art Archives - WestKing

Colleges Week is a celebration of students, staff and skills from 17-21 October #LoveOurColleges

Short films by media students from Westminster Kingsway College have been named among the best animations in this year’s international Creative Conscience Awards.

Ben Dullea and Raiam Koroma were both recognised in the competition, which encourages students to use their creative talents to make a positive difference in the world.

The competition was open to individual students or teams of up to five enrolled on further and higher education courses in the UK and abroad.

Entrants were asked to come up with a project to tackle an issue of their own or one under a series of themes set by Creative Conscience – health and wellbeing, social issues, climate crisis, the natural world and education and learning.

They had to choose from 16 creative disciplines including film and photography, animation, graphic design, fashion and textiles, illustration and motion graphics.

Ben, 21, was among the winners in the animation section and was highly commended for his film highlighting the need for better mental health and wellbeing in the hospitality industry.

Raiam, 20, drew on personal experience for her film about sickle cell anaemia, a genetic condition that is particularly common among African and Caribbean people.

Several students from Korea visiting WestKing and other colleges within Capital City College Group also took part in the competition and were named among the winners.

Creative Conscience is an Islington-based not-for-profit organisation focused on using creativity and innovation to make positive change across the world.

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It aims to empower, mentor and reward creative communities using their talents by running change-making workshops, training programmes, events and its annual awards.

The shortlisted projects were judged based on the entrant’s creative approach and their potential impact, by a panel of industry experts.

Ben and Raiam entered the competition while studying an Access to Higher Education Diploma in Creative and Digital Media, which they completed in the summer.

Access courses are one-year study programmes for adults who may not have the usual entry requirements to get into university or other higher education course.

Katy Milner, Lecturer in Creative Media and Digital, said: “Big congratulations to our Access Media students Ben Dullea and Raiam Koroma in this year’s Creative conscience awards.

“Ben was a winner in the animation section and was highly commended overall and Raiam also did so well to be shortlisted. Ben’s success is an even more remarkable achievement when you consider all the other winners were second and third-year university students.

“It just shows that Access students can punch well above their weight on an international stage when given the appropriate incentive, support and opportunity.”

Find out more about Access to Higher Education Diplomas and apply here.

Hundreds of newly enrolled students found out more about college life and the wealth of other support available to them at Freshers Fairs across Capital City College Group (CCCG).

City and Islington College (CANDI), Westminster Kingsway College (WestKing) and the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) all hosted welcome events.

CANDI held a combined fair for students enrolled at its Sixth Form College and Centre for Applied Science along with fairs its Centre for Business, Art and Technology and Centre for Lifelong Learning.

A ‘Welcome Fest’ was held at the WestKing’s King’s Cross Centre and another fair took place at the college’s Soho Centre, and Michelin-star chef Michel Roux welcomed Hospitality and Culinary Arts students to the college’s Victoria Centre.

Among the organisations attending the CANDI and WestKing fairs this year were IMECE, Papyrus, Octopus Communities. Islington Youth Council, NHS, All Change, Lift, Step into Dance, Kooth, We Speak, Brook, Go-Forward Youth, Flint & Flame, The Caterer, Koppert Cress, Compass Group, Arts Emergency and the Craft Guild of Chefs.

CONEL’s Tottenham and Enfield Centres hosted fairs, which included stands from Let’s Talk IAPT, National Citizen Service, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Metropolitan Police, Proud North London, Pirate.com, Reed Wellbeing, ReachOut, The Rebel School, Pure Gym and Terrence Higgins Trust.

We want to enrich our students’ lives with more than just qualifications. Our aim is to help them develop a broad range of skills and qualities that employers look for, including communication, teamwork and problem-solving, as well as ensuring they have a great time at college.

Throughout each year CCCG’s colleges run a range of enrichment and extracurricular activities to give them greater insight into their studies and future careers and to support their health and wellbeing, including trips, guest speakers, sports, clubs and societies.

Students can get to know their peers through a range of student-run activities including our Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Learner Voice, or college clubs and societies – from football and table tennis to debating and a poetry club.

Students can volunteer to become a Student Ambassador, study buddy or a peer mentor. These important roles help our students develop their confidence and interpersonal skills and look really good on a CV, job application or university application.

Our centres have on-site canteens and cafés, serving a daily menu that includes healthy options. Canteen meals are great value for money and are a good opportunity to relax with friends between lessons. All of our centres have libraries and some have on-site gyms, so you can keep your body fit as well as your mind.

Find out more about Student Life here.

At Westminster Kingsway College we believe the cost of living should not come at the cost of your education and job prospects.

