College invites the Community to its 80th Birthday Party

SOUTH DEVON COLLEGE are hosting the birthday party of a lifetime next month, opening their doors to the public for a Saturday community open day on 17 March to celebrate their 80th anniversary.

The FREE family friendly event – from 10am-3pm - features fun activities set up by each section at the college, including: live music and theatre performances; animal handling, feeding and exploring, from monkeys to meerkats and snakes to spiders; free hair and beauty treatments, plus massage therapy; catwalk fashion shows; live science experiments, together with ice cream making; sports competitions; free car and tyre safety checks in addition to the grand prix wheel change challenge; cooking demonstrations and afternoon ‘Ritz’ tea; art displays; a kids fun zone with funfair rides, bouncy castle, kids disco and face painting; tours of the college campus in the college’s vintage VW camper van; and the chance to sail a college yacht at their Noss Marine Academy. There will also be refreshment outlets available throughout the day and community organisations such as the emergency services attending to showcase their services. College Helpzone staff will also be on hand all day to offer free guidance, from career and course advice to financial assistance and transport.

The free event is celebration of 80 years of South Devon College, as the 2011/12 academic year marks the 80th anniversary of the first intake of students back in the 1931/32 academic year. The College first opened its doors on Saturday September 26, 1931 in Torquay. It was established with a capital investment of £15,500 and opened with 37 staff offering vocational education to 443 students. Today, the Ofsted Outstanding rated College is located on a £30million campus in Paignton, the third largest employer in Torbay with over 700 staff and up to 14,000 students studying for a variety of qualifications from entry level right up to university level.

“Our outstanding College has played a significant role in both the local economy and the South Devon community for such an incredible amount of time – we are part of local history,” said South Devon College Principal Stephen Criddle, “The College is taking the time to celebrate this during our Saturday community open day, which we are all very excited about and hope many people and families can attend. I am personally delighted to have been associated with the College over the last 10 years where we have enjoyed considerable growth and success, and I look forward to continuing development for local learning over the next decade.”

The South Devon College community open day – free to all – will be held on Saturday 17 March from 10am – 3pm, at the College’s Vantage Point campus on Long Road in Paignton. There is even a FREE shuttle service available to and from Paignton bus station throughout the day. For more information call free on 08000 380 123 or visit www.southdevon.ac.uk.

The Friends of South Devon College is a charitable trust with the aim of raising funds to remove barriers that may restrict students from participating in learning. This may be for extra support with learning or physical disabilities, financial hardship help, or even to help fund important enrichment activities that are an un-affordable luxury for some students. The trust have launched an 80th anniversary fundraising appeal especially to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the college and are appealing to parents, friends, alumni and businesses to contribute to the charity. For more information or if you wish to donate call 01803 540 622, email friends@southdevon.ac.uk or visit www.sdcfriends.co.uk.

For more information visit http://www.southdevon.ac.uk/