Friday 21 April 2017

Visit to Changing Futures


Visit to Changing Futures

Last night myself, Mark, Christian and Thomas Black (one of the Student Ambassadors) visited Changing Futures Hartlepool to find out more about what the charity does for the young people of Hartlepool. 

Whilst we were there we told the group about the Gamecon, which we are hosting for the third year in a row –this year! 

We brought along the arcade cabinet that a few of the students made last year for the group to try and beat one another’s score on Sonic the Hedgehog.

Followed by a few games on the Nintendo Switch, which seemed to be a hit amongst the group! It was a very interesting night finding out about where the money we raise by doing the Gamecon goes and meeting the people it benefits.

This year the Gamecon will be held on Wednesday 31st May – Friday 2nd June.

It is £1 entry and all proceeds will go to Changing Futures – 

helping them work with individuals, families and communities 

in the country.

This year Gamecon is going to be bigger and better than 

before with more consoles than before! Stalls from local 

businesses and universities…


Come along and help us raise money for a worthy cause!

Monday 9 January 2017

New Year, New You

New Year, New You

Welcome back – we hope you all had a lovely Christmas break!

 I know I did – it was full of eating my weight in chocolate and binge watching series on Netflix…

Now we are back and it’s the time for resolutions – this month the college is all about “New Year, New You” from healthy lifestyles to new choices with your courses.

I have listed a few facts of how to have a healthy lifestyle:

1.       Ensure you eat 3 meals a day.
2.       Choose foods that are low in saturated fats, cholesterol, salt and added sugars.
3.       Make sure you drink plenty of fluids – the government recommends 6-8 glasses every day.
4.       Ensure you do regular exercise to help prevent any serious illnesses.
5.       Make sure you have a good night’s sleep (recommended between 7-9 hours)

6.       Stop smoking to ensure you can breathe easier and have more energy.


Tuesday 13 December 2016

We won a POSBOs


Last week myself, Mark , Jess (from Changing Futures) and a few of the Student Ambassadors headed to the Baltic in Newcastle for the POSBOs awards ceremony. An event that we held in June known as Game-con won an award for the best youth event in 2016.

The GameCon event first started in 2015 and was created as an event that students would enjoy running. Students Thomas Black, Andrew Smales, Sam Henderson, Rory Williamson and Student Services team leader Mark Lee devised the idea when thinking about ways to engage with students and the wider public:

'We wanted something that would appeal to people of all ages and be very unique. We are all gamers with lots of retro and modern gaming systems, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to run a gaming event.'

Changing Futures was picked as a charity for the event due to their inspirational work with young people; particularly teenagers from the Hartlepool area.

'The team at Changing Futures were fantastic in 2015 and again in 2016. Jess Watson really helped us and promoted the event across the town. Our fundraising also made a big difference to their cause which was great to see.'

This year we managed to gain sponsorship from Hartlepool Domino’s Pizza, the college providing their Aerospace flight simulator and Teesside University Game Design tutors, students and Virtual Reality games in attendance.

We managed to smash last year’s total by raising a massive £208! It was a fabulous event and we couldn’t believe it when we were nominated for a POSBOs and the fact we won it was even better!!


We're already planning GameCon 2017 and this has given us the confidence to make it our biggest, best one yet!'


Monday 19 September 2016

Welcome Back

It’s been a busy past few weeks here at the college with lots of new starters. Here in Student Services we have been meeting lots of new students that have been enrolling here at the college since August – it has been like Piccadilly Circus here but it has been a lot of fun and it was nice to meet you all.

The first week back for students kicked off with a Freshers event, which seen over 35 companies come in and tell the students what services they offer. The FRESH team worked throughout the summer to plan the event to ensure it was fun-filled for the students. Every student was given lots of freebies including a bag of sweets from HCFE Student Services with useful contacts attached (if anyone would like one of these cards feel free to pop down). The event was a massive success and the atrium was buzzing with people from 10.30-2. Students seemed to enjoy the event and even got a glimpse of the new “Student Lounge” which is now open every day.

The lounge will be manned by the Ambassadors and myself 11am-1pm every day with a bunch of activities and events taking place there too. There will be FIFA competitions, Wii competitions and a bunch of films on for students to watch too. Feel free to speak to myself or the Ambassadors about the possibility of you becoming an Ambassador, as we are now taking applications for the New Year. Becoming an Ambassador has many benefits from rewards of high street vouchers and meals in the Flagship to having something extra on your CV or UCAS application. Being an Ambassador gains you a variety of skills from learning how to plan an event to gaining leadership skills and building confidence which are all great skills to help you in the future.

