Students and staff from Coleg Gwent’s City of Newport Campus have been recognised and honoured for their achievements and hard work by John Griffiths, Welsh Government Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development and Assembly Member for Newport East.
Fifty students of mixed ages on both full time and part time courses, received awards at a prize giving ceremony. Staff also received awards following nominations from students and colleagues.
The award winners were joined by family and friends as well as tutors and College staff to collect their prizes.
Presentations were made by a host of guests including former Coleg Gwent student John Griffiths AM and the Mayor of Newport, Councillor Margaret Cornelious.
The ceremony highlighted student success in national competitions such as World Skills, students whose learning achievements were inspirational and the commitment shown by pupils from link schools in Newport, which work with Coleg Gwent to help develop confidence and skills for learning, life and work.
Among the many successes, student Rachele Amana won the Eunice Taylor Resilience Award for remarkable progress on her ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) course. Rachele, originally from Camaroon, started her course at Coleg Gwent aged 17 with very little English. Rachele threw herself into her course and local community, volunteering through GAVO (Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations) and supported other vulnerable students at the Campus.
To students receiving awards, Gary Handley, City of Newport Campus Director, said: “We are here to celebrate your remarkable achievements. Some of you have had to balance your studies with jobs and family commitments. The support of families and friends is really important and you should all be extremely proud of what you have accomplished.”
