ACE Training

26/08/2026

A BIG welcome back to all our second year Pre-Apprentice Learners! It's great to have you back at the centre!

25/08/2026

If you live in Bicester, ensure you take some time to read through all the fantastic content in this month's edition and keep your eyes peeled for our fabulous feature. Thank you to the Your Bicester & Your Villages team!

🌻 Your Bicester Magazine - September 2026 🌻

September is here, and this month’s magazine is packed with community stories, local news and plenty of familiar faces from across Bicester.

Inside you’ll discover:
👷 ACE Training and the work they’re doing to help young people into apprenticeships and careers in the trades
🌱 Bunkers Hill Garden Shop & Nursery shares its top gardening advice for September
🍜 Mery Boothroyd brings Indonesian cuisine to Bicester Friday Market with some of her favourite family recipes
🎭 Sheridan Smith on her journey from sitcoms to musicals
⚽ Bicester Park FC and how it’s building lifelong belonging through football
🇺🇸 Kyla and Elyse reflect on growing up in Bicester and their new life in Michigan
🥫 Bicester Foodbank celebrates an incredible 20 years of supporting our community
🌍 Bicester Twinning Association celebrates friendship, community and lasting connections across Europe
💷 Plus, spot the 12 sunflower icons hidden throughout the magazine for your chance to win £100 cash!

September is also an incredibly exciting month for us as we launch Your Villages, our brand-new sister magazine! Building on the success of Your Bicester, Your Villages will be delivered to 10,000 homes across 36 villages and hamlets surrounding Bicester 🤩

We couldn’t have achieved this growth without our fantastic advertisers, contributors, distribution team and, of course, all of you who continue to support us. A huge thank you from all of us at Your Bicester & Your Villages 💚

As always, you’ll also find local business news, home and lifestyle inspiration, events, features and plenty more from across Bicester.

📬 The September edition starts landing on doorsteps soon, but if you can’t wait, you can read the digital edition today!

📖 Read it here:
https://shorturl.at/fFPHk

25/08/2026

A qualification tells you what an individual can do but character tells you how they will use it!

That’s why social value is such an important part of training at ACE.

We don't just want to produce skilled bricklayers, carpenters, joiners and property maintenance professionals.

We want to help develop good people who understand the impact they can have on the world around them.

That's why our learners get involved in community projects.

They might be building something that will be used by a local community group, creating a bug house for a school, helping with a community garden, constructing a larder for an early years setting or carrying out practical work for a local charity or Scout group.

They learn that their skills can do more than earn a wage.
They can make a difference.

And that experience brings learning to life.
✔️ Practical skills
✔️ Teamwork
✔️ Communication
✔️ Problem-solving
✔️ Pride in their work
✔️ Understanding the needs of others
✔️ Giving something back

As a not-for-profit provider, we have always believed that education and training should have a wider purpose.

That's one of the things that makes ACE different.

And it's why, as we celebrate 20 years of ACE Training, we're looking back with pride at the very many small (and sometimes not so small!) contributions our learners have made to our local community.

Because skills are even more valuable when you use them to help someone else!

If you like our approach and are interested in building skills for life then please email [email protected] or call 01865 370040 as we still have a few places available on our Pre-Apprentice Programmes.

21/08/2026

Didn't get the grades you were hoping for? Read this!

Every summer, thousands of young people open their GCSE results and immediately start judging themselves.

But a set of grades doesn't tell the whole story.

It doesn't measure your determination.
Your creativity.
Your practical ability.
Your effort towards teamwork.
Your resilience.
Your potential.

At ACE Training, we've spent 20 years helping young people build successful futures in construction.

Many of our learners discover that they learn best by doing, creating, solving problems and gaining experience. That's why there are always options!

Whether you are considering an apprenticeship, a pre-apprenticeship programme or simply looking for a different route into education and employment, there are pathways available.

Don't let one day define your future.

📩 Interested in exploring your options for September? Get in touch with our team today – email [email protected] or call 01865 370040

20/08/2026

Whether you got the grades you were hoping for, things didn’t quite go to plan, or you have decided that the traditional route isn’t for you, there are always options!

If you are interested in a career in construction, we can help you take your next step...

Our Pre-Apprentice Programmes give you the chance to:
✅ Learn a trade for life
✅ Gain practical, hands-on skills
✅ Build confidence and experience
✅ Take your first steps towards a rewarding career
✅ Progress towards an apprenticeship or employment

And the best part? There are no minimum entry requirements. We are looking for enthusiasm, commitment and a positive attitude.

We still have a few spaces available for September starts, so if you are not sure what comes next, don’t worry. Your future is still wide open!

