City College Plymouth honours its students

City College Plymouth hosted its Student of the Year event, to celebrate some of the amazing achievements of its students, on Monday 23 June.

The Student of the Year event publically recognises and rewards students who are making a positive contribution to their course, the College or the local community, and celebrates this with their course tutors, family and friends.

In total sixteen awards were presented by Phil Davies, Principal of City College, to students who had made a significant contribution, often against the odds, from across the College’s diverse curriculum.

From these sixteen award winners, six special awards – sponsored by local organisations - were then presented for Opportunity, sponsored by the University of St Mark and St John (Marjons); Enterprise, sponsored by Plymouth University; Employability, sponsored by Plymouth CityBus; Community, sponsored by the Herald; Equality and Diversity, sponsored by Fata He and Pilgrim 400; and Student Voice, sponsored by Radio Plymouth.

The event was held in PL1, the College’s training restaurant, with the food prepared and served by current Hospitality and Catering students. There was also live music from Michael Mochan, a former City College music student.

The awards evening was attended by each of the 16 winners and their families, their nominating tutors, College staff and Governors, and representatives from the six sponsoring organisations.

City College Principal, Phil Davies, said: “The College’s Student of the Year event is one of the highlights of our calendar. It is our opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work and commitment of a handful of our students - we have over 17,000 students enrolling across the year.

“Our Students of the Year have been nominated by College staff because they believe these particular students - some of whom have had to overcome significant barriers - have all shown that you can achieve fantastic results and make a contribution to you peers, the College and/or the wider community. They deserve to be congratulated!

“Events like this help to remind us of the importance of giving everyone the opportunity to access education. At City College we work hard to provide our students with a broad range of skills in addition to the specialist discipline they have chosen to follow.

“It is an honour to celebrate the outstanding qualities and achievements of our students with an evening dedicated to them, sharing their successes with their family and friends, and with the support of some of our key partner organisations – whom I thank for sponsoring our special awards.”

The following students walked away with awards on the night…

Steven Merry of Liskeard, studying A Levels – a proactive student ambassador who has become an important part of the College’s Marketing team.
Caitlin Causer, studying Business – a role model who has achieved distinctions in all her units, while being a single parent and struggling financially.
Lye Man Yau, studying the International Foundation Course – a Malaysian student who always ensures his fellow students are shown in their best light.
Emily German, of Liskeard, studying Health and Social Care – a persistent and enterprising student who epitomises ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’.
Blaine Sperring, studying Performing Arts – overcoming a lack of confidence and drive to now join in with his peers and sing in public.
Sarah Treleaven, studying Software Development – a very hardworking and self-motivated student who really challenges herself and helps to motivate her peers.
Hannah Vitali, of Kingsbridge, studying Sport – a persistent young lady who has returned to the College, with a young family, to pursue her dream to become a PE teacher.
Daiva Lauce, studying Hairdressing – an enterprising student who takes advantage of every opportunity; helping with College events and running her own business.
Alex Gibson, studying Hospitality Services – a real team player who is always available to help in the College’s training restaurant, PL1 – front of house or in the kitchen.
Emily Catling, a Skills Development student who has come so far that during her work placement she was given the responsibility to train one of her peers.
Dovydas Jakaitis, of Saltash, studying English for Speakers of Other Languages – an amazing student who is learning English and overcoming mobility issues, and yet is one of the College gym’s most active members.
Hayley Thoms, studying Engage and Challenge at the College’s Plymouth Advice Centre for Employment – a really supportive student who was tirelessly cheerful and challenged herself.
Daniel Bailey, of Plympton, studying Painting and Decorating – a young man who has overcome his communication issues to represent the College at the regional SkillBuild heats and achieve a Silver medal.
David Northey, of Tavistock, a Marine Construction Engineering Systems and Maintenance apprentice with Princess Yachts Apprentice, – although only in his first year, David led a PYI team on a community project with Burraton Primary School in Saltash.
Charlotte Butcher, on the Jumpstart programme – a thoughtful and bright student who has overcome low self-esteem to re-engage in her education and is now keen to embark on new challenges.
Martin Gammon, on the Pathway to Employment programme – a determined student who has overcome many barriers to learning and exceeded all expectations.
The sponsoring organisations were given a shortlist of students to choose their winner from. All sponsors said that all the students were worthy winners, but gave a reason for why they had chosen their final winners…

The Equality and Diversity Award was sponsored by Fata He and Pilgrim 400, and presented by Chaz Singh, who said: “All the students nominated have done the College proud. This award has gone to Sarah Treleaven (Software Development) who has shown exceptional qualities and persevered through difficult times. She has been active in volunteering and helping her peers too. Well done Sarah!”

The Employability Award was sponsored by CityBus and presented by Managing Director, Richard Stevens, who said: “The Employability award was presented to Hannah Vitali (BTEC Diploma in Sport) as she has demonstrated strength and determination in so many ways and has inspired others. Her achievements literally stood out from the rest – Hannah is well on her journey to employment, first stop the University of St Mark and St John to read Secondary Education and PE! Congratulations Hannah.”

The Student Voice Award was sponsored by Radio Plymouth and presented by News Editor, Jane Atwill, who said: “Radio Plymouth has worked with City College students to create and broadcast music programmes, so we were delighted to be sponsoring the Student Voice award. This award goes to David Northey, a Princess Yachts apprentice. We chose David because, despite only being in his first year, he took on a leadership role – giving others someone to look up to.

“I was also impressed that he was offering to work on the project at Burraton Primary in the holidays, showing real dedication and commitment. Being willing to go the extra mile is something I can identify with in news reporting, as often we have to work long hours and make decisions quickly.”

The Community Award was sponsored by the Herald. The Editor, Paul Burton, said: “As the community newspaper for Plymouth, the Herald is pleased to have sponsored the College’s Student of the Year Community award. We were given a shortlist to choose from and it was quite difficult!

“However, City College can feel proud that Steven Merry (A Levels) is a true ambassador for the College in the community. His dedication and hard work shone through in his nomination – and working on his 18th birthday certainly went above and beyond. He has clearly evolved into a role model among the students, and one his peers look to and respect. I wish him all the best with his A Level result and have my fingers crossed that he gets the grades he needs to read Marine Environmental Studies at Bangor University.”

The Enterprise Award was sponsored by Plymouth University and presented by the Dean of Academic Partnerships, Professor Simon Payne, who said: “Being enterprising is in large part about being passionate, dedicated and pursing your dreams, and I am delighted to have chosen Emily German (Health and Social Care) for the Enterprise Award as she shows all of these attributes. Emily has managed to show dedication and a passion for show jumping - winning a place at the nationally renowned Newmarket Jockey School - whilst studying with success at City College.”

The Opportunity Award was sponsored by the University of St Mark and St John and presented by Karen Cook, the Deputy Chancellor, who said: “Caitlin Causer (BTEC Diploma in Business) showed not only determination and excellence in her academic endeavours but, more importantly, she was open to change. She adapted her plans and made new opportunities for herself when other options were no longer open to her. She is a credit to herself and City College – and I wish her all the best with her plans for the future.”

City College Plymouth would like to thank all award sponsors and also those employers who have supported students on courses at the College.

For more information about courses on offer at the College, please call 01752 305300, visit www.cityplym.ac.uk.