Three students have each been awarded a scholarship worth £3,000 from the Savoy Educational Trust as they begin their studies at the Edge Hotel School, the UK’s first hotel school based entirely in a fully operational commercial hotel.
Freddy Bateman, Tori Cox and Alice Holah are part of the first group of students who started their courses this week at the pioneering Edge Hotel School located at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus.
They will be working towards a fast-track BA Honours degree in Hotel Management over the next two years, combining academic study with practical experience of working in a luxury country house hotel, the newly refurbished Wivenhoe House.
Alice, 18, said: “It is pretty amazing to be involved in the opening of the Edge Hotel School. Being able to get the practical experience of working in a hotel alongside the theory is what made me really want to apply here. I would like to eventually work my way up to management and I would also one day like to run my own hotel.”
Freddy, 19, said: “This seemed like a really good opportunity. I’ve worked in the catering industry since I was 14 years old from starting in the kitchens through to working as a waiter and as a chef. I think it is going to be a really good two years.”
Tori Cox, 18, said: “I still cannot believe I am here. It will be really good when the Edge Hotel School is famous and I will be able to say I have been a part of it.
“I came to the Edge Hotel School because I liked the idea of how it combined theory and practical work – instead of just revolving around the classroom. That is great for me as that is how I like to learn.”
The Savoy Educational Trust scholarships are designed to support talented students and help encourage the outstanding hospitality managers of the future. Scholarships were awarded by a panel based on a combination of criteria from the application form and supporting statement. A further six scholarships will be awarded in the coming year, three for each of the next two intakes, in July and September.
Freddy said: ““The scholarship is going to make a big difference to me. It will help me a lot and make sure I get the most out of being here. I really want to be a hotel manager one day and go on to be someone who is respected within the industry.”
Alan Jenkins, Principal of the Edge Hotel School, said: “With their impressive reputation built over 50 years of developing education, training and qualifications in the hospitality sector, the support of Savoy Educational Trust is a significant endorsement of our mission based on a model of ‘learning-by-doing’. We are honoured to be working with them.”
Edge Hotel School students achieve a degree awarded by the University of Essex while working at the historic Wivenhoe House, a luxury hotel and restaurant, restored at a cost of £10 million. Students have the option of earning a one-year foundation degree or a BA Honours degree in two years. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with some of the sector’s leading employers and well-known industry figures including Michelin star chefs and 4 and 5 star hoteliers.
The new hotel features period suites and rooms, a new garden wing, a signature restaurant for more formal dining, a brasserie for informal dining and meeting rooms.
Applications for a scholarship can be found at www.edgehotelschool.ac.uk or contact the Edge Hotel School directly at admissions@edgehotelschool.ac.uk or call 01206 872858.
Further information
For press queries, and photographs of scholarship recipients, please contact Ben Hall, Communications Officer, University of Essex, telephone: 01206 874377, e-mail: comms@essex.ac.uk.
About the Edge Hotel School: The Edge Hotel School will be the UK’s first hotel school based in a fully operational hotel, Wivenhoe House, in Colchester. A partnership between the independent education foundation Edge, the University of Essex and its academic partner Kaplan, it will combine a luxurious country house hotel and innovative hotel school, where the future leaders of the hospitality industry learn their profession. Students of the Edge Hotel School will ‘learn by doing’ as the basis of their two year, fast-track degree-level qualifications in hotel management and culinary management. The Edge Hotel School works closely with the hospitality industry to ensure the curriculum is relevant and students graduate equipped with the knowledge, skills and experience employers want. For more information visit: www.edgehotelschool.ac.uk.
About the Savoy Educational Trust: The Savoy Educational Trust is an independent, grant giving charitable trust established in 1961 whose main aim is to advance and develop education, training and qualifications within the hospitality industry. In order to fulfil this aim and help meet the current and future skills needs of an industry that is a major employer and contributor to the UK economy, the Trustees award grants for a variety of hospitality-related projects to educational establishments, trade associations, charitable organisations/social enterprises, and individuals. For more information visit www.savoyeducationaltrust.org.uk or please contact Margaret Georgiou, Trust Administrator, on 020 7269 9692, email: info@savoyeducationaltrust.org.uk.
About the University of Essex: Founded nearly 50 years ago, the University of Essex is ranked in the top ten universities in the UK for the quality of its research and in the top 20 mainstream English universities for student satisfaction. It is the most internationally diverse campus-based university in Britain, with more than one third of its 11,000 students coming from outside the UK. The University has three campuses in Essex, and partnerships with a number of other education institutions across the region. For further information, please contact Jenny Grinter, Head of Communications on 01206 872400, e-mail: comms@essex.ac.uk.
About Edge: The Edge Foundation is an independent education charity. It is dedicated to raising the status of technical, practical and vocational learning. All young people should have the opportunity to achieve their potential and the UK’s future workforce needs to be equipped with the skills to be successful in the modern, global economy. Edge believes that “learning by doing” should be valued equally with academic learning and that all learners should experience a mix of both. There are many paths to success. To find out more, visit www.edge.co.uk/ or please contact Nicole Gross, Press Officer, on 020 7960 1546 or e-mail: ngross@edge.co.uk .
About Kaplan: Kaplan is a global provider of training and education and part of The Washington Post Company. For further information please contact Elizabeth Hess, Director of Communications, Kaplan Europe, on 020 7645 8968, e-mail: Elizabeth.hess@kaplan.com.
About Wivenhoe House: Once painted by Constable, the newly restored Grade II listed eighteenth century country house will include 16 bedrooms, most of them period suites, the dining room which will become the hotel’s signature restaurant, and elegant public rooms. The new garden wing will be home to a further 24 bedrooms, a brasserie for up to 120 diners plus additional meeting and function rooms, all equipped with the latest technology. The hotel is open for bookings from August 2012. For more information, visit: www.wivenhoehouse.co.uk.