NEWS ARCHIVE
Students Get Their RYA Qualifications
Two Falmouth Marine School students on the Watersports National Diploma course gained their RYA Start Windsurf Instructor qualifications during the Easter holidays.
The RYA course provided by Falmouth Marine School is available for keen windsurfers and takes place at Stithians Watersports Centre at Stithians Lake where students on watersports courses at the College have many of their lessons.
Jamie Green, 16 and Josh Redgrave 17, have also taken their RYA Dinghy Instructor course. These additional qualifications are highly regarded in the watersports industry and will enable them to obtain work over the summer in the UK and abroad. Once they finish their course next year, their qualifications and work experience will make them highly employable.
Jamie said: "It has been a really good week. I have learnt a great deal and feel much more confident now about both teaching windsurfing and also within my own presentations."
The excellent facilities at Stithians Watersports Centre provide the perfect location for the students to undertake their preparation to become qualified Windsurf Instructors. The Falmouth Marine School students take the intensive one-week training programme as part of their Watersports National Diploma and NVQ courses. These RYA courses available from the College which also include Windsurfing, Dinghy and UKCC Kayak Instructor courses are also open to the public.
This time the students were joined by Katie Simms from Mark Warner Holidays and Peter Bennett from the Royal Navy.
Katie has just returned from working in Egypt and is up-skilling before heading out to Greece to work as a beach manager for another year. She commented: "I am really pleased, it has been a very intense week but I have learnt so much. Not only have I learnt how to teach beginners but I also cannot wait to get back on the water as I think I can use a lot of what I have learnt within my own windsurfing. I am now going to be able to provide our clients at Mark Warner with a greater range of activities out in Greece and cannot wait to get out there and start teaching."
Peter Bennett is a keen windsurfer who can regularly be seen on Stithians Lake. Peter wanted to put something back into the sport and hopes to apply his newly acquired skills over the summer by helping out on courses at the Lake.
Steve Bowens, Curriculum Area Manager for Ocean Science at Falmouth Marine School and RYA Trainer said: "The guys have done really well, they have put 110 per cent into the week and all their hard work has paid off. There are just not enough qualified instructors out there and all these guys will be hugely employable during this challenging time. I would urge anyone who is an enthusiastic windsurfer to get in touch as there are lots of employment opportunities out there and we can also access funding to help pay for the course."
Dave Linnell OBE, Principal of Cornwall College, commented: "It's great to hear that this year's students are of such a high standard. Falmouth Marine School continues to produce qualified instructors of the highest calibre who go on to prestigious jobs in the outdoor industry."
