CIMA congratulates NULC

In the latest newsletter from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Peter Stewart, Director of Learning, said: " You may recall that we launched a revised CIMA Global Learning accreditation scheme at the beginning of 2015, and I'd like to offer my sincere congratulations to five colleges in particular who have demonstrated a strength in performance and have been awarded our 'new' award of Advanced partner:
Newcastle under Lyme College (UK)
ISC – Indian School of Commerce (Kochi)
Robert Gordon University – Aberdeen Business School (UK)
Wise Owl Training (UK),
and The Richard Clarke Academy – Belfast (UK).


 

Accounting students compete in 2015 CIPFA Sixth Form Management Games

On 24 June seven aspiring  NULC (Newcastle-under-Lyme College) A Level accounting students took part in the 2015 CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) Sixth Form Management Games at Staffordshire University.

CIPFA is one of the leading professional accountancy bodies in the UK and the only one that specialises in the public sector. 

The game involves the students adopting the various roles that make up the management team of a fictitious public body dealing with very real issues such as major cuts in funding whilst at the same time remaining accountable to the communities in which they operate.  

The day was an excellent introduction to the world of work and a way of developing and strengthening teamwork, leadership, management and organisational skills.  The introduction of new and unexpected challenges throughout the game also allowed students to develop the skills required to deal effectively with time pressure, strict deadlines and uncertain outcomes.

Richard Simpson, NULC’s Curriculum Leader for A Level Accounting said: “Our students were fantastic, they engaged with some very demanding problems in a really positive and collaborative way and achieved some very credible outcomes.  All the students found the day a challenging but very rewarding experience."

To find out more about our range of accounting courses, click here.

(Picture from L-R: Andrew Lewis, Stuart Leat, Kain Davies, Maddie Sykes, Elanor Baddeley, Chris Bowers and Amy Moriarty)

NULC apprentices sweep the boards at awards celebration

Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) apprentices have won almost a quarter of all the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Local Enterprise Partnership Apprenticeship Recognition Awards.
Three NULC apprentices were recognised for their achievement in the run up to National Apprenticeships Week which started on 9th March. A total of 13 awards were presented at a ceremony in front of employers at the Kingston Centre in Stafford.
Dean Reddin, 22, of Caverswall who attended Rodbaston College, was nominated by his employer JCB. He is studying for a Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at NULC.
Dean has worked for JCB since August 2011 and has had 100% attendance and never been late for work in the last three and a half years. His performance was deemed outstanding as he'd made improvements to wire harnessing in one product which saved time and money, was a great JCB ambassador with customers and was trusted to write service help pages for a new model.
Kate Broome, Technical Excellence – Apprentice Advisor at JCB said: "Dean has always shown a great commitment to JCB Landpower and his apprenticeship. He continually puts in extra. He is an impressive role model to others in the team."
Mike Jones, 30, of Normacot was awarded a Level 3 certificate in Providing Financial Services at NULC. He has worked for Ageas Retail Partnerships of Trentham Lakes for eight years and has recently been appointed to a managerial role.
Said Mike's apprentice assessor Penny Bickley: "Mike has specifically helped with the retention of customers by offering first class service and leading the way with his approach. His product knowledge is second to none, aided by his ongoing endeavour to gain his insurance qualifications."
Mitchell Hill, 18, of Hanford, photographed above, who previously attended Trentham High School, works for Transairvac International of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Mitchell is studying for a Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering. His award nomination highlighted that he took responsibility for designing and fitting the racking for his company's new warehouse.
Said his tutor Colin Alaimo: "Mitchell works well in a team and can also be trusted to work on his own. He has also suggested different ways of doing some work processes which shows he's growing in confidence and becoming a good asset to his company."
Young people wanting to find out more about apprenticeships can visit the College's 12th March open day between 5:30 and 8pm and chat with leading employers about training, support and vacancies. To register in advance please go to: www.nulc.ac.uk/events.
Said NULC's head of employer training Vicky Boulton-Clarke: "The College has outstanding apprenticeship success rates, with results generally 10% higher than the  national average. I am delighted our apprentices - and effectively their far-sighted employers - have been recognised among the best in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent."
For further information on what NULC can do for business including recruitment, training and apprenticeships, please visit: www.nulc.ac.uk/nulc-for-business.

100% pass rate puts accounting on course for platinum rating

Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) students are this week celebrating a 100% pass rate on five different accounting courses.

Twenty-six NULC students sat worldwide Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) exams in December and, when their results arrived this week, all of them had passed. This bucks a national average pass rate of 48%.

The clean sheet was for the Accounting Fundamental papers (F4, F5, F6, F7 and F8). NULC students also exceeded the national results in the Professional Papers where 77% of students passed P2 and 50% passed P3 against the national score of 50% and 48% respectively.

NULC was awarded ACCA Gold approval in 2013, which gives recognition to the quality of tuition provision and support for accounting students. Having exceeded the national pass rates in all December 2014 papers the College can set its sights on the Platinum level award following the next results in June.

In order to achieve the Gold approval the College demonstrated its commitment to quality by fulfilling a range of challenging performance targets relating to infrastructure, student feedback, quality of tutors and best practice provision of ACCA tuition and support.

Said NULC ACCA/CIMA Coordinator Sarah Champ: "The students and the staff are absolutely delighted with these outstanding exam results. Most of the students are sponsored on these professional qualifications by their employers so we are also pleased to be providing such a great return on investment.

"It shows that smaller class sizes and top quality teaching methods, rather than simply lecturing, really works for students."

Accounting is one of a series of professional part-time qualifications offered by NULC locally which allow students to improve their career prospects while continuing to work. These including law, finance, engineering, computing, business administration, health and social care, teaching, and leadership and management at a range of levels. To find out more, please click here.