15th April 2010

Almost 400 students from the Faculty of Sport and Community Studies at Coleg Glan Hafren are attending the College's first Learning Core Fair, held over three days from April 14^th to the 16^th. At the Learning Core Fair the young people take part in workshops and activities to learn about citizenship, lifestyle advice and entrepreneurship, learning about homelessness, rapping, disabilities, eating disorders and green living along the way.

Coleg Glan Hafren's Faculty of Sport and Community Studies offers courses in Childcare, Sport, Travel and Tourism, Catering and Hospitality and Public Services to 390 full-time students. As part of the student's Welsh Baccalaureate activities, staff from the faculty arranged the three-day Learning Core Fair for the students to find out more about the Welsh Assembly's Extended Entitlements for Young People.

The students are taking part in health screening and team building in the gym and sports hall and visiting stands, workshops and talks across the College in rapping, entrepreneurship, conflict management, bullying (from Bullies Out), eating disorders (from BEAT Cymru), Welsh, homelessness (from Shelter Cymru), green living, sexual health, disability, careers advice (from Careers Wales), blood donation, veganism, road safety awareness (from the Police) and information from youth organisations The Sprout and Clic.

A visit to the Trowbridge campus found groups of students passing basketballs over their heads and through their legs for the team building exercise, while others made smoothies, learnt about tree-planting in the College garden and were even blindfolded and guided around campus, so they could experience what it's like to be disabled.

Veronica Burt, Operational Manager for the Faculty of Sport and Community Studies and one of the co-ordinators for the event said, "Our aim is for students to have a fun learning experience throughout the week and to take part in activities that they wouldn't usually get to try. The emphasis is on kinaesthetic learning, delivered by a mixture of art and craft, team building challenges, smoothie-making and experiencing what it is like to have a disability. Staff throughout the faculty volunteered to use their expertise to deliver workshops and we have been delighted by the response from outside organisations who have been willing to get involved too. The whole event will draw to a close on Friday with a prize giving ceremony in the hall, a rapping contest, penalty shoot out and sumo wrestling for charity."

The sumo wrestling and penalty shoot our competitions have been organised by year 1 and 2 Public Services students, as part of their Welsh Baccalaureate studies. The students have organised a host of weird and wonderful charity activities from selling sweets to a crossbar challenge, Playstation FIFA football competition, a photo booth for students to be pictured with friends and a trip to Oakwood theme park. Most of the money will be donated to charity with a percentage of the money raised going to fund student trips.