Merrist Wood College

🌟 What is College Clearing? 🌟

Clearing is your last chance to secure a college place for this September! If you’ve missed out or want to make a change, we’re here to help you find the right course.

🗓️ We have clearing appointments available at all of our campuses from 22 August - 6 September 2024.

👉 Ready to explore your options? Learn more and book your appointment: https://bit.ly/3WFYs0i

Best of luck to our amazing Merrist Wood College students with your results tomorrow! We’re so proud of you! 🥳⠀
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Remember you can collect your results on campus from 8am–12pm tomorrow. Tutors and staff will be on hand to support and answer any questions 😊

We’re looking forward to seeing some of you in person! ✨

For more info: https://bit.ly/3WCxMOm

Our very own Charlie Dodd, Animal Keeper (Farm Lead) was interviewed by Julia Gregory on BBC Surrey's Breakfast Show on Thursday, who were shining a spotlight on farming communities in Surrey all day 🐑

To hear Charlie speaking about what it's like as agricultural student and even hear some sheep being called, listen via BBC Sounds from 3:15:19: https://bbc.in/3Ma3dud

📚 Happy National Book Lovers Day! 📚

At Activate Learning, we're celebrating our love for books with a special shoutout to our amazing partnership with BorrowBox! Dive into a world of fiction with over 500 eBooks and 125 eAudiobooks, completely free for both students and staff.

Whether you're on campus or on the go, your next great read is just a tap away.

Download the BorrowBox app and start exploring today!

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What a fantastic year it has been at Merrist Wood College!

We are thrilled to share some of the incredible highlights and achievements from the 2023/24 academic year. Our students, staff, and community have worked tirelessly to make this year one for the books. Here's a look back at some of our favourite moments.

As we look forward to the next academic year, we remain committed to providing an outstanding education and a supportive environment for all our students.

Feel free to share your own highlights and memories from this year in the comments below!

🌟 We proudly presented talented young artists, aged 13-16, at the recent Art & Design National Saturday Club graduation event and exhibition at Somerset House.

This annual event showcased an impressive array of artwork, reflecting the creativity and dedication of these budding artists.

The National Art and Design Saturday Club, a free programme, offers students a unique opportunity to work with professional artists and designers. Through weekly sessions, they explore various disciplines, including drawing, painting, sculpture, and digital media. This enriching environment helps them enhance their skills, explore career pathways, and connect with peers.

Congratulations to all the participants! 🎨👏

Interested in joining? We run clubs for a variety of age ranges between 8-16 years-old at our City of Oxford College, Banbury and Bicester College, Reading College, Bracknell and Wokingham College and Merrist Wood College campuses.

Explore and sign up for the next cohort starting in October 2024: https://bit.ly/3YyQ2KV

We have many outdoor courses starting this September, with over 40 years of experience in teaching arboriculture, countryside management, landscaping, horticulture and garden design.

With recreational and professional courses available and strong industry links including the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and the RHS - Royal Horticultural Society.

See our latest courses: https://bit.ly/4bUBxUG

Have you always wanted to work with animals?

Starting this September, we have a wide range of courses designed exclusively for adult learners, to make your dream career a reality from dog grooming to zoo management.

Our courses will give you the opportunity to gain plenty of practical experience, explore now: https://bit.ly/3SiM9FZ

🌟 Exciting news! 🌟

We are thrilled to announce that Merrist Wood College and University Centre has been awarded the prestigious Surrey Hills Enterprises Trade Mark! This accolade recognises our commitment to local provenance, quality, and sustainability, celebrating the best of what Surrey has to offer.

This esteemed membership highlights our dedication to supporting the local environment, promoting excellence in education, and contributing positively to our community.

Join us in celebrating this achievement and our ongoing efforts to preserve the natural beauty of the Surrey Hills! 🌳

Read more: https://bit.ly/4ds7gxH

Activate Learning is thrilled to announce the launch of our new FREE Skills Bootcamp in Domestic Retrofit, specially designed for unemployed construction industry workers and businesses in Surrey! 🌟

🔧 Gain essential skills in energy-saving systems with this comprehensive eight-week programme. Offering both Level 2 and Level 3 awards, you'll learn about retrofit and energy efficiency measures for various building types.

With start dates from 24 Oct – 19 Dec 2024 and 20 Jan – 17 Mar 2025, this course is free for eligible unemployed learners; with significant subsidies for employed learners.

💼 Unemployed or looking to upskill? Don't miss this opportunity to join the growing field of retrofit professionals and futureproof your career! 👉 https://bit.ly/3ydlUds

Skills Bootcamp in Domestic Retrofit | Surrey | Adult Education The Skills Bootcamp in Domestic Retrofit equips construction professionals with modern energy-saving systems knowledge and skills.

