THE work of dozens of students from across York and North Yorkshire was celebrated at an awards ceremony in the city.

The York College VQ Awards, held at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, recognised individual vocational students for their achievements, motivation and hard work during the 2017/18 academic year.

The Vocational Student of the Year title was awarded to Luke Fawcett, formerly of Manor CE Academy. Luke has excelled in his studies progressing through Level 1, 2 and 3 courses within the Digital Technologies Department at York College.

Two students, Karensa Murray and Mark Readman, were presented with special awards on behalf of the L.I.A.M. charity, in memory of former Music student Liam Miller. The charity provides grants to young people studying artistic subjects and to those progressing to Higher Education. The Awards will help Karensa to follows her dreams when progressing to Central Saint Martin’s in London, and will enable Mark to benefit from a York College trip to Barcelona during his Art & Design studies at the College next year.

The Governor’s special award was presented to Digital Technologies student David Lee; a conscientious student with a fantastic work ethic and positive attitude. David has gone the extra mile in his studies and has supported his peers whilst at the College.

Special guest Jon Pinner, the general manager of The Ivy restaurant in York presented the prizes and gave a short speech about his work and experience in the hospitality industry to demonstrate the importance of vocational skills in the workplace.

Deputy Principal, Sharon Smith, congratulated students on their successes said: “I congratulate all our winning students and wish them well as they progress to the next stage of their exciting careers in a range of vocational areas. At York College we offer over eighty full-time vocational programmes in a vast range of subjects and it is especially pleasing to look back on former students who now work successfully in a variety of sectors; as engineers, construction workers, chefs, artists and designers, IT coders, musicians and actors, childcare professionals, hairdressers and beauticians and in many sports and public service related careers. There is no doubt the qualifications achieved by our talented students will provide them with rewarding careers in the future, and in turn their skills will benefit our local and national economy. Hundreds of our vocational students will also progress onto higher levels of education and training, they will continue to study either with us or at university.”

The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Shirley Collier, Chair of Governors at York College.

VQ Award Winners 2018: Art & Design: Jessica Nicholls - Foundation Student of the Year (Entry, L1, L2);Tom Pierce - Level 3 Student of the Year. Business & Professional Studies: Oliver Stewart - Level 3 Student of the Year, Ella Boam - Apprentice of the Year

Construction. Alex Young - Foundation Student of the Year in Brickwork; Carl Matthew James - Foundation Student of the Year in Plumbing; Kristian Valente - Advanced Apprenticeship Level 3 Student of the Year in Stonemasonry. Digital Technologies: Matthew Wright - Foundation Student of the Year; Tegan Corner - Level 3 Student of the Year; Early Years & Education: Megan Walshaw - Level 2 Student of the Year; Jessica Bilton - Level 3 Student of the Year; Beth McHugh-Hicks - Versatile Student of the Year

Engineering; Tamayha Hudson - Performing Engineering Student of the Year; Samuel Jack Carroll - Motor Vehicle Student of the Year; Oliver Roy Cockerill - Engineering Student of the Year. Foundation Maths & English: Alicia Karpasea Jones - Foundation English Student of the Year: Jordan Thackway - Foundation Maths Student of the Year

Hair & Beauty: Natalia Marie Dear - Level 1 Student of the Year: Alice Stephenson - Level 2 Student of the Year: Kali Kox - Level 3 Student of the Year. Hospitality, Travel & Tourism: Holly Hewitt - Level 3 Student of the Year in Travel and Tourism. Jonathon Little - Level 2 Student of the Year in Hospitality. Bradley Saxton - Level 3 Student of the Year in Hospitality. General Education: Amber Collinge - Foundation Student of the Year. Beth Murden - Level 3 Student of the Year: Laura Filiminova - Outstanding Achievement Award

Music, Media & Performing Arts: Shahzaib Yaqoob - Level 3 Student of the Year in Creative Media: Georgina Strickland - Level 3 Student of the Year in Dance. Luciana Whittaker - Most Improved Student of the Year. Science: Janine Brown - Level 3 Student of the Year. Sport & Uniformed Services: Zackery Garrett - Foundation Student of the Year in Sport. Lucy Haraway - Level 3 Student of the Year in Sport. Niamh Pallott - Level 3 Student of the Year in Public Services. Vocational Student of the Year: Luke Fawcett - Extended Diploma in IT & GCSE English. Liam Foundation Award: Kerensa Murray - Art & Design: Mark Readman - Music, Media & Performing Arts Governors’ Award for Outstanding Contribution: David Lee - Digital Technologies