Lewisham College hosted a Welcome Fair for new and returning learners ahead of the academic year. More than 2000 learners attended the event, participating in a series of activities on campus.
During the fair, learners had the opportunity to interact outside the classroom and meet representatives from local businesses and learner services. Over 30 community stakeholders were present, offering a range of opportunities and support, including information on volunteering, extra-curricular programmes and mental health services.
Representatives from the local community included London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), England Boxing, Kent Cricket, Humankind, Kier Group plc, FaceWork, Lewisham Works-Lewisham Council and more.
The fair, held outside in the College’s communal Quad area, was an opportunity for learners to receive valuable advice from local businesses and get involved in the Lewisham community or discover more about the services the College offers through information stalls; which current learners helped to run. Attendees were also able to socialise over a free ice cream.
Joao Felipe, an ESOL learner at Lewisham College, said: “The Welcome Fair has been an amazing experience. I’ve met so many new people, learned about different opportunities and feel part of the Lewisham College community. The atmosphere has been fun and lively, and the ice cream was a nice bonus.”
Sadhana Sutar-Smith, Head of Learning Resources and Student Services at Lewisham College, said: “This has been a fabulous event, we had hundreds of learners coming here today to enjoy music, information stalls, and ice cream. It has been an excellent atmosphere and a great opportunity for our learners to familiarise with the support and services available to them.”
Jamie Stevenson, Principal at Lewisham College said: “We were delighted to welcome community stakeholders to our Welcome Fair, where they connected with our learners and showcased the services available to support them both inside and outside of college. This event was an incredible opportunity for our learners to gain insight, network and understand the resources they have at their fingertips, helping them to achieve their very best in their studies.”
Asher Roberts, C4L Cricket Development Officer at Kent Cricket, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Lewisham College learners and engaging with staff about the exciting opportunities we can offer within the cricket community. It was a pleasure to discuss how we can collaborate, and I’m genuinely looking forward to potentially working with some of the students to help them get involved in our cricket programmes.”
To find out more about the learner support available at Lewisham College, visit lewisham.ac.uk/learner-support.
