Student Voice Celebrated

Walsall College students had the opportunity to get their voices heard on Monday 7th February, during their annual Student Conference.

The event which was held in the College’s Jerome’s Restaurant at Wisemore Campus, was a chance for students to discuss key issues and make changes both inside and outside the College.

The conference came as part of Walsall College’s overall Learner Voice Week, designed to recognise and champion the views and ideas of its student body. This included students recording their views on flip cameras, allowing them to air their views in an open forum.

The conference is extremely popular with students, providing productive way of students getting their voices heard and making changes.

The theme of the conference was ‘Shaping Communities’ and aimed to get students talking about what they can do to be a bigger part of their local community. This involved a ‘speed dating’ section of the day, where students had the opportunity to speak to a variety of area managers and local politicians about their ideas and issues.

Course Representatives then held group discussions about key issues relating to their courses and College life, before presenting their views, ideas and suggestions to Walsall College Managers and Governors.

Walsall College Course Representative and Students’ Union President, Ashley Lovell stated, “I became a Course Representative and SU President because I wanted to be more involved in College life and I wanted to get the most out of my years here. Students have a real voice at Walsall College and our views are treated with respect. By discussing issues and proposing areas for change, students are able to make a difference.”

Amarjit Basi, Principal and Chief Executive of Walsall College said, “Here at Walsall College, we are committed to providing students with the best possible learning environment and the only way to do this, is to listen to what students have to say on key issues. We will take the feedback from the conference extremely seriously and students will then remain involved in the forthcoming months as their feedback is used to make the overall student experience at Walsall College even better.”