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Students, staff, friends and family gathered at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) to celebrate the best of the College community, at the annual Excellence Awards for Downpatrick & Newcastle Campuses (26 March).
Guests, including Councillor Philip Campbell, Chair of Newry, Mourne & Down District Council, were welcomed with a drinks reception, followed by a short film involving some of the student body celebrating excellence at SERC, before certificates and awards were presented in recognition of outstanding student achievements and success.
Awards were presented by Tommy Martin, Principal & Chief Executive, SERC and by Councillor Philip Campbell, Chair of Newry Mourne & Down District Council for the Apprentice of the Year Award, kindly sponsored by the Newry, Mourne and Down Labour Market Partnership.
Following the presentations, a Vote of Thanks was given by Mark Brashier, SERC Student Governor.
Grainne McVeigh, SERC Governing Body and Master of Ceremonies for the evening said, “This evening, we celebrate the success of a number of our students in their courses. We are also highlighting and rewarding activity in areas such as entrepreneurship, and work with the Student’s Union. These are all important parts of college life, delivering real-life learning experiences and helping our students to develop as rounded individuals.
“We are consistently shown to be the highest achieving college in Northern Ireland. In the last academic year, we saw a 91% achievement rate across the wide range of courses we deliver, at all levels."
She added, “Beyond the qualifications, we have seen some great achievements this academic year. Four apprentices competed in Skillbuild and the WorldSkills UK Finals in November, with one bringing home a medal. Recently, we have also seen a record medal haul for our hospitality students at the IFEX food exhibition and success for performing arts students at the NicMac dance competition. We have students accepted onto the Washington Ireland programme for young leaders, and a student film shown at the Cinemagic festival."
Grainne concluded, “I really am proud to be associated with this College. I congratulate all nominees and award winners on your achievements.”
SERC would like to thank everyone who made the evening so special, the Awards judging panel, our master of ceremonies and award presenters, the hospitality team and the student engineering team for the engraved trophies and students and staff who took part in the production of the celebration film.
