#Ditch the Blade Campaign, £87million T-Level Building at NSCG,

Staffordshire Police have once again been calling on anyone carrying a knife to #DitchTheBlade.   The campaign ran for 2 weeks recently, in conjunction with the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Violence Reduction Alliance, the aim of the campaign has been to reinforce that it is not normal for anyone to carry a knife.
Tackling knife crime remains one of the key priorities under the multi-agency serious violence strategy, and Officers are urging all knife carriers to anonymously deposit their blade into their nearest Knife Bank.
These have proven to be effective in reducing the number of knives on the streets. At the end of this latest operational campaign, Police recovered 980 knives from 12 surrender points.
During this same period, three arrests were made and five knives recovered during weapons sweeps in public places and two through stop and search.

Ditch the Blade

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Students at Newcastle College are set to benefit from an £8million building projected to create a two-storey purpose built ‘T-Level’ centre.

The new scheme will provide learners on a variety of T Level and Sport pathways with an innovative and flexible learning environment reflective of modern workplaces, containing highly specified technology.  In addition, the centre will include a brand new 4-court sports hall with capacity for an increased range of sporting activities and additional teaching spaces.

The announcement comes on the back of record student growth at the College’s Knutton Lane campus, primarily driven by increased demand for new T Level pathways that launched at the start of this academic year.

Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Groups offer a broad range of T Level courses in various subjects including Health (Adult Nursing & Midwifery), Building Services Design, Business & Administration, Digital Coding & Technology, Education & Early Years, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Laboratory Sciences, Legal Services, Mechanical Engineering and Surveying & Design.  To find out more about the T Level courses on offer at NSCG, visit:  T Levels | NSCG

.  T Levels are a new, 2-year Level 3 qualification for 16 to 19-year-olds. Designed with employers, each T Level is equivalent to 3 A levels and helps young people develop the knowledge, attitude and practical skills to progress into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or further study.

Commenting on the development, NSCG Principal and Chief Executive, Craig Hodgson said:  “Since we built the current NSCG Newcastle College campus back in 2010, our college community has continued to grow considerably, to the point that we are nearing capacity of our current accommodation.

Whether it’s the excellent results, our wide range of courses or the warm welcome we extend, it is clear that NSCG continues to be the college of choice for young people in the region.  With applications for our September 2024 intake already looking incredibly positive, we want to be able to plan ahead to increase capacity in line with the anticipated growth in student numbers.  The new centre will provide learners with a flexible, multi-purpose, technologically innovative learning environment and will be a welcome addition to the campus footprint.”

Earlier this term, following a robust tender process, the College appointed contractor Speller Metcalfe to deliver the 1900 square metre scheme.  Site works have now commenced and it is anticipated that project will be complete in readiness for the start of the next academic year, September 2024.

Rob Lashford, regional director at Speller Metcalfe, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be supporting the College’s vision of bringing their T Level Centre to reality. As a contractor with nearly three decades of experience delivering educational projects, we will be using the combined knowledge of an experienced team to build a centre that the college can be proud of, and most importantly one that will support students with a modern learning environment as they move towards their future careers.“