Co-Founder of Sweet Squared, Samantha Sweet and UK Sales Emissary, Kay Pennington introduced the award identifying Yale’s nail learners as ‘Passionate and dedicated individuals who learn from an inspirational tutor’.

Accepting the award on behalf of Yale College, Samantha Raybould said ‘I am completely shocked and overwhelmed but I am so proud of all my nail learners because they live and breathe CND, and have created some beautiful nails in such a short space of time. This award is for them and they absolutely ROCK!’
Gaining her Master Architect award, Yale College lecturer, Samantha Raybould is a CND Grand Master Nail Artist, and refreshed her CND Shellac Master Painter award at the event with all the up-to-the-minute creations and innovations. The update focused on nail art including carving, layering and embedding Shellac with the latest CND additives to create custom colours

Samantha embraced the event to learn and improve her skills in Shellac and nail enhancements including CND Brisa Lite. Attended by some of the industry’s leading nail artists such as Marian Newman and Gigi Rouse, as well as CND Co-founders Jan Arnold and Jim Nordstrom, the objective of the experience was to excite and delight industry professionals with CND’s latest innovations and news

Preceding the Adult Learners’ Week campaign, the NIACE awards annually acknowledge impeccable dedication and determination amongst learners and their supporting tutors. NIACE Awards for 2013 demonstrate the impressive quality of support and learning which will evolve from the union of two high performing colleges on 1st August 2013.
Principal and Chief Executive of Deeside College, David Jones said:
“This is great news and is just a small measure of the success of the many students at Yale and Deeside. I would like to congratulate all our winners and finalists. I am sure this is just the start, and I am confident we will see of many more future successes when we merge in August to form Coleg Cambria.”

Yale & Deeside Winners:
Volunteer Tutor Award 2913 – Ann Craft
Herself a British Sign Language (BSL) adult learner, Ann Craft translates signing to hearing learners for her nominator, Sarah Lloyd who is a deaf (BSL) tutor at Yale College. Overwhelmingly appreciative of Ann’s unfailing contribution to her classes over five years, Sarah praised Ann’s understanding of the “Deaf World” and the challenges presented. Ann was also commended for her exceptional dedication to her voluntary work as well as personal caring responsibilities.
“To assist in helping learners achieve and ensure their learning experience is an enjoyable one is a brilliant way to spend your time,” says Ann
Older Learner Award 2013 – Edward Clarke & Grahame Wynne
97 year old Edward Clarke returned to learning at Yale College when he was just 87. Edward has amazed Yale tutors and peers with exuberance for learning languages and dance as well as an impressive determination to put his learning into practice. Edward generated national interest auditioning for TV talent show “Got to Dance”.
“It’s like taking out insurance for when the physical attributes of youth begin to change,” says Edward.
Advocating the importance of community gained Grahame Wynne his recognition with Edward. Learning a range of information technology and digital skills, Grahame was applauded for encompassing his new found knowledge into his voluntary practice in a wide range of community groups in his local area.
“As a member of these groups I feel I am contributing to make Hightown a better and safe place to live,” says Grahame.
Employee in Learning Award 2013 – Helen Wynne
As a result of her own personal experiences, Helen Wynne embarked on providing a specialist service to parents of disabled children. For over eight years, Helen has cared for children with special needs as well as offering supportive placements to students wishing to develop their skills caring for youngsters with Special Needs.

On winning the award Helen said: “I still think it’s unbelievable that you can win an award for having the best job in the world and for doing something that you love. It’s great! I hope to encourage and empower childminders to have the confidence and inspiration to care for children with extra needs or disabilities in their homes and there is severe shortage of childminders who offer this service.”

Mary Hughes, Helen’s Childcare Assessor at Deeside College added: “Well done Helen and thank you for giving me such a wonderful assessing experience. I look forward to seeing some of the students that you are now working with coming through to gain awards in the future. You have been totally inspirational.”

Family Learning Award 2013 – The Valentine Family
Showing courage in adversity, Nicola and Brian Valentine began to learn British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with their son Dylan who was born with profound and severe hearing loss. Keen to share in care of her grandson, Brian’s mother, Julie Jones also learned BSL. The family’s second son and extended members of the family are continually encouraged to join in the growth of knowledge for the specialist communicative skill.
The family are well-known for their lively signed discussions in a humorous and friendly learning environments as well as setting up groups to raise awareness and funds for deaf children.
“All members of that family have….selflessly found the time to help and inspire others in similar situations – A shining example to us all,” says Sarah Lloyd, Yale College BSL tutor and nominator for their award.
NIACE is a charity, a company limited by guarantee and a member-led, non-governmental organisation. Their membership base is made up of individual and corporate members, including universities, colleges and local authorities and the BBC, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, the Trades Union Congress and the Ministry of Defence.

It all starts with an amazing teacher and Regional Teaching Award Winners announced TODAY on “thank a teacher day” Friday 17 May. Selected from over 24,000 nominations received by the Pearson Teaching Awards in 2013, 62 celebrations are taking place in schools and colleges across England, Northern Ireland and Wales on 17 May 2013 to present prestigious Regional Teaching Awards to outstanding local heroes of education.

“Yale College is absolutely delighted that Marcus has gained this award,” says Jasbir Dhesi, Principal at Yale College. “He is an inspiration to his learners and peers and we’re exceptionally proud of this achievement.”

Marcus Thomas has worked at Yale College since 1996, and in his sixteen years he has made a significant impact on the College and more importantly on the lives of a huge number of learners. Whilst he is part of a team within the Arts Faculty, his influence is felt throughout the College. He has created a curriculum to engage everyone, even those who may have not experienced success at school or college previously. He works hard to reconnect learners to traditional crafts, Welsh culture and social issues facing the world today. Year on year Marcus has worked to inspire other staff in his department and motivated some of our most challenging and disaffected learners to aspire to greater things. His contribution to the College is exceptional and he is a worthy winner of this prestigious Award.