🌍🤝 Happy International Friendship Day! 🤝🌍

Today, we celebrate the unbreakable bonds that transcend borders, languages, and cultures: friendship! 🎉❤️

Tag your besties from around the world who make every day brighter with their love and support. At Activate Learning, we believe that friendships enrich our lives and open doors to endless possibilities. 🚀

So, take a moment today to reach out to your friends, near and far, and let them know how much they mean to you. 💬💕

Happy International Friendship Day to all our amazing staff and learners! 🌎📚 Together, we can build a world of compassion, empathy, and lasting friendships. 🌏❤️

🌿🐇🐀🐇🐀🌿

🌳 Exciting Collaboration for a Greener Surrey! 🌳

🤝Merrist Wood College and University Centre is thrilled to partner with Surrey County Council's Tree Planting and Establishment Team on two ambitious forest planting projects.

The Goal:
🌳Supporting Surrey’s Climate Change Strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
🌳To contribute to the goal of planting 1.2 million trees by 2030, one for every Surrey resident.

The Project:
🌳Woodland Creation Initiative: Our students have already planted 250 native trees on the Merrist Wood estate with plans for 500 more across 2025 and 2026.
🌲Miyawaki Mini Forest: We’ve created Surrey’s first Miyawaki forest with over 2,300 saplings, promoting rapid growth and biodiversity.

Student Involvement:
🌱Students across subject areas including arboriculture, horticulture and countryside management gained valuable hands-on experience during the planting process and subsequent cohorts will continue to nurture the forests over the coming years
🎓This important project gives our learners real-world experience that enhance student learning about sustainable practices and contribute to combating climate change.

🌍Aligning with our key strategic driver of sustainability, we’re proud to support Surrey County Council in this important aim for a sustainable future.

➡️Go here for full story: https://bit.ly/4flciOc

A HUGE thank you to the wonderful team from Petplan UK and Petplan Equine (Allianz) for spending their volunteering day at Merrist Wood College this week! We loved showing you around our Equine and Animal Management facilities. Your hard work painting the fences and weeding around our Equestrian Centre has made a tremendous difference – it was a great day!

Corporate volunteering days are an excellent way for organisations to contribute positively to their local community. If your company is interested in a rewarding volunteering day at Merrist Wood, get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Activate Learning Adult Education has launched a new Online Access to HE Diploma in Built Environments! 🌍🏢

Designed to pave your way to a rewarding career in the built environment sector, this Activate Learning Online programme offers guaranteed undergraduate progression with University College of Estate Management.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3WsuNce

📢 Merrist Wood College and University Centre has received the green light for an exciting campus redevelopment from the Department for Education (DfE)! 🚧

This multi-million-pound initiative will bring cutting-edge learning environments, advanced facilities, and innovative spaces to enhance the educational experience for students at the campus.

Key highlights include:

🌳 New state-of-the-art buildings
🌳 Enhanced green spaces
🌳 Upgraded educational and recreational facilities

This £21 million redevelopment marks a significant step towards fostering a future-ready learning environment in Surrey.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4bQ451A

Merrist Wood College has proudly achieved Bronze accreditation in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Awards 2023-2024, a program partly funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Our committed team of students and staff have worked hard all year to support hedgehog conservation on campus. They have engaged in various activities to protect hedgehogs, improve their habitat, and increase awareness.

A huge congratulations and thank you to everyone involved in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign, especially our Employability and Woodlands Centre students, who have played a key role in reaching this fantastic milestone.

Join us at the Cranleigh Farm and Food Festival (Cranleigh Show) today! 🎉

The team are here from 9am to 5:30pm, celebrating rural life and the communities which live it.

See you there! 👋

🎉 We're proud to share that Dr. Fumiko Pescott, Faculty Manager - Online, has won an Edufuturists Award in the Educator of the Year category. 🎉

The prestigious awards celebrate the excellent practice of teachers and schools around the UK and beyond.

Such a well-deserved recognition for the incredible impact Miko has had and continues to have at Activate Learning on her learners, team, colleagues, and beyond. 🌟

The winners were announced at a ceremony in Leeds yesterday.

On behalf of everyone at Activate Learning, congratulations, Miko!

Edufuturists work hard to promote change in education, learn more about them via their website and podcast! 🎧📚

🌳 Last week, we celebrated our Arboriculture students as they completed their courses! 🎓 They received certificates and prizes to honour their achievements.

A HUGE thank you to our friends at Honey Brothers for the goodie bags you gave to everyone and the truly amazing prizes which were awarded to our top learners! 🎁

We are so grateful for your kindness, generosity and support in helping our students begin their careers in this exciting industry! 🙏✨

Yesterday, we celebrated our amazing Horticulture and Landscaping students for completing their courses! 🥳 They received end-of-year certificates and prizes in recognition of their hard work.

A huge shoutout to our special guests from the BBC Gardeners’ World Fair team - Bob, Imogen, and Cherry. Thank you for the thoughtful gifts and cards you presented to second year Level 3 students, Ryan, Charlie, Ben, William, Kieron and George, to celebrate their achievements over the last two years of show gardens at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, earning a gold award in their first year then a Platinum Award and the Best College Garden award this year for their outstanding efforts.

