Carved in Stone - December

Many congratulations to four of our Woolmer Hill students who have completed portfolios in carving letters in stone which have been sent off for accreditation and certification.

Support from Local Industry - November

On behalf of the Guildford and District Construction Industry Training Group, Chairman Mike Poulter presented Skillway with a substantial cheque on Thursday 26 November.

Skillway Management were very kindly invited to join the Construction Group for dinner at a local restaurant after which Mr Poulter presented their cheque in support of the work and training done by staff at the workshops.  Humphrey Davis thanked the group for the wonderful meal but above all for their huge generosity and expressed the wish that closer links would be forged between the two organisations with the view of further training for the students towards the local building and construction industry.

Skillway is enormously grateful to Mike Poulter and the Guildford and District Construction Industry Training Group for their kindness, interest and support. 

 

Haslemere Mayor visits Skillway - November

We were delighted to extend a warm welcome to Haslemere's Mayor, Melanie O'Dell on Thursday 18th November to our workshops.  During her tour she attended carpentry and stone-engraving classes where she spent time chatting to students from Woolmer Hill, Haslemere.  The Mayor was most impressed by the quality of work students completed in the variety of programmes available to them in Skillway's courses. 'Such skills as these are essential in our communities today when many of our crafts are rapidly declining.  It's not just about qualifications and school league tables but about the individual's fulfilment and training for the future.'  The Mayor further commented, 'There should be more organisations like this throughout the country.' 

The Mayor praised the excellent work of Skillway under its Manager Greg Bleach and all the volunteer craftsmen, and pledged her support for the project.

 

Skillway launch of new website - November

Skillway is pleased to announce the launch of their new website with more pictures and news promoting Skillway.

Collection Day Outside Sainsbury's - October

Enormous thanks must be given to the generous members of the public who gave a little over £286 on our collection day, 9 October, outside Sainsbury's, Godalming.

A gruelling 11 hoursof collecting were endured by members of the Skillway team with the aid of some of our students to help promote the work of our organisation.  Much interest was shown by the public, and many who knew of Skillway fully endorsed the valuable and encouraging contribution we make to the community.  Skillway has been chosen as Sainsbury's Charity for the Year.

Keith Powell Retires - July

It is with considerable sadness that Keith Powell has decided to retire from regular work in our workshops. Keith has been a Pillar of Society for Skillway since its early beginnings in Guildford, not only affording much of his valuable time tutoring but with handling administrative details in setting up accreditations, students' portfolios, exhibitions, brochures, building refurbishments and planning applications to name but a few!  His support and encouragement has been exceedingly valuable especially to Greg Bleach, Manager, and to the rest of the staff both at the workshops and in the office.  We wish him every happiness with Pam in the days ahead.  A tribute to Keith from Greg can be found in the September Newsletter on this website.

Crispin Hill Progress Award - July

Many congratulations to Scott Godden for being awarded this prestigious award by the staff at Skillway. This is a wonderful achievement for Scott since he has progressed through some difficult times both in and out of school.  For the past two years he has been committed to his work at Skillway and in doing so achieved an Open College Network Accreditation and a place at Guildford College to study Woodwork and General Construction.  We are also delighted and warmly welcome his return to Skillway as a volunteer working with students in our workshops when not studying at College.

Albury Fishing Trip - July

Tuesday 14 July saw a group of Skillway students at Albury Trout Farm trying their hand at fly-fishing.  For many this was a new experience; so the morning was spent hiring the right equipment and then receiving tutorials in the skill of casting. Although not pristine July weather conditions, the threat of cloud and drizzle did little to deter our 'fresh' anglers.  With confidence high and visions of netting shoals of trout, the ponds beckoned and patience was put to the test!  What fishermen's stories followed?  None!  They all stayed away except for two caught by members of our staff!

We hope this introduction to a new 'activity' will be repeated in future years and encourage some of our students to take a further interest in the sport.

Go-Karting at Dunsfold - July

Mater Class students built and refurbished Go-Karts from old motorbike engines to test-drive them on a circuit at Dunsfold Aerodrome. In the shadows of Top Gear's Studio and under close supervision of staff, the students grappled with the controls of their well-tuned machines and drove them at remarkable speed to test their 'road worthiness'.  The karts withstood the punishing demands of tight corner control and heavy-handed gear changes, not to mention hard braking to 'slide' round corners.  Pit stops were inevitable but under the guidance of Greg Bleach, the Skillway team of mechanics made all necessary repairs or modifications to keep the young drivers focused on their racing skills and avoid spinning off the track.

Whoever thought it was 'all work and no play' at Skillway Workshops?

Fun on the River Wey - June

The anual event of A Day on the River took place again on 16 June. A group of Skillway students took to the water for instruction on canoeing from PC Pete Harris, assisted by Greg Bleach and Jon Taylor. Apart from two hired canoes, our own home-built canoes - Skillway 1 and Skillway 2 - were put to the test and fared remarkably well. With a hot day and a light picnic lunch, nothing dampened the spirits of our young enthusiasts not even the odd capsize and inevitable water fights!

 

A New Director for Skillway - January

We're pleased to say that in January 2009, Humphrey Davis took up the post of Director of Skillway. Humphrey brings with him a wealth of experience from his teaching days at Aldro School. He has always shown more than a passing interest in the work and progress of Skillway, and so it is with the warmest of wishes that we welcome Humphrey into the 'driving seat' and hope that he will find this new challenge a fulfilling one.

We would also like to extend a warm welcome to Vivien Gillman who is joining our management team in a fundraising capacity. Vivien worked with Humphrey at Aldro School and we're privileged that she has decided to join us.

We hope that with Humphrey's and Vivien's knowledge and expertise, Skillway will go forward and accept the challenges ahead.

New Look Overalls - April

Sponsored by Parsons Brinckerhoff. On 21 April, Sarah Halliday (Environmental Consultant) on behalf of Parsons Brinckerhoff presented Skillway with a cheque which made it possible to purchase a new set of overalls for our students and staff. We are most grateful to PB for their generous sponsorship and with their continued interest in the work done at Skillway. Currently, some volunteers from PB are working with groups of students in our workshops on a number of skills and helping us with the building of a small wind turbine.

The Skillway team with their new overalls