Feel free to come and chat to myself or the Ambassadors at any time…


Make sure to keep an eye out for all the events and activities that will be happening over the next year!!

Wednesday 24 August 2016

GCSE Results Day Survival Guide

It's that time of year already and no doubt you are a little apprehensive as to what your results are going to be and what to do when you open that letter!
We work with hundreds of students yearly, making sure that we get you on the best possible pathway with your results.
Here we outline some of our most popular tips to make sure GCSE Results Day goes smoothly...

Stay in Touch
Top up your mobile – whether you get the results you wanted or not you’ll be spending a long time talking/texting/posting social media to family and friends. Make sure you can contact those that matter on the day. Chances are they'll be thinking of you.

Be Prepared
Discuss with your parents, lecturer, or a careers adviser what your options are now you have your results.
Speaking to someone about things will allow you to respond much quicker and take away much of the worry about your next steps.

Stay Focused
Focus on your own situation and not what others are going to do. There’s an awful lot of emotion attached to results day so make sure that you are thinking about your own future as much as possible and don’t get dragged into other people's drama.

Take your time
Regardless of whether you get the results you want, understand that there is still time for you to consider what you want to do. Speak to family and friends or speak to a careers adviser at your local college/sixth form. We're here to help every day and are unbiased, supportive and informed as to what your options are.

Don't be a Sheep!
Don’t be swayed by the crowd. When lots of people are doing one thing it can take a lot of courage to say you want to do something different. Remember, you have to live YOUR life, not someone else’s!

Don't Panic
If you’re panicking, find somewhere calm to get things together. Even asking for some time alone can make others realise you need some space. Focus on your breathing and clear your mind. Taking five minutes to gather your thoughts can stop you making a rushed decision (or saying something that you may later regret!)

Give yourself a Break
Appreciate your achievements. Whatever your results you’ve just completed nearly two decades of non-stop education! You’ve grown, learnt and developed so much that you may be an entirely different person. That learning process continues throughout your life so enjoy what you’ve achieved at this point but never stop trying to develop.



Whatever your results, remember we are here to support you to make an educated and informed choice about your next steps. We are here at Hartlepool College to have a friendly chat with you to discuss your options - wherever and whatever they might be! Visit us, contact us via the main college website or call our GCSE HOTLINE on 01429 857102

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Student Blog - Gamecon

Over the last few week and months, we have been planning our second annual Games convention. During the last holiday we held our 3-day games convention at the college.

For this games convention, we used a variety of games from a wide range of different consoles. We a managed to get different 2 table tennis tables, a 2 vs 2 Counter Strike game and the college flight simulator. Also a special guest from Teesside University came who brought their Oculus Rift DK1 (Dev Kit 1) and gave us all some information on the different courses that they offer in this field.

For £1, you were entered into a raffle to win a Sega Mega drive and it let you come and play the different games that we had to offer J Students had a racing experience with a wheel and pedals that Mark allowed us to use ( THIS WAS HARD… LET ME TELL YOU NOW)

Also Dominos sponsored us and gave us 10 free pizzas A DAY…. Yes, that’s right 10 free pizzas A DAY. This turned out to be  one of the most popular things about the event J.

Over the 3 days we ran different competitions such as ;
·         Time Trial Sonic Levels
·         Mario Maker levels
And many many more

After the 3 days, we managed to make an overall total of £208 which was a massive increase on how much we made from the first year!!


Thomas Black

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Game-con 2016

Hartlepool College of Further Education students gave up their half-term to raise money for Changing Futures North East to support young people across the town. Inviting students from college and local schools, as well as families into the college, college student ambassadors and staff dug out their games consoles and put on a great games event for all ages!
And it wasn’t all just retro systems as Hartlepool College showcased their cutting edge flight simulator, used to train Aerospace Engineering students at college. Teesside University, who work in partnership with Hartlepool College also supported on the day, bringing along games design students and their Virtual Reality system. 

The fun didn't stop there with competitions, raffles and FREE PIZZA from Domino's - everyone seemed to enjoy their 3 days of gaming. Winners of the competition were announced on Friday just before the final total of £208 was announced. Changing Futures NE came along on Friday ready for us to announce the final total and to have a look around at the range of games the students had organised. 

The event was a huge success and everyone seemed to leave pleased whether they'd reminisced their childhood (including me, who enjoyed playing Crash Bandicoot again) or learning how to play a new game. 

We would like to say a massive thanks to everyone who came along to the event and to everyone who supported and sponsored us! We couldn't have done it without you and we hope to see you all next year :)