Art & Design

"The best part about teaching can be summarised by a quote from a recent student: ''I think that I might actually be getting the hang of this...'' Enough said!

It's a constant joy to be working with talented, inspirational, and creative people. The biggest benefit I feel that students get is the ability to think differently and develop their own voice in order to progress into higher education or a career.

I have learnt a lot from my department colleagues too; the continual cycle of sharing ideas and working collaboratively keeps things fresh, interesting and makes the College an exciting place to be."

"The opportunity to work with young people at this important stage of their lives, where they are deciding their future career aspirations, is what drives me to teach.

There's a two-way satisfaction from the teaching and learning process – we hope to inspire our students, and they in turn inspire us with their creations, their development and achievements.

Every year is different, the dynamics in the department change, but we always have students staying in touch after their studies to share their successes and stories, and we often will invite some back to speak to current students.

This is the most obvious sign that our students benefit immensely from our courses and it's fantastic to see them blossom and progress to positive destinations."

"For me, the most rewarding part of the job is the end of year exhibitions when the students display the outcomes of their Final Major Project. We turn the entire art block into a gallery and showcase a huge variety of work spanning several disciplines, including photography, graphics, illustration, fashion, sculpture, painting and film/animation.

It's great to see how far each student has come over the course of the year and the Final Major Project allows them to be truly individual and play to their strengths. The overseas trips are always great fun too, and really enrich the students' cultural awareness and inform their ideas.

While our students gain a wealth of valuable practical skills and an understanding of the facilities that they may not have had access to at school, I would say that the most important things they will take away from college are the transferable skills that they will need in the real world. Our students develop teamwork, communication, professionalism and independence through their project work and these will benefit them in life wherever they end up working."

"When I was a student at the College, I had an amazing tutor who inspired me to tap into what I was really interested in at a time when I had no clear idea about my future plans.

What resonated with me is that one teacher can make a massive difference and now being this role, I see students who are in a similar place to where I was. My job is to recognise their potential, nurture their strengths and teach them that it's never too late to change their path.

As well as developing technical creative skills, the dialogue between the tutor and student is critical for developing soft skills. That first feedback for a student can be difficult, especially hearing criticism no matter how positive. However, this helps build resilience and understanding of one's own practice, and shows a student how their craft is more of a commodity than just a past-time or hobby."