That’s why we run FREE short courses throughout the year to enable you to develop new and existing skills for your future regardless of your age or income.

Cost is one of the main barriers to learning and times are extremely tough at the moment, but there has never been a better time to learn or try something new.

Thousands of people have signed up for our FREE short courses since we started running them in 2018 and many have progressed on to full-time study with us.

And what’s more, all our full-time courses up to Level 2 and some at Level 3 are also completely FREE.

Tim Mansfield, 41, took a FREE short course in plumbing followed by a Plumbing Level 2 Diploma at WestKing’s sister college, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL).

He said: “CONEL’s free short courses were exactly what I needed. They gave me the opportunity to try different trades without having to overcommit until I knew what I wanted to pursue more seriously. If they hadn’t been free, I’m not sure I would have taken the chance.

“The teachers are well-qualified and approachable, and always on hand with advice and support. I’ve made some great friends at CONEL and learnt some great skills that I fully intend to build upon in my future career. I’m excited about starting a new chapter.”

Our FREE short courses are run at our centres and online, in a wide range of subjects:

Find out more by searching FREE short courses and book a place at WestKing.

Book now for our Open Days at our centres King’s Cross Centre on Wednesday 2 November and Victoria Centre on Wednesday 7 November from 4.30pm to 6pm.

Westminster Kingsway College student Bella Morley hopes to become the biggest star in fashion to come out of Croydon since supermodel Kate Moss.

The aspiring designer travels from her home in south London to the college’s King’s Cross Centre every day, where she is studying for a Fashion and Textiles Level 3 Diploma.

Bella, 18, said: “I’ve always been very creative and interested in fashion from a young age. I really like the art and design aspect of it and the course at WestKing really appealed to me.”

Bella explained how one day she will be learning about textile design and printing, and the next she’ll be creating her own fashion collections and gaining the skills to make her own clothes.

“I enjoy fashion illustration and experimenting with different textiles and printing techniques to create imagery, learning different sewing techniques and using lots of different materials,” she said.

“I didn’t know any of these things before. I had an interest in it, but never really went into it in any depth. It was completely alien to me, but now it just comes naturally.”

Bella initially studied A Levels at sixth form but soon realised that she preferred the practical side of a more vocational course.

She said: “The course is more focused on what I want to do and more hands on. At school it’s more about learning by writing about it, but personally I find it easier to learn when I’m doing something.

“The facilities at the college are much better than other places I’ve been. You’re really free to use them as you like, which I’d not really experienced before. I like having that creative freedom.”

While at WestKing, Bella has joined in various activities including an art session at Central St Martins where she will be studying for a BA (Hons) Fashion Communication in September.

“The teaching has been really great. All of my teachers have been lovely and really helpful. I could call them on any day to get help with my work. There’s a lot of guidance and support to develop your ideas,” said Bella.

“I definitely want to do something in the fashion and design industry. I don’t think I could do anything else.”

If you have creative and artistic flair and like Bella maybe want to work in fashion, apply now for our Art, Design and Fashion courses here.

Students showcased their creative talents when they exhibited a “stunning and thought-provoking” collection of work at an Art, Design and Media Show at Westminster Kingsway College.

The show featuring students’ final year project work filled the atrium of the college’s King’s Cross Centre and attracted viewings from creative professionals, teachers, staff, parents and students.

It featured a collection of paintings, drawings, textiles, sculptures, photographs and digital designs created by Art and Design, Fashion and Textiles, Creative Media Production and Animation and Games Design students.

Art and Design students’ work included designs and illustrations for books, vinyl record covers and product packaging. There were also character drawings, paintings and sculptures made of wood and plastic and other materials including some created using 3D printing.

Fashion and Textiles students exhibited various colourful fabric prints and garments alongside the materials they used to make them and photographs of students wearing the finished outfits.

Animation and Games Design students gave demonstrations and displayed large prints of screenshots of many of the games they had created, while Creative Media Production students displayed digitally manipulated prints and sculptures including some that incorporated video.

Grace Jackson, Head of School for Creative, Digital Media and Arts, said: “After many tribulations of multiple lockdowns it is great to see the students stunning and thought-provoking work on display at the college.

“The exhibition really shows their dedication. They have each shown to their creative specialism and the breadth of their knowledge and skills they have gained while studying at WestKing, from traditional methods to modern digital techniques.

“It was amazing to have a celebration of the students and their fantastic work with their friends, family and industry professionals. I am so proud of every one of them and I wish them all the best in the next step of their journey.”

Explore your artistic and creative side and express yourself at WestKing this September. Apply now for Art, Design and Fashion courses here and Digital Media and Creative Computing courses here.