Celebration Event to honour students' achievements
Over 50 students at Dudley College were honoured at the annual Celebrating Success Awards event on Friday 18 September. Nominated students picked up awards for their hard work and determination over the academic year and celebrated with their family, friends and tutors at a glittering ceremony held at the Broadway Campus.
Tutors at Dudley College were asked to nominate students who they thought deserved recognition for their special achievements, and students who, through their sheer determination and effort, have reached their goals.
Over 250 guests were served cocktails and canapés, all made by students from the college's Stir café and bistro, while the college's music students performed celebratory songs to get the guests in the mood. Ice Queens and Princes greeted the guests. These costume characters were created by the Production Arts Level 3 students who are studying costume, make-up and technical effects for film, TV and theatre.
Among the award winners was apprentice Simon Lowe who works at Alan Nuttall in Dudley. Simon, who is training in Bench Joinery has been praised by his manager, Philip Denston at Nuttalls who recalls "Simon started as a shy young man, lacking in confidence. Since starting he's grown so much in confidence and become a valued member of the team. With a little coaching Simon has gained the self-confidence to build various store fixtures for some of our corporate clients including Asda, Top Shop, Monsoon, Claire's Accessories and several more.
Simon is totally positive about his experience. "I have enjoyed my Apprenticeship with Dudley College and Nuttalls, I have learned so many skills, both on the job and at college. I see myself working for Nuttalls in five years' time because of the career opportunities. My next step is to start the Level 3 ILM Team Leader /Supervisory course and eventually become a Team Leader for Nuttalls."
Also among the winners was Craig Barnes who is taking advantage of the new Stir café and bistro facilities to study professional cookery. Craig's tutors say he takes every opportunity to assist in college events and every practical session available to him. He's always willing to pitch in and his continued determination will ensure him every success when he starts working at Mal Maison in Birmingham.
It was always Craig's intention to become a chef and he said "To realise my ambition, I applied to Dudley College, firstly because it was local but also because, after visiting the college, I was very impressed by the catering facilities. It's been a fantastic experience. I've always felt very involved and engaged with college life. My relationship with other students is great and staff rely on me to help cater for student events, corporate buffets and the like. I once cooked an evening meal for an MP. It was a fish dish and received great feedback."
To close the evening the audience was treated to a performance by BTEC Musical Theatre students performing a medley of songs from popular musicals, including 'Magic To Do' from Pippin and 'I Wish I May' from The Witches of Eastwick.
College Principal, Lowell Williams said, "This ceremony is a fabulous annual event which showcases our students' talents and diversity. Every year this event demonstrates how remarkable our students' achievements are, it also highlights the outstanding ability and skills we have right here in Dudley. The presentation of these awards gave us the opportunity to recognise the exceptional achievements of our very best students."
Browse more photographs from the event.