futures APRIL 2009
futures2
SHARE YOUR STORIES: Write to Futures, The Whitehaven News, 148 Queen Street, Whitehaven CA28 7AZ
Editorial
Clare Kinrade
01900 607629
Published by Cumbrian Newspapers Ltd,
Dalston Rd, Carlisle, CA2 5UA. Printed by
Cumbrian Newsprint, Dalston Rd, Carlisle
Advertising
Susan Heyworth
01228 612246
The next edition of futures will be
published in The Whitehaven News
and the Times & Star w/e April 24
Grand designs
New plans for
R&D centre at
Westlakes
Focus
PAGES 2-5
Out of
this world
Play at the
art of the
curriculum
Schools
PAGES 6-7
My vision for
Cumbria
University's
new Vice
Chancellor
Higher & Further
PAGES 8-9
Meet the
apprentice
Charlotte
relishes
nursery role
PAGES 10-11
Cleaning up
Sellafield
workers have
good reason
to celebrate
Retraining
PAGES 14-15
Work-based training
FOCUS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Grant's our winner!
GRANT WEATHERSTON: The winner of the Lakes College competition run in Futures with tutor Ed Fitton Kevin Murphy
I
.T. and computers had always
been a life-long love of Grant
Weatherston's. The 21-year-old
had always played about with
computers, pulled them apart
and bought the latest software.
Grant's GCSE electronics course fuelled
his passion for IT even further and he
developed skills in programming. But his
hobby took a back seat when he went to
Wyndham sixth form in Egremont and,
being good at English and a self-confessed
thinker, Grant chose English and
psychology A-levels.
"Although I was always fascinated with
IT and the technical and scientific side to
it, I had always been good at English and
psychology really interested me," Grant
said. "So I really enjoyed doing my
A-levels. I even had one of my poems
printed in an English anthology book."
He left in 2006 and true to his
spontaneous nature he decided to go to
Majorca where he worked as a holiday rep
and entertainer for three years.
With the partying well and truly out of
his system, Grant returned home to
Seascale and, looking at The Whitehaven
News website at the beginning of the year,
he spotted an advert to win a place on the
Lakes College computing degree course
worth around �2,500.
Grant, 21, said: "I didn't realise Lakes
College ran foundation degree courses in
computing so I was amazed when I saw
the advert. I checked out the Lakes
College website for more information on
the course and was really impressed by it
� it looked interesting and pretty varied.
"So I entered the competition and sent
in 500 words on why I wanted to do the
degree, my experience with computers,
and what I'd like to do in the future."
Soon afterwards Grant was chosen as
the winner of the competition and told he
would be starting the course at the end of
February. "I couldn't believe it when I got
the phone call to say I had won the
competition. I was absolutely over the
moon, I didn't think I'd win and
especially since I applied on the off
chance � I thought I was in with an even
lesser chance at getting it," Grant added.
"It wasn't long after I got the phone call
that I started on the degree course � only
four days in fact. So it's been a manic but
a very exciting time."
Grant has been studying on his
foundation degree in computing for the
last three weeks and says it is proving to
be an interesting course. "As it's a
full-time course I come into college two
days a week and I'll do that for the next
two years. Once I complete my foundation
degree I'll then go on to do the top-up
course for a further 12 months.
"It's been a brilliant time for me;
having my tuition fees paid for is not
something that happens to many students!
"The tutors at Lakes College are great
and the course is pretty varied after only
spending a few weeks on it. There are lots
of topics and modules with it.
"We will cover everything from
computer programming, design and
maintenance to website development,
databases and computer security."
Grant said computing has now become
a definite career choice and he already
knows which areas he wants to specialise
in. "I'd love to work in forensic security
such as preventing hackers accessing
government documents or general
internet security. If not that then I'd like
to get involved with web development," he
added. "But I'm on a mission to break the
stereotype of geeks and computers;
anyone can like and enjoy using them.
"If it wasn't for me taking the chance
and applying for the competition I
wouldn't be here now doing what I love �
you're not going to get anywhere if you
don't give it a shot."

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