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Sponsored by: Trinity College London
Sophie will give young people a voice in LEP
Trinity College London is approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to provide Secure English Language Tests (SELTs) for British Citizenship, Settlement and visa applications
By Lisa Donald Head of Business Development Trinity College London
SELTs are taken by people who need to demonstrate their English language proficiency for the purpose of obtaining a visa to work, study or settle in the UK, or for citizenship.
The SELTs Trinity offer are: • GESE: Graded Examinations in Spoken English – a 6- minute (A1), 7-minute (A2) or 10-minute (B1) one-to- one conversation with a Trinity examiner for Citizenship, Settlement and Further Leave to Remain visa applications.
• ISE: Integrated Skills in English – a contemporary four-skills qualification widely recognised by UK universities for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 4 visa applications.
From 1 May 2017 people extending their Further Leave to Remain visa after two-and- a-half years in the UK will need to take a speaking and listening English language test (A2) at a SELT centre. Trinity’s GESE Grade 3 is at this level. Trinity has 10 SELT centres
across the UK in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, London Croydon, London Hammersmith, London Holborn, Manchester and Peterborough.
Please call us on 0333 358 3183 Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm, and Saturday from 9am-4pm or visit
trinitycollege.com/SELT for further information and free online resources.
12 CHAMBERLINK May 2017
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has appointed its first non-executive director for young people. The appointment is aimed at ensuring the region’s young people ‘have a voice in growing the local economy’. The post has gone to Future
Faces member Sophie Drake, who is a senior account executive at Birmingham-based PR agency Story Comms. She will join 19 other non-
executive directors from the private, public and educational sectors on the LEP’s board. Chris Loughran, chairman of the
LEP’s nominations committee, said: “In deciding to create this role, the GBSLEP board recognised the importance of young people in influencing the area’s future. “The application process was
very competitive and we were impressed with the quality and variety of candidates that came forward, proving a real appetite for young people to have a voice in the area’s decision making.”
Sophie Drake: Representing the younger generation
Last September, Sophie was
named ‘Future Face of Communications 2016’, at the annual Future Faces awards event. She said: “Greater Birmingham is a thriving region and that's why I
chose to set up a career here after finishing university. “There are so many opportunities
for young people to get involved in shaping the future of the area, and one that has particularly helped me to build my network and open doors has been Future Faces at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. “Through attending its range of
events and networking opportunities and winning its ‘Future Face of Communications’ award I've been able to grow professionally and also connect with some of the region's leading organisations and people, helping me in achieving this position on the GBSLEP board. “I’m looking forward to working
with Future Faces during my time on the LEP board, something that will be hugely valuable in connecting with young people in the region and helping me to get their views.”
• For more Future Faces news, see page 26
New arrival at Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo have welcomed into the world a critically-endangered Bornean orangutan baby. Third offspring to father Batu and mother Maliku,
the new arrival is the first great ape baby to be born at the Leicestershire visitor attraction this year and an important part of a European-wide breeding programme to conserve the iconic orangutan species which faces an uncertain future in the wild. The baby is in the safe hands of experienced and
attentive mum Maliku, who came to Twycross Zoo with her mother, Kibriah, in 1996. She has since given birth to Miri, who now lives in
Rostock Zoo in Germany, and Molly, who is still at Twycross Zoo. However, the future of the new baby’s species in the wild is not as bright. Last year the International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) changed the status of Bornean orangutans to Critically Endangered, recognising the ever decreasing population numbers. Twycross Zoo is a partner in the
United Nations Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP), helping to ensure the long-term survival of great ape species and their habitat in both Asia and Africa; promoting awareness of the threats that apes such as orangutans are facing. The orangutan youngsters at Twycross Zoo,
Molly and the new baby, will stay with their mother until they become old enough to fend for themselves.
In the long term, both will eventually be rehomed
at other zoos, where they will go on to have offspring themselves, as part of the European Endangered Species Programme that helps preserve the genetic diversity of the species and aims to conserve healthy animal populations in captivity. Dr Charlotte Macdonald, director of life sciences, said:
“I hope that this birth will help us highlight the plight of orangutans in the wild and that with the support of the public who visit us we can continue to work to ensure a better future for this precious species.”
Endangered species: Twycross Zoo’s Bornean orangutan baby
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