Our students have been showcasing their creative talents as part of an annual celebration of comic art.

The Thought Bubble Convention is a two-day event that marks the achievements of illustrators, graphic art, comics and fans.

Our level 3 creative practice students, who get free passes to the event, enjoy attending to meet artists and others from the graphic art community, and share ideas. The students also, as part of their coursework, get the chance to produce their own zine (a self-funded magazine or fanzine) from scratch to display at the convention.

The topics covered in this year’s zines ranged from Michael Ryder’s supernatural adventure comic, The Vengeful Beast, to a photographic meditation on mental health, by Laila Fairholm. Bronagh Humphries, meanwhile, used a concertina format, featuring iconic images of Scarborough, for her zine.

Rising to a unique challenge

The students all relished the challenge, which Michael hailed as ‘unique and fun’. He added: “I have found the course so far to be a very good way of improving my skills in the creative industry.

“Working with other creative people has made the atmosphere in the class very friendly and everyone is willing to help each other, which has helped me settle in.

“The Thought bubble convention was a very important opportunity to see other people’s work and learn how they promote it. The artists were very friendly and seeing what they were doing really inspired me. Having our work shown there, knowing it was being looked at by loads of people, was an amazing experience.”

A joyous creative experience

Programme manager for MA Creative Practice, Dr Annabel Smith said: “Over the last couple of years I have built a relationship with the organisers of the Thought Bubble Convention.

“We have used this opportunity to set an exciting brief for our level 3 creative practice students, with each setting their story within their own specialism to design and format a zine – whether it be photographic, illustrative, digital or hand-rendered.

“This year the students did themselves proud and produced a wide variety of styles, stories and outcomes. They all attended over the two days and realised what a broad range of artists and styles are out there in this community.

“To add to the fun, many visitors dress up as their favourite characters from comic adventures. It was a joyous and happy crowd of people, and our students really related to the creative atmosphere.”

Held at Harrogate Convention Centre, this year’s Thought Bubble Convention was held in November when more than 400 comic-creating exhibitors took part over the two days.

Our college prides itself on constantly evolving to provide the skills our key local industries most need.

Our Principal, Danny Wild, has been explaining some of the many ways in which we have been supporting the hospitality sector to local businesses.

Danny was one the key speakers at Helping Harrogate Hospitality on 25 November. The event, held at Goldsborough Hall, was organised by Philip Bolson of Mr B Hospitality in partnership with the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

Speaking on Supporting Hospitality for the Future, Danny told the guests and other speakers how the college was encouraging students to see the full range of opportunities that the sector offers.

Shining a light on opportunities – and role models

He said: “The college is providing careers advice that encourages students to think beyond ‘front-of-house’, because the hospitality industry also includes things like finance, marketing and much more.

“I also spoke about how our employers’ network, which ties into our commitment to delivering an employer-led curriculum, lets local businesses directly influence what kinds of courses and skills we provide based on their needs.

“We have also been active in producing media pieces to shine a light on locally-grown success stories in the media. For example, earlier this year we produced a widely publicised article which featured two former Harrogate College students who have become hospitality stars, Callum Bowmer and Neil Mendoza.

“These kinds of inspiring examples provide great role models for our students while promoting the local hospitality industry.”

Invaluable experience and collaboration

Danny discussed the lifeskills training that students have been getting too, such as customer service training experience – and how that was showcased at the college’s recent recruitment fair.

And he stressed the importance of developing students’ soft skills, especially STEM 7 (the core skills that underpin Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills, to arm them with transferable talents.

Our hospitality team ensures that our students gain some invaluable experience of working in a fast, public-facing environment through the themed dining nights that we hold during each year.

Hospitality students are also taken on regular fact-finding trips to local hotels and restaurants, like Rudding Park.Our partnership work with local businesses, meanwhile, has led to students producing sustainable dining menu ideas for RHS Garden Harlow Park.

Our commitment to sustainability has been recognised by a major environmental awards scheme.

The Green Gown Awards celebrates examples of exceptional green projects that are being carried out by education institutions across the country.

Harrogate College reached the finals this year after being shortlisted for the Tomorrow’s Employees category. The judges were impressed by the partnership work we are doing to provide retrofit training, our delivery of green skills based on local feedback, and our efforts to embed sustainability into our courses.

The 2022 winners were announced at Loughborough University on November 8, when Professor Sir Duncan Wingham, Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council, congratulated all the finalists.

He said: “Their work is helping us to meet the challenge of ensuring environmental sustainability is an inherent part of research and innovation excellence.”

Another step towards green excellence

The college, which is striving to become a recognised centre of green excellence, also now provides carbon literacy training for all of our staff and students.

We have been teaming up with local organisations such as Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition to raise awareness of, and provide courses on, retrofitting – which makes buildings more energy efficient.

And we are working closely with businesses, too – through our Employers’ Network – to provide training in other green skill areas including electrical vehicle charging technology and renewable energy installation.

Principal Danny Wild said: “As a college that is determined to play its part in tackling the climate emergency, we are pleased to see our ever-evolving sustainability work being recognised in this way.

“The Green Gown Awards celebrate best practice in environmental initiatives across the country, so we are in good company.

“This recognition will inspire us to work even harder to become a centre of green excellence and, as outlined in our Sustainability Pledge, become a net zero college by 2035.”