We are so proud of this group for their hard work and achievements! We can’t wait to see what you do next! 🌟

The UK general election is tomorrow! 🇬🇧

Make sure you bring a valid form of photo ID with you to your local polling station. All voters MUST present some form of photo ID in order to be allowed to cast their ballot, so make sure to familiarise yourself with the accepted forms of ID. 🗳️

You can find a full list of accepted voter IDs on the UK Electoral Commission website, here: https://bit.ly/4eDhxZp

⭐️ It's conference season for our Higher Education team and what better way to kick things off than with the 33rd International Society for Anthrozoology Conference.

🐈 Megan Barker, a final year Wildlife & Conservation degree level student, gave a fantastic presentation on her dissertation research entitled: "Bells, Bibs, and Beyond: Investigating Factors that Influence UK Cat Owners’ Willingness to Mitigate Wildlife Predation".

🐎 Megan was in good company too, with one of our brilliant Lecturer's Ella Bartlett also presenting important equine research about "Talking the Talk: An Analysis of Terms Used by Equestrians to Describe Their Own Horse Training Approach".

🎓 Its been a fantastic experience for our degree level students to present novel research findings to international audiences this year alongside their lecturers...we could not be prouder of them and the work they are producing! 🧑‍🎓🧑‍🎓

⬇️ Read more about Megan's and Ella's research below:

⭐️Megan's research: https://bit.ly/3W2wFbx

⭐️Ella's research: https://bit.ly/4cFZ9gI

➡ Find out about our animal industry degree pathways here: https://bit.ly/4bdA8YU

🎖️✨ It's 🎖️✨

A day to honour and appreciate our brave men and women in uniform who protect our nation, promote peace, and fight terrorism. 🤝

At Activate Learning, we proudly support the Armed Forces community and have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, ensuring equal opportunities for service personnel and their families. We've also been recognized with the Silver Recognition Award for our ongoing commitment. 🥈💪

To our staff and students with military connections, we're here for you.

Armed Forces Day

We are so proud to share that our inaugural Activate Learning Celebration Day and Passing Out Parade for our Uniformed Protective Services (UPS) students went off without a hitch yesterday! 🎓✨

The event featured learners from five of our campuses: Banbury and Bicester College, Bracknell and Wokingham College, City of Oxford College, Merrist Wood College and Reading College, and featured visits from special guests of honour His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Mr Michael More-Molyneux (The Surrey Lieutenancy), and Mrs Sarah More-Molyneux.

This fantastic event was a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students. The morning was filled with teamwork and leadership development activities, culminating in a formal ceremony in the afternoon. 💪🤝

The Lord-Lieutenant presented awards and delivered an inspirational address, encouraging our students as they embark on careers in the police, fire service, ambulance service, armed forces, prison service, and probation service. He also recognised those advancing to higher education and one aspiring professional cricketer! 👏

As we approach Armed Forces Day, this event was a poignant reminder of the commitment and potential of our UPS students to serve and protect our local communities. 🇬🇧🛡️
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We had a great time this week at Merrist Wood College with Lee Hatton from FSI Stump Cutters!

Lee gave an inspiring talk and a hands-on demonstration to our Tree Surgery for Craftsmen and first-year Level 3 Arboriculture students. He shared insights about the industry and showcased the professional equipment they produce.

The highlight was the two stump grinders Lee brought to the session, giving our students the chance to try them out on an old oak tree stump on campus. Huge thanks to Lee for such an engaging and informative session - the students loved it! 🌳✨

The UK general election is only a week away!

Want to learn more about your current MP and election candidates in your area? 🗳️

Discover your local representatives: https://bit.ly/4cuD7xo

This week we were thrilled to welcome STIHL Technical and Product Trainer, Tom Peacock, to Merrist Wood College.

Tom delivered an excellent talk and hands-on demo to our Arboriculture, Countryside Management, Horticulture, and Landscaping students, providing them with valuable knowledge and experience with STIHL products for their future careers.

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This morning our farm keepers came in to a beautiful surprise from Florence, 3 lovely little piglets! All are doing very well considering the heat today. If you are a current Merrist Wood student please give her a few days to bond with her piglets before going to see them.

⭐️Merrist Wood College and University Centre are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking research collaboration with the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW), the only non-profit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre dedicated to conserving native species in Laos. 🐆🦎🐒🐊🐻

⭐️LCTW works with authorities to combat wildlife crime, rescue animals, and rehabilitate them for release whenever possible. For those that cannot be released, the centre provides lifelong care and refuge. 🌳🏞️

⭐️This partnership will focus on species such as leopard cats, keeled box turtles, Laotian langur monkeys, Siamese crocodiles, sun bears, and the iconic Pangolin.

⭐️Merrist Wood’s Higher Education students will play a key role in the conservation of endangered and vulnerable species, conducting crucial research to improve the welfare, management, and rehabilitation of these animals. 📊🔍

⭐️This collaboration will also provide Merrist Wood students with incredible research opportunities, addressing key knowledge gaps and developing new protocols to improve animal care and rehabilitation. 🌟🎓

➡Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4ccTgYz