. The association runs over 13 events each year for primary schools across the area, giving children the chance to take part in sports tournaments and activities.
18 Thanet schools competed in the football festival at Margate FC, with our Sport students helping to referee and manage the event. Earlier in the week, they also assisted in running a dodgeball tournament in Ramsgate.
During the event we spoke to Teagan, a Level 3 Sport student, she commented: “This is really good experience in learning how to work with children. I think they find it fun because they might not get this kind of experience outside of school. It’s a chance for everyone to enjoy sport.”
These opportunities give students valuable coaching experience while supporting the local community and encouraging young people to get involved in sport.
Here are some images from the successful week:
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