2016 awards recognise outstanding student achievement

Outstanding students from Gower College Swansea were honored at the 2016 Annual Awards ceremony at the Liberty Stadium, with winners representing every aspect of college life from art, sport and engineering to enterprise, theatre and hospitality.

BBC Wales Today weather presenter – and former student - Behnaz Akhgar hosted the evening where students were honored for their achievements both academic and personal.

She was joined by guest speaker, the legendary Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards, Great Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper and subject of a recent inspirational movie.

“This event seeks to celebrate students’ achievements as well as recognise everyone who played a role in their success,” says Principal Mark Jones. “To those students who received awards this year I would like to offer my personal congratulations, but also my thanks for being the role models that other students, following on behind, will both learn and benefit from. They are all a credit to their families, the college and, most importantly, to themselves.”

Among the winners were:

Young mum Alexandra Davies who progressed from Level 1 to Level 2 - gaining Distinctions along the way – and who is now studying Level 3 Extended Diploma Art & Design. Alex’s hard work, effort, drive and focus has resulted in an offer to study BA (Hons) General Illustration at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.  A designer/teacher in the making, Alex is a fantastic example of progression and is also a real role model to other young single mums who might think they won’t be able to achieve their dreams.

Nashwan Damar left his native country of Kurdistan, Iraq, because his life was in danger. When he came to the UK in 2007 he couldn’t communicate in English or even spell his name and, knowing he had to better his life, he enrolled on a full time course at Gower College Swansea. Nashwan has worked as a student rep in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for two years and has worked tirelessly on bids to help students in support of their learning. His strong qualities of grit, determination and positivity generate a real enthusiasm in his classes.

Ben Murphy has been described as ‘one of the most inspired photography students we’ve had’ by his lecturer. In addition to his college work, he has organised two solo exhibitions in Swansea (at the Square Peg Cafe and at Cinema and Co), generated press coverage for his work and seen his photographs appear in magazines. In addition to all this, he produces his own limited edition publication and works as a Gower College Swansea student photographer. Ben attended a 12-week Saturday Art School at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David where he made excellent links and greatly expanded his artistic concepts and ideas.

Marie-Julie Cnudde has been offered a provisional place at Kings College Cambridge to study Medicine. Her unflappable nature was evident when she managed to remain calm even when her AS Chemistry paper was interrupted for 45 minutes due to a fire alarm. Marie-Julie was selected to attend an intellectually stretching course on neuroscience at Villiers Park and, in her own time, regularly attended HE+ extension sessions in college. This unstoppable energy and enthusiasm is also applied to a range of extra-curricular activities and she recently reached a Grade 6 in ballet.

After great deliberation, the winner of the overall Inspirational Student of the Year award was named as Vickie Lovell.

Vickie is studying a demanding programme of four AS Levels at which she is achieving A and B grades. She is also a member of the Young Carers Association, undertakes voluntary work with under-privileged children and is a member of the Marine Cadets. Despite all the demands on her, Vickie has maintained her highly conscientious attitude to her work, both in and out of college, and has continued to achieve high grades in all her subjects.

“By any measure, this student has a challenging programme of study and is achieving a very high standard in all her subjects,” says lecturer Nikki Roderick. “But the fact that she is achieving all this on top of being a carer, doing additional voluntary work and being a cadet is a real testament. She is an inspiration!”

The event was also a practical showcase for student talent, with entertainment being provided by singer/songwriter Lorna Rees and a jazz sextet, led by lecturers Jonathan Rogers and Simon Prothero, comprising Joshua Boyce on drums, Aled Way on guitar, Roderick Hennessy-Littlejohns on trumpet and Luke Rance on alto sax.  The college choir also performed two short ‘a capella’ pieces based on songs by the group Pentatonix. The set and sound was provided by Level 3 Technical Theatre students, led by curriculum leader Adrian Hocking.

ENDS

Gower College Swansea gratefully acknowledges its sponsors for the 2016 Annual Student Awards: First Cymru; University of Wales Trinity Saint David; South Wales Evening Post; WJEC; Wella Professionals; Harcourt Colour Print; The Wave; Mark Jones;  The Welsh Institute of Emergency and Unscheduled Care at Swansea University; Blake Morgan; Vibe Video Production; South Wales Transport; Oakleigh House; Cymru Autoglazing; A&D Heating Services Ltd; Hengoed Court Care Home; Funky Pump Fitness; HC One; Track Training.

The full list of 2016 Students of the Year:

Creative Arts – Brenna Simpson
Visual Arts – Alexandra Davies
ABE/ESOL – Nashwan Damar
Humanities and Languages – Vickie Lovell
Maths, Science and Social Science – Marie-Julie Cnudde
Technology – Shannon Wallace
Health and Care – Alex Bolton
Business – Jaaed Akthar
Hair and Beauty – Annalise Rundle
Hospitality, Travel and Tourism – Scott Mears
Independent Living Skills – Jonty Bodger
Sport and Public Services – Kieran Hoskins
Engineering – Jacob Davies
GCS Training – Beverley Cousins
Apprentice – Curtis Wright
Enterprise – Ben Murphy
International – Shiwei (Nora) Liu
Welsh Language – Eleri Davies
14-16 – Corey Davies
Adult Learner – Stephanie Evans
Higher Education / Access – Kate Reed
Outstanding Sports Achievement – Megan Baker-Rees
Welsh Baccalaureate Student of the Year – Megan Bailey
Darryl Pugh Memorial Award (Accountancy) – Catrin Poole

Most Inspirational Student of the Year – Vickie Lovell

Photos: A Frame Photography