Marcus will now join fellow winners at the UK final of the Teaching Awards on 20th October, filmed in London and broadcast by the BBC.

The Pearson Teaching Awards are an annual celebration of exceptional teachers and teaching, founded in 1999 by Lord Puttnam, they recognise the life-changing impact of an inspirational teacher on the lives of the young people they teach.

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK said: “We want to recognise and support inspirational teachers, for their commitment to teaching and learning and improving the life chances of the next generation. It’s really important that we create opportunities to say thank you.

Yale and Deeside College students recently demonstrated an impeccable level of expertise as they served a champagne reception to welcome 277 guests followed by a four course Dinner with wine. The exclusively priced and high profile silver service event was hosted by Rick O’Shea and nominated The Welsh Guards as the evening’s charity recipient.

With the forthcoming merger between Yale College and Deeside College on the 1st August 2013 to create Coleg Cambria, the two hospitality and catering departments have used this fantastic opportunity to bring the students together to work at the high profile event.

Mark Parsons, Hospitality & Catering Manager for the Colleges said: “Yale and Deeside College catering departments were honoured to be part of such a prestigious event. We are always proud to showcase our students’ excellent work and standards.”

Organised by rugby and business communities of North Wales, the event supported Ryan, as he again leads Wales with distinction in the 6 Nations Championship. Ryan took part in the evening with guests including other stars of Welsh rugby, past and present. The Froncysyllte Choir and Llangollen Operatic performed for the gathering.

The new film from The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy, “Friends of Money”, was based at Yale College and shot in and around Wrexham last summer. The film was given a special cast and crew screening at The Printworks, Manchester, on Friday, 26 April and staff and students from the College attended.

Georgina Dixon, an 18 year-old Performing Arts student at Yale College who was involved in a number of scenes including playing the trombone in a jazzband, said: “I loved it. It was such an amazing experience. I was nervous and excited at the thought of seeing myself on the cinema screen …now I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD!”

“Yale College is pleased to have been the first college in Wales to support BYFA summer camp. It has proved to be a very positive experience in encouraging and developing our young talent in the region. Yale College has enjoyed sharing the excitement with students involved in this project and delighted to see the results of their hard work on silver-screen at BYFA premier screening at the Printworks Manchester last week” says Jasbir Dhesi, Principal at Yale College.

Described as a tale of murder and power, the new movie pays homage to the detective thrillers of the 1940’s and is the first to be shot in Wales by The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy (BYFA) and was directed by film-maker Adam Lee Hamilton, 32, whose last film, “The Rochdale Pioneers” was given its TV debut on Film4 in November. The film also reunited Adam Lee Hamilton with former “Brookside” and “Prime Suspect” star John McArdle who shared his experiences with students at scenes shot at Brynkinalt Hall, Chirk.

The film’s director, Adam Lee Hamilton, said: “The screenings were very rewarding, enjoyable and a great success. The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy is an amazing platform for young talent and to see the film on the silver-screen is a proud moment for me, not least because it showcases the skills and achievements of the young people involved in all parts of the film making process.”

Adam Lee Hamilton is now applying the finishing touches in post production before decisions about the film’s distribution and entry into film festivals are made.

BYFA is funded by The Co-operative and forms part of its commitment to inspiring young people – it gives young people unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience of the thrills and challenges of a real film set.

Principal Learning in Engineering is a school link programme for 14 to 16 year old pupils from local partner high schools delivered at Yale College.

Pupils who complete the engineering course cover an impressive range of tasks with specialist tutors. Skills include hand-fitting, operating workshop machinery, designing and making electronic circuits as well as prototype engineering products using CAD and 3D printers. The group develop a strong teamwork ethos to effectively create products using machining skills.

“This motivated group have been a pleasure to teach,” says tutor Salah Berdouk, Lecturer in Engineering at Yale College.

Yale College has worked closely in school links partnerships with the LEA and Local High Schools for over ten years. The College now supports over 600 14-16 year olds each year; the programme enables pupils to access specialist tutors and facilities on a weekly basis.

School links programmes at Yale College offer additional knowledge to improve learner communication, literacy, numeracy and time management skills. The recent engineering school links team were particularly praised by Yale tutors for working positively and efficiently to successfully complete their course.

“Experiencing the acute elements offered students a comparable snippet of the plight of less fortunate individuals,” said Julia Strong, Historical and Contextual Studies Co-ordinator at Yale College.

A delicious beach barbeque made the day particularly memorable, offering healthy food options created by art students themselves in collaboration with the catering department of the college. As the sun set and an eerie light settled across the waters, students linked hands and attached LED lights to the remains of the houses they had built and then seen destroyed by the forces of nature, as a final note of remembrance for those who have been made homeless across the planet.

The fall of night brought down the curtain on the closing act of the theme of ‘Home/Cartref’, which has provided an inspiring focus for practical and written work at Yale College this academic year.

“The Welsh Government has chosen Flintshire as a pilot region for this forward-thinking scheme, and its support is enabling the community and council to invest in local young entrepreneurs. With the help of Flintshire Council, the Welsh Government, has recognised the importance of utilising existing local business leaders, to provide a support network to nourish such a raft of emerging talent in Flintshire. The Flintshire Enterprise Club creates a rich environment where budding entrepreneurs can learn from the experience of those at the forefront of business and can be advised on how best to take advantage of opportunities. A pioneering scheme, this investment in the local community, will undoubtedly invigorate the local economy and society for years to come,” says Askar Shebani.
Flintshire Enterprise Club is open to all ages, and anyone who has a desire to start their own business or a social enterprise is welcome to apply.