Local ?Academy? awards

9th July 2015

Students from across the Borough have been honoured at Barking & Dagenham College?s Technical Skills Academy Annual Awards. The winners were selected from hundreds of students to receive awards for their achievements throughout the year

Over 80 friends, family, and VIPs gathered to support the successful students. During the event, awards were presented for each subject area as well special awards such as those for the work of the student ambassadors, the best class attendance and best dressed classroom. In addition, two coveted Technical Skills Academy ‘Extra’ Awards were also given out on the night. These recognised those students who had gone the extra mile in their studies this year.

Shantal Rola, 16, from Ilford, who is studying business at the Technical Skills Academy was one of the lucky ‘Extra’ Award winners. Her tutors put her forward for the award as not only has her work been excellent all year, she has also acted as a mentor, organising charity days and being a diligent course representative who has ensured students in her class know everything going on each month at the Technical Skills Academy.

Creative IT student, Julius Razanauskas, 18, from Upton Park, was the other proud recipient of the Technical Skills Academy ‘Extra’ Award. Like Shantal, his attendance and work has been exceptional throughout the year as has his support for other students.

As well as this, Julius has been helping local creative and arts organisations get online by creating and building new websites for them, even winning a competition for his work last month, receiving an award from Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council. If that wasn’t enough, Julius has now also been successful in winning an internship with the Archant newspaper group, a position he will start in the summer.

For the third year in a row, the Best Class Attendance Award went to the Food Studies Level 1 class. Not only did these students win the award on the night, but they also created and served a delicious selection of canapés and soft drinks to guests before the ceremony started!

The Academy is a unique learning facility which is a partnership between the College and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Head of the Technical Skills Academy at Barking & Dagenham College, Hilary Moore commented:

“Our annual awards event is a great way of being able to celebrate all the hard work our students have put in over the year. They deserve to be honoured in this way, and it was a pleasure to be able to spend the awards evening with them and their friends and family.”