Lakes College West Cumbria recently held two prestigious celebration events to honour their students’ success and achievements throughout the year.
The first event was the Learner and Apprentice Awards Evening, which was attended by guests and students who were handpicked as finalists by their tutors for their hard work and positive attitudes.
Sian Gabbidon (winner of BBC’s The Apprentice) joined the ceremony as the guest speaker. She inspired the audience with a speech which went into detail about her own time in further education and how it helped to shape her pathway into business and entrepreneurship.
Sian went on to discuss her experience on The Apprentice, and explained what it’s really like to work alongside British business icon Lord Alan Sugar. She motivated and inspired our students with closing words relating to her own personal life mantras and experiences that have successfully helped in her business journey.
Some of the awards presented on the evening included: English and maths Learners of the Year, Exceeding Expectations Award, Outstanding Contribution Awards and Apprentice of the Year.
Jasmine Scaife, a Level 3 Business Administration apprentice working for KAEFER, won the Exceeding Expectations award. She commented, “It was a really enjoyable night! I was already over the moon to be shortlisted and wasn’t expecting to win – I was shocked when they said my name! I’d like to thank my Training Officer Nicola for always being there for me, and pushing me to do well.”
Nicola McMullen, Training Officer, said: “Jasmine has far exceeded the expectations and requirements for both her course and job. We have received excellent feedback from both the Lakes College team and Jasmine’s manager and colleagues who say her work is produced to a very high standard.”
The second event was the Higher Education Graduation Ceremony. The event honoured and congratulated the 166 learners from across the college who successfully graduated from their HE programmes this year, with many of them choosing to celebrate with us on the evening.
At the event, Jamie-Lee Robinson received the colleges Higher Education Special Achievement award, presented by Mike Priestley, Chair of Governors. Mike commented that “Our Higher Education Special Achievement award goes to someone who embodies the very essence of what it takes to be a HE student. He’s committed, motivated and dedicated to improving his practice through further study and has achieved his teaching qualification at the highest level.”
David Walker (graduating from his Foundation Degree in Nuclear Engineering) received a welcome reception for his powerful valedictorian speech to end the ceremony. An excerpt of his speech included, “As the first in my family to ever consider higher education, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I have treasured every part of it. Not only have I found what I am capable of, but I made a new family – a family, who have helped me through my transition from a soldier to what I am today.”
Chris Nattress, College Principal, comments, “Celebrating the success of our learners is something the college takes very seriously, and we love to do so with events like our Awards Evening and Graduation Ceremony. We are very proud of all of our students, who have gone above and beyond with their hard work and dedication to their subject areas. Attending the events made me feel both proud and honoured to represent our students, and I wish them all the best of luck for the future.”
