Farleigh Easter Report

Foreword: I have done a lot of moaning over the past six months, and I have recently tried to stop that, however, by definition, I have to moan a bit in this regular blog subject, so please bear with me.

Accommodation: If you read my last report on Farleigh, you should know that I am now in a private room (“YAY”) whereas last year I was in a shared room. However, over the past few weeks, I have decided that the people who built the house I live in must have used cardboard instead of wood and brick to build the walls, as I can literally hear my neighbour breathing. However, it is still a lot better than a shared room. The only other complaint I have to report comes not from me, but from other students at Farleigh, whose rooms are so small that there is room for a bed, and room to walk around one side and the front of the bed, and that’s about it. I have seen some of these rooms, and they are VERY small, luckily I am in a larger room, but I think the students would be a lot happier if there were more space!

To be honest, I think that is my only complaint about Farleigh College itself. Most of the staff are very helpful, and the tutors I have for my extra Maths and Psychology are very good. In fact my main complaint is with City of Bath College.

In short, the College is broke. And therefore it is trying to save money. And one of the ways it is doing this is though “Blended Learning”. This translates to going to what the College calls “The Hive” and what students call “The Blender” to do work on computers with no teachers. So, when we go to be blended, if we have a problem, there is no one there who can help us or tell us what to do. There are several support staff (blenders), about 1 between 45, who are not teachers, but know a little about computers. Unfortunately, they are not aware of the intricacies of Psychology or Mathematics, meaning that if we get stuck, we are stuck for the rest of the lesson.

I will admit that for some subjects it can be good, like for coursework, it can be just what you need, but for good quality learning you need a teacher on hand. And the most annoying thing is that we have to spend 15% of our lessons there. (5% for maths).

What is more, for some lessons, computers are totally inappropriate. Take maths. You cannot do maths on a computer. What you need is a large desk to spread out on, and a teacher on hand.

On the plus side, Bath College have got a better timetable than last year. We now have three 1 ½ hour lessons per subject per week, where as last year, it was two 1 ½ hour lessons and a two hour one, which for a subject like maths is just too long!

But I think the College’s best asset is its teachers. Although I know some people don’t like their teachers, and say they know nothing about the subject, these people are in the minority. For the most part, my teachers have been dedicated, knowledgeable, friendly, and inspiring. Four qualities that I think are needed for a good teacher. I think that the main problem is with senior management, rather than the teachers.

Verdict

Farleigh Further Education College: B

City of Bath College: C