Students are honoured during ceremony at Lisburn campus

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) recently held its annual student excellence awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the best performing students.

The ceremony, which was held at the college’s Lisburn campus, is an opportunity for SERC to honour and reward those students whose commitment to learning and training has set them apart from their peers. It is also a chance for the students to celebrate their achievements with family and friends and the lecturers that helped them succeed.

The awards not only recognise those who achieve academic excellence but also students who have shown commitment and dedication to education and personal development and who have overcome difficulties in order to succeed.

Awards were presented to outstanding students from across the College’s study areas, as well as Apprentice of the Year, Trainee of the Year, and Student of the Year Award.

SERC Governor David Lamb presided over the ceremony and he had this message for the audience, “Tonight is about saying thank you to some very important people. Firstly to businesses who provide invaluable support to the college. We consider you our friends and partners in providing a world class education for students.

“I would like to congratulate the students’ for their excellent work. It is obvious we have a lot of talent in our local community who will go on to work in, or indeed start, businesses both locally and globally.”

SERC Principal and Chief Executive Ken Webb said: “Tonight’s awards are a highlight in the college calendar; it showcases students’ achievements in a variety of programme areas and are an opportunity for the lecturing staff to celebrate with their students after all their hard work.

“Our award winners were joined on the evening by their parents, partners, family and friends, who play a major role in the students’ success. Without the support and encouragement of those around us, success is much more difficult to achieve. We are very grateful to our partners and local companies for their generous sponsorship of this evening.

“Our staff have improved student success rates, keeping us in the top ten per cent of colleges nationally. They have also helped learners to win national awards, medals in global competitions and progress to some of the most prestigious universities, as well as helping many students to find employment – a remarkable achievement in such challenging economic times.”

As well as awarding a Student of the Year for each School within the college, there was also a selection of special awards presented to students who have positively contributed to student life.

One such winner was Brett Wiltshire who was recognised for ‘Excellence in Learning in the Face of Challenge’.

McDonalds was presented with a Business award to recognise their on-going support and provision of student placements - making the learning experience a more valuable and enjoyable one.

The awards ceremony was kindly sponsored by Mount Charles Group, Montupet, Lisburn Education Partnership, Lisburn Enterprise Organisation Ltd and Lagan Valley LeisurePlex.

The awards recognised both part-time and full-time students at SERC. The full-time prospectus for courses starting in September 2015 is now available online via the SERC website.

SERC provides a range of full and part-time courses designed to give students ‘the edge’ through industry projects and a range of work placements to give them the skills needed to succeed in their chosen career. To find out how SERC can help you ‘get the edge’ call 0845 600 7555, visit HYPERLINK “http://www.serc.ac.uk” www.serc.ac.uk or find us on Facebook, search: South Eastern Regional College.