Entry to Uniformed Services

Interviewees – Tom Griffiths. Deputy Head, School of Public Services (SPEAKING) / Karl Jones. Course Leader, School of Public Services (SPEAKING) / Chanel. Level 3 Extended Diploma – Entry to Uniformed Services (SPEAKING) / Suzie Jeffrey. Course Leader, School of Public Services (SPEAKING)

Music – A pop-rock instrumental with a guitar solo. 

Scenery – The camera flashes through footage of a learner pulling the hood of a forensic suit over her head; a learner putting on a riot helmet; a learner doing a pull-up on a pull-up bar; a tutor sauteing onions in a pan outside as learners watch; a learner zips up a forensic suit; a hand places a bottle of forensic luminol next to a crime scene number. The screen fades until fully green, and a white logo appears in the centre with text that reads “School of Social Science. Leeds City College”. 

Song lyrics – “Cos I know we are the shape of things to come.”

Music – An uplifting, poppy acoustic guitar instrumental begins.

Scenery – The camera flashes through footage of fair hands typing on a black laptop keyboard; a row of learners typing on laptops that are balanced on their knees; black and white footage of a tutor laughing and smiling while surrounded by learners. The camera cuts to a man with a fair, peachy complexion, blue eyes, dark brown hair with flecks of grey and stubble. A green banner appears at the footer with white text that reads “Tom Griffiths. Deputy Head School of Public Services”.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “There’s never been a better time to study Public Services, in terms of the transferable skills that we’re offering students with the activities that you’ll have seen today, erm, with the communication, erm, with, for many of our students, the-the ability to listen, erm, listen to members of the general public…”

Scenery – Cut to Tom carefully reading a document in an open folder and turning the page. Cut to a blonde tutor with a fair complexion and colourful lanyard, speaking as she holds up a clear piece of sellotape to look through as two students wearing forensic Tyvek suits watch. Cut to a group of learners who all wear black aprons and stand against the glass walls on the College Campus quad. They watch Tom and a tutor turn on a stove and place a chopping board on a table. Cut to a tutor with deep brown-toned skin guiding the position of a dummy’s neck posture as a learner holds the head and speaks. Cut to Tom speaking animatedly and gesturing towards a learner’s face as she stands in profile. She breaks into a smile, and they laugh together. The camera cuts back to Tom.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “And learning those skills to-to work with the variety of different students from all different backgrounds, um, is experience that-that really can’t be matched anywhere else.”

Scenery – Cut to a group of learners removing plastic car parts from a black duffel bag. A student with a warm bronze complexion, wearing round tortoiseshell glasses and a black Hijab, looks down in concentration. A learner holds corner pieces and screws them together with a plastic carriage bolt and washer. Cut to a circle of learners holding different parts and piecing them together. Cut to Tom, holding one end of a plastic fixing and speaking as students hold the other. The camera cuts to a man wearing a light grey cardigan and a colourful lanyard. He has black hair in a short buzz cut with mid-fade, a neat beard, dark brown eyes and deep brown-toned skin. A green banner appears at the footer with white text that reads “Karl Jones. Course Leader, School of Public Services”.

Speaker: Karl Jones – “So some of the activities that we do here at Leeds City College, such as, er, CPR – we’ve been working with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and they come in, teach students how to do CPR and save lives and different things. At first, a lot of our students were a bit unsure about it or a bit uncomfortable. But as the course has progressed, they’ve become more confident, and some of our students have really enjoyed the opportunity to try new skills…”

Scenery – Cut to Karl demonstrating CPR on a medical mummy as a small group of learners watch carefully. The learner to the right of Karl leans forward and places her hand on the dummy’s chest in the CPR position. Her hands perform firm CPR compressions in sync with Karl’s. Cut to Karl holding a medical dummy’s head, with his hand outstretched to show the position. The camera cuts back to Karl, he sits in front of large windows that let in bright natural light. Karl speaks with a Leeds accent.

Speaker: Karl Jones – “So we’ve got a lot of physical activities down at the gym and different things. We do a bit of cooking, and the students can get a real-life understanding about different skills which they can take on to the future – and it’s something big at the moment, people wanting to get into public services, so… I think we’re here to stay.”

