THE newly-renamed Cheshire College South and West hosted an inspiring humanities conference for students in Crewe.

The one-day conference provided a unique opportunity for students to learn from leading experts within a wide range of humanities subjects, as well as networking sessions and encouraging knowledge transfer amongst attendees and speakers.

Taster sessions at the former South Cheshire College included topics within poetry, law, geography, English literature and language, and more than 200 AS students took part.

Fiona Burgess, futures coordinator, said: “The idea of bringing together a number of leading universities to deliver such an event really stretches the boundaries of raising aspirations.

“The conference was well received by the students and guests and we were honoured to have such a vast array of experts and seminars available for the attendees.

“The purpose of the event was really to showcase how to tackle and deal with the ever-growing challenges of global cultural, social and environmental changes.

“Such challenges call upon innovative responses and core findings, rooted in the diverse past and ongoing understandings of science, culture, education and sustainability, which the event aimed to address.”

Opening the conference, Lee Smith, College Vice Principal, welcomed guests to the event, and was followed by keynote speaker, Professor Douglas Burnham from Staffordshire University.

The seminars gave students an insight into topical subjects and were led by representatives from 15 top universities, including The University of Manchester, The University of Oxford, The University of Central Lancashire and Keele University.

The day concluded with a networking session and admissions fair in the college’s award-winning restaurant, The Academy, enabling students to talk directly to the guest speakers.

Sarah Bradley, assistant director of A-levels, added: ““The event was a huge success and really encouraged students to engage with academics through this new style of learning.

“With more than 30 subject topics to choose from, many students chose to explore non-traditional subjects, which they may not have previously considered.”