Students to be honoured at College's annual 'Oscars' ceremony

The academic and personal achievements of Weston College's most outstanding students will be honoured at a gala ceremony next week.

The College's annual 'Celebration of Success' evening on Thursday January 24 will see more than 40 awards handed out to students and businesses who work with the College.

Around 300 guests will gather at Weston-super-Mare's Winter Gardens to see who has won the coveted awards, which reflect all aspects of College life.

Categories include 'student of the year' in subjects including construction and engineering, care and early years, business, art and design and accounting, among others. There are also categories for those on Apprenticeship schemes, and also for companies and schools engaged with Weston College in business and training partnerships. Six special 'Principal's Awards', including a Higher Education Scholarship, will be given to students and staff who have made particularly strong contributions to the College.

This year's keynote speaker is Amy Williams MBE, Team GB's only gold medal winner (skeleton bobsleigh) at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Amy visited Weston College in September last year, when she was guest of honour at the annual graduation ceremony, and made such an impact on students and staff that the College decided to invite her back.

Presiding over the evening will be Dr Paul Phillips OBE, Weston College's Principal and Chief Executive.

He said: "This is a celebration of the hard work, dedication and talent of our students across all areas of the College. We will be hearing stories of real achievement, where students have overcome considerable personal barriers to gain success. There will be accounts of remarkable academic accomplishment and innovation. We will also use this opportunity to acknowledge high performance among our business partners."

The past year has been a particularly successful one for Weston College. It achieved a 100 per cent pass rate for vocational qualifications in 2012, while 20 per cent of undergraduate students gained a First Class Honours degree. There has been a huge growth in the number of applications to study apprenticeships at the College and late last year Weston received a prestigious Beacon Award for its work in the field of Learning Difficulties and Disabilities.

The Celebration of Success event will also feature a three-course dinner and a spectacular performance of song and dance by Performing Arts students.

Sponsors for the evening include:

Alliance Homes

Arturus Architects

Bray and Slaughter

Cadbury Garden and Leisure

Double Tree by Hilton, Cadbury House

Pearson

Honeyfield Property Services

Integral UK Ltd

McDonald's

Pace

Printing.com

Royal Hotel

Sedgemoor Publicity

Signs Now

Trowbridge Office Cleaning Services

Weston-super-Mare Football Club

M&O Training