Scenery – Cut to learners standing in a row outside as they put on black aprons over their heads and fasten them at the waist. Cut to a tutor standing behind a camping table, with a portable gas hob and cooking utensils in front. He holds a stainless steel bowl towards the learners and speaks as Tom and Karl smile in the background. Cut to a close-up of a tattooed hand chopping a red onion. Cut to two students laughing and chatting and holding tins, as the tutor continues to prep. Cut to the tutor placing sliced onions into a frying pan as students watch. The camera zooms in to show a learner tossing onions in a pan and another learner stands beside him. The camera cuts to a woman wearing a khaki hoodie with a School of Public Services logo. She has a pale, cool-toned complexion and light blonde hair tied in a low ponytail. She speaks with a Leeds accent.

Speaker: Chanel – “I want to become a police officer; that’s my… biggest dream ever since I was little. Erm, I’ve never changed my mind, ever wanted to go a different path – it’s always been that. That’s why I joined here cos after here, I can do the Lev- I can do that apprenticeship after this Level 3 course…”

Scenery – As Chanel speaks, footage shows a small group of Public Service students putting on tactical vests and zipping them up. Cut to a close-up of a learner in a hi-vis police jacket, placing a dark blue riot helmet over his head and fixing the chinstrap into place while smiling. Cut to two learners smiling, laughing and chatting; the learner on the left has a pale, rosy complexion and brown hair in a loose bun; the learner on the left wears a black Hijab and has a warm bronze complexion. Cut to the same learner being assisted in wearing a tactical vest as another learner slides a protective pad into the front pocket; they both laugh and smile. The camera cuts back to the woman with blonde hair and a khaki hoodie. A green banner with white text reads, “Chanel. Level 3 Extended Diploma – Entry to Uniformed Services”. 

Speaker: Chanel – “I’ve always wanted to do it, and I’m chasing my dreams trying to make my family proud as well, not just myself, but I am making myself proud in the process, and everyone here is helping so much.”

Scenery – A student with long black hair, blue eyes and a fair, peachy complexion sits on a skeleton-sticker-covered laptop and smiles. The camera cuts back to Tom. He sits in front of large glass windows that show the Leeds skyline and trees.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “We do a lot around student wellbeing, erm, staff wellbeing and students – students being able to understand staff members where they haven’t previously been able to do that in the past, so all staff members are on first name terms…” 

Scenery – As Tom speaks, footage shows him engaged with learners. In one scenario, he removes weight-disc clips as a learner stands next to him and smiles; in another, Tom uses gestures to guide and explain a learner’s tactical vest to an off-screen group. The camera cuts to Karl and a student in the indoor gym; Karl hands her a black medicine ball. 

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “Suzie’s actual degree is a sport degree, but through working for about 14 years in the department, has had various training courses to-to learn the skills and, erm, to do the things for forensics – but we have ex-firefighters, ex-RAF, ex-Army. Erm, we have a staff member who’s in the process of joining the police, erm, and they’re going to work in the police while working in the department for one day a week.”

Scenery – Cut to Tom enthusiastically speaking to a learner who sits at a table wearing a Tyvek suit and hood. He holds and emphasises a small white bottle as the learner laughs and responds. The camera cuts to a woman sitting in a bright daylit space. She has light blonde hair, a pale rosy complexion and blue eyes. A green banner appears with white text that reads, “Suzie Jeffrey. Course Leader, School of Public Services”. 

Speaker: Suzie Jeffrey – “One of the units that I team is forensics which is an absolute passion of mine; lots of science in there, lots of biology, lots of mysteries to explore. One of the mysteries we’ve explored this year is an online mystery which I found from America. And on this, we had a virtual crime scene which all students partook in, and they looked at a scene, they gathered all the evidence, from that evidence we then did some scientific experiments in class…”

Scenery – Cut to Suzie demonstrating dusting for fingerprints and then placing a yellow sign with a black number 3 on a table. Cut to Suzie removing a magnetic fingerprint brush from a plastic tube and dipping the brush into the powder. She then carefully demonstrates how to use magnetic powder on a table as two learners who wear Tyvek suits observe intently. Cut to footage of learners using forensic tools and materials, including magnetic powder and forensic luminol. Wearing blue latex gloves, a student drips luminol from a semi-transparent plastic dropper bottle onto a long swap and carefully smears it across a pair of socks that have a red substance on. The camera cuts back to Suzie. She speaks with a Yorkshire accent.

