Student creativity on show at the Fife College Festival
Thousands of shoppers and visitors to the Rothes Halls and Kingdom Centre in Glenrothes last week enjoyed a creative treat, thanks to the fabulous Fife College Festival show.
The Festival, the first of its kind to be organised by the College, showcased the amazing talents of its students studying a range of courses from Jewellery and Quantity Surveying to Interior Design and Art and Design.
The four-day event centred around an exhibition of work in the Rothes Halls which kicked off on Tuesday evening with a special launch event attended by students, their family and friends, and guests of the College.
Sue Reekie, Chief Operating Officer at Fife College, presented prizes and certificates to award winning students. A special award, in memory of former Drama and Performance student Lewis Cunningham, was also announced on the night – a beautiful trophy and annual prize has been donated by his family to recognise a student who is ‘overcoming adversity to achieve’ and will be awarded later this year.
Fashion student Kelly Braid, from Kirkcaldy, was delighted to have her work showcased at the event - she has enjoyed her time at College and has found her course the perfect stepping stone on to university.
Said Kelly: “My final outfit is designed in two pieces, a wrap top and a puffball skirt. I chose a fabric that was not typical for evening wear, that I found on the bottom shelf of a fabric store, along with creating my own fabric for the puffball, by fusing crinoline.
“I am delighted to now go on to study Fashion Communication in year 3 at Heriot-Watt University in Galashiels in September, where I am excited and looking forward to enter into third year.”
Rachel Archibald, from Newtongrange, was delighted to be presented with Student of the Year for HNC Furniture. Rachel’s unusual chair with six legs was a one of a series of popular and unusual pieces at the Festival, covered in fabric made from inner bicycle tyre tubes and studded with diamantés. Said Rachel: “I’ve always worked in the public sector, I was a library manager and after being made redundant I decided to come to College.
“I wanted to do something completely different. My Grandad was a carpenter and I inherited his toolbox and so decided to try furniture. Coming to College is a 5-hour round trip for me as I live outside Edinburgh and study at the Glenrothes Campus. It’s worth it though, especially meeting other like-minded students sharing ideas and problem solving.
“I’ve enjoyed making my chair for the Festival and pleased that I was able to include some recycling within it – the bicycle tubes are normally sent to landfill. Winning the Student of the Year for my course was a big surprise – I’m delighted.”
Friday and Saturday saw a wide range of college departments join the Festival to showcase their areas including engineering, childcare, digital technologies, sport and fitness, and hospitality and tourism. The Rubik’s cube sorter, virtual reality and cooking demonstrations were particularly popular as shoppers visited stands situated throughout the Centre to find out more about coming to College, courses and careers.
Dorothée Leslie, Vice Principal Academic Strategy at Fife College, was very pleased with the way the event had run and said: “What a fantastic feel good event. Seeing the amazing work of our students’ showcased at the exhibition was truly inspiring. Each and every one of them is extremely talented and it is great to see that their time at Fife College is enabling them to reach such creative heights, preparing them for great careers ahead.
“As well as being a celebration of our students’ work, our Festival was also a great opportunity for us to get out in to the community, to showcase some of the fantastic innovative work we have going on and to share the positive benefits of coming to college.
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making the Festival such a great success - we look forward to holding similar events in the near future.”
Award winners are as follows:
David McCafferty, NC Furniture
Rachel Archibald, HNC Furniture
Chris Murray, HND Furniture
Olivia Ewan, HNC 3D Interior Design
Niamh Hogwood, HND 3D Interior Design
Kerr Hadden, Level 2 Design, Engineer, Construct!,
Stuart Cooper, HNC 3D Interior Design for His Efforts to Engage the Staff within the Design Process
Saffy Kirk, HNC 3D Interior Design for Most Achievable, Innovative and Successful Design
Genevieve Sawyer Males, Outstanding Student Award for Art and Design
Erica Bailey, Outstanding Student Award for Jewellery,
Kelly Braid, Outstanding Student Award for Fashion
Katrina Morrison, Tom Pigeon – Jewellery Award
For further information on courses at Fife College visit our course pages or call 0344 2480115
