Outstanding students at Bath College received plenty of praise during an awards ceremony held to celebrate their hard work, with over 40 students invited to the annual Celebrating Success Awards at the Guildhall.
Tutors from every department took to the stage to share stories of students going above and beyond to meet the demands of their course.
Floristry students contributed to the evening with elaborate table displays and catering students prepared tasty snacks for those invited.
Students receiving awards included 25-year-old Matthew Clifford, who was awarded Stonemasonry Student of the Year.
He has been travelling from Gloucester to Bath over three years to attend his course and didn’t miss a lesson.
Complementary therapies student Deb Cullen was also praised for showing “boundless enthusiasm and commitment” despite a hectic schedule.
The 35-year-old from Bath studied a Level 3 qualification alongside a part-time job cleaning at the college and passed her course with flying colours.
Lecturer Diana Rowe said: “She worked every morning at the college from 6am to 8.30am, would run home to prepare her young son for school and then be on time for her class.”
Tatyana Labno, from Frome, studied accountancy at Bath College and won the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.
She passed her AAT Level 2 and Level 3 exams in just a year, instead of two years, finishing both courses before other students.
The 25-year-old, who is expecting a baby soon, is now studying for an AAT Level 4 qualification and is applying for jobs as an accountant.
This year for the first time, there was an award for volunteering – the Rotary Young Person’s Community Service Award.
Bethany Tavener, 19, from Keynsham, is working as an apprentice at the University of Bath and received the award for her dedication to youth work.
Over the past few years, Miss Tavener has volunteer as a youth worker for the Riverside Youth Centre and Southside Youth Centre.
As part of this, she has been working with the charity Off the Record to run LGBT awareness activities and workshops in the youth hubs.
She said: “I did over 200 hours last year alone. At first I didn’t know about the student participation team at Bath College.
“Then I spoke to the student engagement officer, and she explained how I could log my hours.
“They have been really supportive. If I say ‘we have this event going on’ they help publicise it and get it in the weekly bulletin.
“Most of it is because I like helping people out.”
All award winners were presented with a certificate and a Bath Aqua Glass paper weight.
Several businesses received recognition for their contribution to student development and were named as Employers of the Year.
Social housing landlord Curo was named Business Employer of the Year and the University of Bath and Southgate also won awards.
Lisa Quayle, employment, training and engagement co-ordinator at Curo, said: “We’re delighted to have received this award.
“At Curo we’re committed to helping people into work, and we offer an expanding programme of accredited work placements, support via the National Careers Service and other opportunities.
“We provide apprenticeships, scholarships and a graduate scheme, and we ask our suppliers to provide training and apprenticeships as part of our procurement process.
“We know our work is making a real difference, and we’re continuing to develop and grow the service to benefit as many customers and colleagues as possible.”
Bath College principal Matt Atkinson said: “This year’s awards evening was the first time since the college merger that we have come together to celebrate the achievements of students from across Bath and North East Somerset and beyond.
“This event is my favourite of the year because it is where we get to say thank you to our students for entrusting us with their education and training.
“The college’s purpose is to develop talent, careers and people and last night provided wonderful evidence of us achieving our core purpose.”
