More than 500 students celebrated their hard work and achievements at University Centre Weston’s (UCW) graduation ceremony on Saturday.
Graduates were joined by their parents and lecturers for a ceremony in St John’s Church, in Lower Church Road, and a drinks reception in the Winter Gardens pavilion.
UCW achieved its best ever set of results as 30 per cent of students were awarded first-class degrees.
Student of the year Bradley Cousins achieved the highest marks in applied computing and is now working in a technology role for Western Power Distribution.
On the creative arts courses, Ellie Rialas graduated with a first in professional music performance and production, one a year after one of her music videos went viral and she earned a professional endorsement from Tanglewood Guitars.
The principal and chief executive of the Weston College Group, Dr Paul Phillips, said: “Our 2018 graduates have achieved the best results in our history and I couldn’t be prouder of their achievements.
“All summer I’ve been hearing about the great careers many of them have already embarked upon and I’m really looking forward to hearing more success stories in the future.
“I’m so pleased we were able to host these wonderful celebrations to reward our graduates and their loved ones.
“I’m also grateful to North Somerset Council, the South West local Enterprise Partnership and our university partners, as higher education in Weston and fantastic events such as these wouldn’t be possible without their support.”
Hundreds of well wishers took part in the celebrations by watching the proceedings on a big screen in the Italian Gardens, and also by cheering on the processions of graduates and academics between the venues.
Attendees were also treated to live music by Weston Brass Band and The Street Dixie Band, and the whole day was streamed live around the world on UCW’s Facebook page.
The ceremonies saw the graduates collect their degree certificates and take part in traditional mortarboard tosses.
UCW delivers its more than 45 degree-level courses in partnership with Bath Spa University and the University of the West of England, Bristol.
To find out more about UCW, visit www.ucw.ac.uk
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