While 35,000 runners are gearing up to take part in a gruelling 26 mile run through the streets of London, 20 Blackpool and The Fylde College students will be waiting at the finish line to massage the aching muscles of one group of charity runners.

The Sports and Exercise Sciences students from Ansdell Campus will make the trip down south for the Virgin London Marathon in April. They have volunteered their services for the Anthony Nolan Trust, a national leukaemia charity with a team of around 250 runners from all over the country raising money for them at this year’s event.

The level three students, all first and second years at the College, will be offering therapeutic sports massage at the post race reception. The techniques they have picked up on the course should assist the physical recovery of the competitors, stimulate circulation and provide much needed relaxation.

Among those hoping to complete the course will be classmate Chris Winstanley, 20, from Blackpool, who has entered the event for the first time this year. He’ll be running alongside his tutors Brian Porter, who will be in the field for the seventh time and Rob Jenkins, another first-timer.

Brian thinks its all for a great cause:

“I first became aware of the trust a few years ago when a colleague asked me to run for them because one of their family was ill with leukaemia. Since then I have lost a former student to leukaemia and a friend of mine is currently waiting for a stem cell transplant, so I’m really keen that we do as much as we can to help the charity.

“This will be a brilliant experience for the students – they’ll learn about the organisation of huge scale events, get to put some of the skills they have learned in class into practice and have a couple of days in the capital as part of their enrichment.

“I’m pleased Chris is running with us too – he may have youth on his side but I’m a veteran at this event. It should be an interesting contest.”

Anyone who wants to donate money to the College marathon runners can do so at www.justgiving.com/teamfylde

Blackpool and The Fylde College played host to a group of Norwegian students in a bid to attract more overseas learners onto its higher education courses.

Staff and students from the Glemmen Upper Secondary School were in town from 7-9 March to find out about specialist courses, life at Blackpool and The Fylde College and what Blackpool is like as a resort.

The BA (Hons) courses in Photography and Graphic Design enjoy an international reputation and it is these areas of study which are attractive to the Scandinavian visitors. Hands on taster sessions were arranged with current students on these courses, while separate provision has been made for a handful of students interested in the FD Game Design and Development.

Current Photography student Eilert Storen came to the UK from Norway and thinks Blackpool is a great place to study. Eilert acted as an as an ambassador for the College during the trip and gave his take on Blackpool in his native language. The group also met with other international students from Blackpool and The Fylde College over lunch to get an insiders’ perspective on studying here.

As well as being shown all the fantastic new facilities at the College’s newly developed University Centre, the Norwegian visitors were taken on a tour of Blackpool Town Centre, which has also received plenty of investment recently. Students who are seriously thinking about submitting an application to the College after their trip will be given the opportunity to show their portfolio to senior lecturers before they leave.

International Business Development and Recruitment Jeff Bowcock said:

“There’s plenty of information about the College available to overseas students such as prospectuses, but until they actually visit and get a feel for the College and courses, it’s difficult for them to make an informed decision. I’m really pleased that they are able to come over and see what Blackpool has to offer and we can look at a mutually beneficial collaboration between both institutions in the future.

“In Norway, students are funded to study overseas so our courses need to be really competitive to attract them. The fact that they have come this far speaks volumes for our reputation in Art and Design.”

A successful training initiative between Blackpool and The Fylde College, Job Centre Plus, Global Renewables Lancashire and the Learning and Skills Council is to be celebrated with a presentation ceremony for learners.

More than 80 candidates have completed Global Renewables Lancashire’s Employability Programme, a bespoke training programme designed to help both long-term unemployed people, and employed people, into sustainable work by giving them skills and qualifications directly linked to a job.

Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council have invested in the development of two new State-of-the Art waste treatment facilities. One located at Thornton and the sister plant in Leyland. These facilities will help recover over 85% of the waste produced by Lancashire's households. Global Renewables Lancashire has been awarded the contract to operate these facilities for the next 25 years and have created more than 160 operational roles including fork lift truck drivers, composting operatives, manual handlers and cleaners.

The three week course, run at the College’s Bispham Campus, provided learners with certificates in First Aid, Moving and Handling and Introduction to Health and Safety as well as an award to show they have completed the programme. They will also earn themselves an interview at the company and it is hoped a large proportion will be successful in gaining employment.

Gary Parker, Job Broker at Blackpool and The Fylde College hopes the scheme will lead to more companies following specialised training programmes:

“It’s a boost for the local economy to have large companies such as Global Renewables locating in the area and creating jobs and thanks to this scheme, we are able to offer them a bank of trained applicants keen to join their workforce. I hope other employers will see the benefit of working with the College and follow suit.”

Cllr. Albert Atkinson, Deputy Leader of the County Council is delighted with this initiative

"Lancashire County Council has been very keen to see as many of these new jobs as possible go to people who live in the local area. Global Renewables, Job Centre Plus and the Blackpool and Fylde College have done a fantastic job in taking this forward and helping local people get a foot in the door. Its great to see this kind of support being delivered locally and I hope that others can learn from this.

Tracey Robinson, Human Resources Manager at Global Renewables Lancashire is pleased with the partnership:

“Setting up the Employability Programme with Blackpool and The Fylde College has been an instrumental tool in opening up recruitment opportunities to those local people looking to get back into employment, or switch careers. The Lancashire Waste Project is a local initiative and we are thrilled with the calibre of local people hoping to join our team”

The Thornton waste treatment facility will begin accepting Lancashire’s household waste in the spring , whilst the Leyland facility is due to open in the summer.

Blackpool and The Fylde College's talented choir were delighted to be invited to the live Children in Need broadcast from Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.

The 16 students sang Barry Manilow’s ‘One Voice’, and choir leader David Scott-Thomas was pleased that all their hours of extra rehearsals paid off as their faultless performance was broadcast across the Northwest. They also presented a cheque on the night on behalf of the College to the tune of £1,800.

Video

Musical staff from the School of Access and Continuing Education have pledged to raise money for Children in Need by recording their very own charity CD!

The twelve staff, who are all based at Seasiders Learning Centre, hired a recording studio in Blackpool for the afternoon and set about putting their own individual stamp on Michael Jackson’s ‘You Are Not Alone’ and the festive favourite ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ by Shakin’ Stevens.

The group, who go by the name of ‘Team Spirit’, self funded the production of the CD’s so all profits raised from selling the discs go straight to helping needy children.

Former cabaret performer Robert Walsh was selected as the Lead Vocalist and had a lot of fun making the CD. He said “A colleague went to a recording studio for a hen party and loved it. We do something for Children in Need every year so we thought this would be a great way of making money. Being selected as lead vocal for the charity CD was a joy for me, it has resurrected my vocal career.”

To purchase a copy of the CD contact Robert Walsh on 01253 402950 or Wendy Hirst on 01253 403394. The suggested minimum donation is £3 with all proceeds going to Children in Need.

You can listen to a short clip of Merry Christmas Everyone below.

Audio Clip - Merry Christmas Everyone