📍 Want to find out more? Come and see us!

Join us at our Training Centre in Kidlington this Saturday, 22nd August, between 10am and 12 noon. Drop in anytime for a chat, meet the team, have a look around our workshops and find out what your options could be.

Or, if Saturday doesn’t work for you:

📞 01865 370040
📧 [email protected]

19/08/2026

Sending good vibes to everyone getting GCSE and Btec results tomorrow.

No matter what’s on that piece of paper, remember that there are ALWAYS options and opportunities waiting for you.

If you’d like to explore a career in construction, our friendly team is here to help.
Call 01865 370040 or email [email protected] or drop into our centre this Saturday 22nd between 10am and noon for a chat.

16/08/2026

20 years of training people whilst strengthening communities

For us, training young people isn’t just about what happens in the workshop!

Here at ACE Training, social value has been part of who we are for 20 years.

As a not-for-profit training provider, we believe our responsibility goes beyond delivering qualifications. We want our learners to understand the communities they live and work in and importantly, to understand that they have something valuable to give back.

Over the years our learners have been involved in projects including:
• Building homes for bugs, birds and hedgehogs
• Litter picking in and around our local area
• Creating mud kitchens, outdoor larders and learning areas for early years’ settings
• Getting involved with maintenance projects for local community organisations
• Working with schools and young people by supporting careers delivery
• Connecting with local organisations through Match My Project and our wider community network

These aren't just "nice things to do". They give our learners and our team the opportunity to develop practical skills, confidence, teamwork a firm understanding of social responsibility.

And we are exceptionally proud that this work has been recognised, with ACE Training shortlisted for the Charity & Community Award at the 2026 Cherwell Business Awards, taking place this September. It’s a fantastic recognition of something we’ve been committed to for two decades.

20 years.
Thousands of learners.
One community minded approach.
And we are far from finished!

👉 Follow ACE Training throughout our 20th anniversary year to see more of the people, projects and community partnerships that make us different.

13/08/2026

Qualifications can open doors. A trade can open a lifetime of opportunities!

The UK needs skilled tradespeople and that's not changing anytime soon!

If your young person enjoys practical learning, wants to earn while they learn in the future and would thrive in a smaller, more supportive environment, a vocational pathway could be the perfect next step.

At ACE Training, our Pre-Apprenticeship programmes in Carpentry and Bricklaying are designed to prepare young people for the workplace.

Alongside developing practical construction skills, learners also gain valuable employability qualifications and build confidence through community projects. They'll develop teamwork, communication, problem-solving and professional behaviours that employers value just as much as technical ability.

Because we're an award-winning, not-for-profit training provider, every learner matters. They'll have dedicated support from tutors and a course coordinator who is there to guide them every step of the way.

There are no minimum entry requirements, and if Maths or English needs another go, we'll support learners through Functional Skills or GCSEs in smaller groups that suit different learning styles.

Interested in a September start? Contact Sonia today at [email protected] or call 01865 370040

12/08/2026

Proud and excited to be finalists alongside these two fantastic organisations whilst celebrating 20 years of supporting young people.

The finalists for the CBAs 2026 Bicester Village – Charity and Community Award are:

🏆 ACE Training Ltd
🏆 Banbury United in the Community
🏆 StarterMotor

To find out who wins and join in the celebrations, book your tickets for the CBAs 2026 Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony, taking place on Friday 18th September at The Chesterton Hotel.

Buy your tickets here ⬇️

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cherwell-business-awards-2026-gala-dinner-and-award-ceremony-tickets-1985279367029?aff=oddtdtcreator

11/08/2026

A huge thank you to SDC Builders for their generous donations of materials to ACE Training over the past few weeks.

We’ve had several deliveries from the SDC team, including all different types of bricks, heavy duty twin wall sold pipe, downpipe, Celotex insulation, chipboard, rolls of rock wall and plasterboard, all of which will be put to great use by our learners

As a not-for-profit training provider, we’re exceptionally grateful for support like this. Not only does it provide valuable, practical materials for our learners to use as they hone their skills in our workshops, but it also supports our commitment to sustainability by giving materials a second life rather than seeing them go to waste.

These materials will be used across a range of learner projects, both here at the centre and out in the community, helping our future tradespeople gain hands-on experience with a wide range of materials.

It’s a fantastic example of collaboration between local businesses and education, with SDC investing in the next generation of skilled tradespeople while also helping us make the most of resources that might otherwise go unused.

Thank you to the whole SDC team for your generosity and support. We really do appreciate it, and we know our learners will put it all to great use!