A year on from the announcement that NCG was selected to join the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence, staff and students at the college reflect on the benefits they have gained from the initiative so far.
12 October 2023
Newcastle College Staff and Students Reflect on the Benefits of NCG Being at a WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence
A year on from the announcement that NCG was selected to join the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence, staff and students at the college reflect on the benefits they have gained from the initiative so far.
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Lindsay Gaskill Teaching, Learning and Assessment Coach and Centre of Excellence Quality Group Lead said:
“The Centre of Excellence program has enhanced the competence of our educators and propelled them towards delivering excellence in their teaching practices. The training has emphasised the importance of setting high standards and challenging students to excel from the commencement and during their programme of study. This has been measured and monitored through learner walks, class visits and the collation of evidence from tutorials and one to one professional discussions.
Paul Cottiss Engineering Lecturer and Educator on the Centre of Excellence programme added:
“From the very start, the training posed the question of ‘What does excellence look like?’ As a teacher, that question immediately helped me to reset. At times we get caught up in delivering a qualification. It’s important to focus on what skills we’re trying to pass on and what traits we want to encourage in all of our learners above and beyond the qualification.
“Thinking about what excellence looks like in this way allowed us to break the skills that we teach down into small, simple steps and introduce things such as pressure tests and marking schemes, giving students the opportunity to independently develop their own skills to meet the standards we’re looking for. In the short time I’ve been doing it, it has helped us on the journey towards excellence and we’re seeing a huge improvement in performance as a result. That success isn’t just good for the college, it’s good for our learners, for local employers and for our local economy.”
Paul Wesley, Level 2 Engineering Student, has secured an apprenticeship with a sheet metal fabrication company, Universal Wolf
He said: “I think the pressure tests we’ve done this year are great for getting us ready for work. For example, if I’m stuck in class, I can go to the teacher and ask for help, but in the pressure test, I’m by myself so I don’t have that option. I’ve got to think outside the box and use my knowledge to work it out for myself. I wish we’d done them right from the beginning of the course to be honest as I’ve got so much from them. Pressure Tests will help me when I start my apprenticeship with problem solving.
