2021 Private Education Awards

Page 20 www.lux-review.com LUX 2021 Private Education Awards May21294 Transferable Skills Training Vocational Education & Training Centre of the Year - South West England Education comes in all shapes and sizes, and for many, a classroom approach can limit their horizons. The team behind Transferable Skills Training have embraced a more practical approach when it comes to teaching their students. We take a look to see how they have been able to achieve such incredible success in LUXlife’s Private Education Awards 2021, by determinedly thinking outside the box. Everyone can agree on the value of a good education, but often defining what that means is trickier than you might think. To some, good education is about facts and figures, to others it involves exploring what it means to be a good citizen. For the team at TST, their aim is to offer a good education to those who struggle with mainstream methods of training. With an approach that is infinitely more flexible, they reach out to those who need support and ensure that they can progress in their personal and professional lives. Established in 2006, TST has quickly grown into a major success story. Under the leadership of Nikki Markham, the team has achieved outstanding results. Her dedication has transformed the lives of many students, who were once disengaged with learning new skills. Under her guidance, the team at TST has reengaged them, allowing them a place where they can gain vocational qualifications, and progress into further training, education or employment. The beating heart of TST is the belief that students who are able to engage will learn and achieve. The aim, therefore, is to provide an environment that is suitable for them in every way. Mainstream education pushes a more academic approach, and so TST champions practical learning with functional skills. Each course revolves around a small group so that tutors can easily connect with young people of varying backgrounds and often complex issues. In the last three years, this approach has brought about an incredible success rate, with over 90% of students passing their qualifications. One of the key features of TST is its base of operations. Merryhue Farm, spread over a hundred and twenty-four acres, is the ideal place for young people to come and learn in a new way. The last sixty years has seen it develop into an area with an enormous range of different habitats, including semi ancient woodlands, meadow lands, heathland willow carr and marshland. As a working farm, with a wide variety of livestock and poultry, there are few places in the country that can match the sheer range of different skills that can be taught here. Merryhue Farm embraces not just the great outdoors, but the important new technology that lies at the heart of a modern country. Students can access dedicated teaching workshops, with a fully equipped carpentry workshop and a construction workshop on site for their use as well as being able to use the practical tools that are vital to conservation and land management tasks. While TST has always pushed for a vocational approach, which embraces a practical way of working, there has always been a clear need for this to be matched by a degree of academic work as well. The team has therefore created a dedicated teaching space within the Merryhue Farmhouse, with students having full access to laptops and tablets. There is also the Outdoor classroom, a project built by former students where problem solving and teambuilding is undertaken. The world of education must change depending on who or what is being taught. No one understands this more clearly than the team at TST. They have built an environment where their students can thrive at every level. For those who find the methods of mainstream education unengaging and uninteresting, TST offers a much-needed alternative that ensures that they can continue their educational journey into the world of work. Company: Transferable Skills Training Name: Nikki Markham Email: [email protected]