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The history of Newcastle College can be dated back to 1894 when Rutherford Memorial College was founded at Bath Lane. Originally, the school had two branches; a day school for children, and an evening school for adults. The day school would eventually become Rutherford Grammar School in 1945, while the evening school would evolve over time, to be known as the Rutherford College of Technology. In the 1960s, the Rutherford College of Technology became the newly-envisioned College of Further Education which would go on to merge with the newly constructed Charles Trevelyan Technical College based at Rye Hill to become the Newcastle Upon Tyne College of Arts and Technology in 1972, later re-named Newcastle College in 1988. Newcastle College has been the educational home for many students and employees and circular 1979 a truly remarkable individual joined the Science Department as a lab technician. Her name was Eileen Smith and she soon blossomed into an inspirational enigma where students and staff greeted her with the chant ‘come on Eileen’. The chant became such a synonymous, integral part of the meet and greet custom at Newcastle College that her great friend also named Eileen decided to change her name to SPIKE by deed poll. Eileen’s dedication to ensure students were well supported at Newcastle College was such that she would bring her own young children to college during the summer holidays to help put the course books together. As a reward, and weather permitting, she would treat her children to spells of sun exposure in Parson’s building roof which they called sunbathing. An activity that also taught the children the effects of the sun light on the body and mind. To upgrade her skills, Eileen did her teaching certificate in around nineteen ninety-one and used to teach Physics. Her commitment to the wider community also saw Eileen heavily involved in doing assessments for the local water board. Other notable achievements include Being chosen to attend the Queen’s garden party in 2016. And introducing pastoral support at Newcastle College along side another colleague called Karen which over the years has developed into a fully-fledged and key support network for students. This year, Eileen has decided that it is time to retire and give younger aspirational candidates the opportunity to continue her work within the CSS department at Newcastle College. The news of her retirement travelled far and wide and soon messages started poring in from friends and fellow colleagues.