Students visit Crown Paint Factory

On Monday 3^rd November, a group of P&D students made up of three work based learners and three Level 1 learners from Painting & Decorating visited Crown Paints Factory at Darwen Lancashire.

The students met Paul Marsden, a technical consultant, on arrival who met the group and outlined the agenda for the day. The group were taken into the “Learning Academy” and given a tour showing the history of Crown Paints as well as being shown old decorating products used in the past.

Students continued their tour in the Technical Department where they looked at the work of paint chemists and how paints are tested before they are released and given a demonstration on the process. They viewed how Crown paints were canned and prepped, leading the group to view the Crown warehouse where the paints are stored ready for delivery.

The final part of the day saw the students take on a quiz about what they had discovered . Spot prizes were given from baseball caps to t-shirts. The winner of the quiz overall won a pack of Purdy brushes.

The learners had this to say about their experience of visiting the Crown Factory:

“Great experience and great freebies”

“Enjoyed walking around the actual factory and found the experience really interesting”

“All of the tour was great fun”

“Enjoyed the day, would definitely go again, very interesting. Loved the hat I won too”

Mark Turner, tutor at Newcastle-under-Lyme College said: “Crown made us feel welcome, they made the day interesting for both students and staff by combining humour with technical expertise. Students were encouraged throughout the day to answer questions to aid their learning experience and the quiz at the end provided some great competitive spirit between both groups. All students were a credit to the College and we hope to return in the future with more.”

Thistley Hough Academy welcomes construction roadshow

On Wednesday 7 May 2014, Newcastle-under-Lyme College Construction staff took to the streets to promote Painting & Decorating, Joinery and Bricklaying courses. 

The Roadshow at Thistley Hough Academy in Penkhull was aimed at raising awareness for the skilled trades. The Painting and Decorating department ran interactive demonstrations in the food hall where pupils got the chance to learn basic decorative effects such as creating a heartwood grain using a wooden instrument called a ‘rocker’. 

There was a lot of interest from the pupils, with Years 8,9,10 and 11 all asking the lecturers about full-time courses and discussing what jobs there are in the industry. NULC lecturers were on hand to discuss each trade and were able to pass on their advice to the enthusiastic pupils.

Amongst the many students attending Melvina Kearns, Year 8, was able to have a go at creating a heartwood grain using the wooden ‘rocker’. She commented "It was good to have a go at something different."

Thistley Hough Information Advice and Guidance (CEAIG) Manager Sue Greenhalgh was delighted with the response to the Roadshow "The demonstrations were stunning, insightful, engaging and pitched at the right