College’s day to celebrate achievements at ceremony

TORQUAY’S Rivera International Centre was packed as South Devon College hosted its annual Day of Celebration Awards Ceremony.

Welcoming students from across the South West region, their achievements were celebrated with family, friends and staff members alike. More than 800 people witnessed this year’s successful students beaming with pride upon collecting their awards.

The college was thrilled to present 133 students with their awards, linked to the college’s values of aspiration, inclusion, innovation, support and progress. The ceremony was an excellent opportunity to acknowledge not only academic success but also personal growth and development, with many students having shown great determination to succeed and have now progressed into employment or further training.

Many key stakeholders and college governors from the local area attended the ceremony.

Keynote speaker Mollie Hughes, a keen mountaineer and adventurer when grew up in Torbay, made headlines in May 2017 by successfully reaching the summit of Mount Everest from the north face.

Achieving this feat at the age of 26 meant Mollie became both the youngest woman in the world and the first English woman to successfully reach the peak of the world’s highest mountain from both the north and south side, which she managed in 2012.

Her story is one of huge inspiration for the college students who will soon planning their own adventures in the future.

Mollie said: “It’s been a pleasure to share my story and engage with the students. Offering advice and inspiration to young audiences can be immensely beneficial as for many of the students this period marks a turning point in their lives where big decisions on their futures are made.

“Having studied the nearby Paignton Academy, the speech was extra special for me. It would have been around 10 years ago that I sat in the same place and received advice.”

Amongst the student winners was Football Development and Coaching NVQ Level 2 student Kyle Phipps, who won the prestigious Paul Haigney Award. The Paul Haigney Award is provided by the Friends of South Devon College, a charitable trust established to remove barriers to learning for disadvantaged students. The award acknowledges triumph over adversity in the face of challenging personal circumstances. Kyle has been an