Speaker: Suzie Jeffrey – “At this particular campus, we’ve been lucky enough now to get into scientific testing such as Kastle-Meyers, such as our hair analysis, our microscopes, all students wear a forensic suit, they wear their gloves – they become part of forensic science once that suit is on. Students walk around the corridors in their suits, and other students are mesmerised by what’s going on in the classroom.”

Scenery – Cut to a small group of learners carefully dressing in forensic Tyvek suits. They wear blue-latex gloves and help each other securely fasten their suits while smiling and chatting. The camera cuts back to Tom, who gently smiles as he speaks.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “It’s amazing the transformation that students make, erm, from when they join us in the transition coming from secondary school, erm, looking at the opportunities and the careers that they want five/ten years in the future…” 

Scenery – Cut to footage of learners and Suzie in a classroom environment, engaged in conversation, learning and teaching. Wearing forensic suits, the learners sit around a circular table with individual forensic crime-scene scenarios, such as socks with faux blood and a crystal vase. Cut to small bottles of luminol and magnetic powder. being delicately used across different items. The camera cuts back to Tom.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “Erm, we do a lot around resilience when the students join us, and the ability to deal with change. And we see students make brand new friends, meet new people, visit new places… The opportunities that we’ll offer students, erm, enables them to grow in many ways with students that were travelling as part of a work experience programme we have to Finland. Erm, students- some students were the to get their-the passport, two students got their first ever birth certificate. Erm, opportunities for students to travel abroad, but also students to meet new people- to work at our allotment with people of a different age category of 70/80 year-olds, that they wouldn’t maybe have done before.”

Scenery – Cut to learners carefully working on their individual crime-scene stations, while seated around a circular table. Yellow signs with black numbers read 5, 4 and 3, and separate different scenarios. Two learners delicately brush magnetic powder on crystal vases and dishes. Another learner swabs luminol over a pair of socks with red stains. The camera cuts to Karl, he smiles enthusiastically.

Speaker: Karl Jones – “So Mabgate is basically – it’s our, um, new facility for the gym, so we’ve been using the Quarry House, which is across the road for swimming and fitness and different things. But, Mabgate is our actual building, so it’s going to be turned into, I think, classrooms in the future, but at the moment, we’ve got our indoor gym in there, so we’ve got some weights, some boxing equipment, and a rig which has, like, pull-up bars and different things on. So it’s just the space that our students can use for physical activity, really…”

Scenery – Cut to Karl and learners exercising and using the Leeds City College exercise facilities and space. Karl lays on a flat bench and performs barbell bench presses; a learner pulls a weighted mannequin backwards across an astroturfed floor as Tom walks beside and guides him; a learner holds large petrol canisters and walks forward as Tom walks beside her smiling and laughing in encouragement. Cut to a learner sitting on the weight bench with dumbbells in his arms. Cut to the same learner laughing and smiling while holding boxing pads while another learner hits them and laughs. Cut to footage of learners, Karl and Tom, using resistance bands and TRXs on pull-up bars; the learners grimace as they exercise, followed by smiles and laughter.

Speaker: Karl Jones – “Yeah, I do believe that students from different backgrounds can come have a bright future here at Leeds City College, especially within the Public Service department. We do have students that come from Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield… inner-city, so it’s good that we can offer different opportunities for them here, and they can progress and become more confident whilst they’re here with us as well so that’s always good.”

Scenery – Cut to a learner grimacing and smiling as they pull a thick rope with a metal frame on the end. Tom holds the metal frame to add additional resistance and edges forward towards the learner.

Speaker: Tom Griffiths – “So probably one of the main – one of our main values or our main ethr-ethos within the department is that we can offer an opportunity to anybody, erm, whatever background, whatever your-your aspirations are. Erm, to ensure that we can offer, hopefully, a pathway to that-that career goal.”

Scenery – A finger points at a page in an open folder. Cut to a learner standing with his back towards the camera as he pulls a hi-vis jacket with reflective panels that says ‘POLICE’ in silver text. Cut to learners standing around a tutor who stirs food in a frying pan outside. Cut to a learner in a forensic suit, focusing on a crime-scene-scenario and speaking to Suzie, who walks in the background. Cut to a group of learners holding medicine balls in the Mabgate indoor gym. Tom stands to their side and demonstrates lifting the ball before throwing it to the ground – they follow. The screen fades to green. A white logo appears in the middle with text that reads “School of Social Science. Leeds City College.”

Music – The poppy guitar instrumental fades into silence.