Forty students from Strode College’s Public Services courses enjoyed the thrills and spills of the Italian ski slopes recently, where they showed their teachers just how well prepared they are - for fun and for their future careers.
Strode teaches three different Public Services courses, providing students with the opportunity to progress through the courses to extend their knowledge and skills to a higher level for management roles: Level 2 Diploma, Level 3 Extended Diploma, and a Foundation Degree in Managing in the Public Sector Services. Students from all courses joined the skip trip.
Maurice Holdstock, Public Services Course Manager at Strode said: “We want to make sure that our students are well placed to compete for highly sought after public services jobs and to take on the challenges of higher level study. We do this by teaching a mix of theory and practical activities to prepare students for a range of situations and careers.
“Skiing and snowboarding require excellent personal skills such as communication, leadership and team working, and high levels of fitness. Also, students need to be well prepared to deal with any situations that might arise on the slopes – skiing is an adventure sport so there are risks involved. The ski trip is a good opportunity to put those skills into practice. It was great to see how responsible our students are; they have fun but they work hard and achieve exceptional results.”
Previously Strode’s Public Service students have gone on to university to study subjects such as Law, Criminology, Speech Therapy, Politics, History, Nursing and Public Services. And they have gone directly into careers in a range of areas including the uniformed services, teaching, nursing, air traffic control, airport security, retail management and ski instructing.
The College has a strong record of high performance for its Public Services courses. Last year 88% of students achieved high grades compared to 36% nationally, and the College’s ALPS rating for improving students grades from those predicted after GCSEs, places Strode’s Public Services courses in the top 10% of schools and colleges nationally.
For more information about Strode College’s Public Services Diplomas and Foundation Degree visit the Public Services Course Page or call 01458 844400.
Photo: Strode’s Public Services teacher, Maurice Holdstock (3rd left) taking a breather with some of his students in the beautiful Italian mountains - he’s confident that his students know how to stay safe while enjoying adventurous sports like skiing and snowboarding.