This is going to be a great year, full of opportunities

Firstly, we'd like to welcome all new students to the College for 2011/12. It's fantastic to see so many new faces around the campuses and we look forward to getting to know you all better over the course of the next few weeks and months.

Of course, we can't forget our returning students - welcome back! We hope you all had a great summer and are now ready for another exciting year at the College.

For all of you who have attended College before you might be thinking this is going to be just another year and that you know what to expect ... you're wrong! Take a good look around the main campus as you enrol or as you start your classes next week - there's one or two differences.

Firstly you may notice that, where there was once an aging accommodation and office block as you come in to the entrance to the student car park, now there's just an enormous pile of rubble! Don't worry - this was by design! In fact, the rapid removal of the much-loved but sadly outdated, building has been one of the joys of the summer for the staff on-hand. Not that we were desperate to see it go but the balletic beauty and skill of the demolition diggers has been amazing to watch. To see a 5-ton piece of heavy machinery with 2 meter crushing jaws delicately extracting old doorframes, aluminium window liners etc. and placing them in different piles for recycling has been simply amazing - never mind the fascination of seeing it plough through walls and concrete floors like they were butter!

Over the course of the next few weeks the area where the building stood will be transformed into .... well, we'll let you wait and see!

Another change you'll notice is in the Information Store. We've invested significant amounts in improving the facilities and services that this area offers. Last year we created the Wellbeing Zone, this summer we've revamped the entire library system. RFID checkouts, electronic textbooks and more featured areas for you to study as individuals or in groups ... you're going to love it.

Then there's the Enterprise Zone. This is still under construction but, once complete (not long) this will be a revolutionary area (we've never seen anything else like it) for all students to enhance their employability skills and/or develop their own enterprising and entrepreneurial business ideas. The area will be state of the art  ... we don't want to give too much away yet but you can check on the vision and the progress of the space here.

Enterprise and Entrepreneurship ... these are two words that you are going to see a lot more of in your journey through College. As part of our drive for kitting you out with the very best in 21st Century Skills and equipping you for your entry into the 21st Century workplace the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship are going to be two of your most valuable assets. We'll talk more about this in our next blog post.

For those of you who are sporty and enjoy spending a bit of time in hard exercise we think you'll be pleasantly surprised (if not jaw-droppingly staggered) by the improvements we've made to the gym over the summer. Drop in and take a look - it might just change your life.

As for the other 85 building and improvement projects we've undertake in the last 3 months ... well, we won't go into them all here, but we really have been busy trying to make the College an even better place for you to study.

In other news, listen out for CCN Live, our new radio station coming online in September and do make sure you drop in and see what the Students' Union have got planned for Freshers' Fair this year.

2011/12 - a great year. We'll keep providing the opportunities so long as you keep telling us what you need.

Harry Greiner's Blog