The college’s environmental work was previously recognised by the Green Gown Awards in 2021, when its Performance and Projects Coordinator was shortlisted in the Sustainability Champion category.

Harrogate-based employers have been meeting and interviewing our students about exciting potential opportunities.

Representatives from 10 businesses visited Harrogate College on Wednesday 2 November to take part in a Student Recruitment Fair.

The event, set up through the Harrogate College Employers’ Network (HCEN), let local companies talk directly to students – all with customer service training experience – about their work.

They were also able to hold interviews with some students about positions with part-time, study-friendly hours – resulting in at least two job offers being made on the day.

A successful day for students and businesses

Harrogate College Principal Danny Wild said: “We were delighted to have so many of our local employers coming along to support this event, which attracted a lot of interest from our students.

“To have a couple of job offers being made on the day was fantastic, and I know that most of the participating businesses also took away contact details for a number of other students that they may well be back in touch with.

“This recruitment fair emerged following Harrogate College Employers’ Network feedback, and is part of our continuing push to ensure our training helps local businesses thrive.

“It was very encouraging to see the first one go so well and we look forward to holding more fairs, supported by our local business partners, as a regular part of the college’s calendar going forward.”

The participating businesses were: Springfield Healthcare, West Park Care, Cairn Group, Disability Action Yorkshire, Vida Healthcare, Harrogate Healthcare Facilities Management Ltd (Harrogate Hospital), ATM Ltd, Arc Inspirations, Anchor Care Homes, Morrisons plc.

Landlords can find out about the benefits of retrofitting at an information evening at Harrogate College.

Retrofit for Landlords, which is being held in partnership with Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, takes place from 6pm to 7.30pm on Wednesday 2 November.

Designed to explain how ‘eco-refurbishment’ of properties can improve efficiency, cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions, the event will feature several presentations.

Guest speakers will include Sarah Stark from Harrogate Borough Council, who will be sharing details about a new council grant that can be used by landlords and answering questions about EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) regulations.

Shining a light on how to help the environment and the economy

Harrogate College Principal, Danny Wild, said: “We look forward to welcoming many landlords  to this event, where they can hear about the benefits of retrofitting.

“Working closely with local employers, to ensure our courses and training delivers the maximum possible benefit to them, is one of our key aims.

“We are also striving to become a net zero carbon college* by 2030, as set out in our sustainability pledge, and supporting green skills like retrofitting aligns perfectly with our sustainability goals.

“So we are delighted to be teaming up with the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition to stage this event, which sets out how practical steps can be taken to help both our economy and the environment.”

Expert speakers

Other guest speakers will include Erin Wheeler and Katie Privett from York and North Yorkshire LEP, who will give presentations on the net-zero business toolkit and energy and retrofit options, respectively.

John Kerr from Zero Carbon Harrogate, meanwhile, will be discussing the work it is doing – including through teaming up with Harrogate College – to provide free retrofit training, and how landlords can access it.

Places at the event can be booked here:  www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harrogate-college-retrofit-event-tickets-425667923217.

*The college now provides carbon literacy training for its staff and students, and has embedded sustainable practice into all of its courses as it works towards becoming a recognised centre of green excellence.

Our Art courses are so good that established artists have been signing up with us to hone their skills.

Three local artists, Tom Ransom, Irene Vassiliou and Douglas Thompson, recently achieved their MA Creative Practice degrees at the college.

Another respected local artist, Catt van Leijen, is currently halfway through the two-year, part-time programme and is urging others to embark on the same creative journey.

A rewarding creative journey

She said: “The MA in Creative Practice will take you on an unexpected path of discovery.

“This course at Harrogate College is a great opportunity to explore your creative self on another level.”

Catt, who is a ceramic  and paper mache  tutor at local charity, Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre, hit the headlines recently through the ambitious collaborative project she did for her course.

Teaming up with the National Trust and Art Maker students at Henshaw’s Arts and Crafts Centre, Catt oversaw the creation of all kinds of nature-inspired artworks. Those were then installed in and around Fountains Abbey’s water garden and stream, to the delight of visitors.

Confidence-building support

Douglas, meanwhile, who also teaches at Henshaws and specialises in paper cutting, also thoroughly enjoyed his time with the college.

Speaking just after receiving his degree, he said: “I really loved the course. All of my tutors’ support has boosted my self-confidence so much, and created a rigour in my practice that wasn’t there before.”

While the MA Creative Practice degree caters for those who have already begun their artistic journey, and want to specialise, the college also offers a range of courses for others at different levels.

A liberating alternative to school

Those include short, part-time introductory courses like Arts, Crafts and Design along with full-time programmes for school leavers, such as Art and Design Level 2 and Creative Practice (Art & Design) level 3 Extended Diploma.

Level 3 course lead for FE Art & Design at Harrogate College, Jonathan Leng, said: “We offer an exciting learning experience here, in level 2 and level 3 art and design, for 16 to 18 year olds.

“We continue to have outstanding success, in fact amongst the highest in the country, on our Level 3 course – with more than 40% of our students gaining a distinction (three A*s at A level) last year. We are able to do this by offering each of our students individualised learning and the chance to work with practising artists and highly skilled technicians.

“Our students recognise that this approach gives them the freedom to explore and develop their skills and be the individual that school, perhaps, does not allow. As the new academic year begins we look forward to welcoming lots more aspiring artists!”

Enrolment for this year’s art classes is underway now and there is still time to apply. Click here to find out more.