ON Saturday, May 17, North East Worcestershire (NEW) College threw its doors open and welcomed the community in for the annual NEW College Family Fun Day.

The free event ran simultaneously across the Bromsgrove and Redditch campuses, featuring a host of activities reflecting the wide range of courses on offer at the college and providing the opportunity for members of the public to tour the fantastic facilities both campuses boast.

This year, the college tied in the event with the So Redditch 50th anniversary celebrations. There were 50 gold balloons, and a special Golden Treasure Hunt in which 50 people participated in and completed. The treasure hunt was based at the Redditch Campus with each checkpoint revealing a fact about Redditch and a sticker to collect. Each participant won a goody bag, golden balloons and a £5 Amazon voucher.

This year also saw the launch of the ‘Community Zone’ at the event where local charities were invited along to showcase their work and fundraise. Local charities included Libby Mae’s Little Angels, Mentor Link, Frankie’s Legacy, Women's Institute and Primrose Hospie, among others.

Students and staff at the fun day encouraged the community to have a go at activities relating to the courses on offer at each campus, there was the chance to have a go at bricklaying, nail art, cake decorating, live music acts and go-karting.

Redditch MP, Karen Lumley attended the event in Redditch and expressed her support to the sports students fundraising for their next voluntary trip to Ghana:

She said: "It's always great to see NEW College working with the community and it's been a lovely day here in Redditch. I wish the Ghana volunteers the best of luck with their bike ride, every penny is going to a really important cause."

Fiona Spence, the current assessor working with the college on the Stage 2 Investors in Diversity Award attended the day and said: "It’s lovely to see a college opening up and inviting the locals in to enjoy the campuses.

"It was nice to see how the community and college fit together."