Celebrating another successful year for Barry College students and staff

[Chris Baker]

 

 

Barry Memorial Hall has once again played host to the lavish and extremely popular annual Barry College Awards Evening.

 

The sixth annual event was the last the College will hold before it merges with Coleg Glan Hafren to become Cardiff and Vale College in August. To mark the end of the Barry College era and the beginning of what will be one of the biggest Colleges in South Wales, Student of the Year James Fraser was commissioned to design an artwork to celebrate more than 50 years of the College which was printed on a special commemorative mug for guests.

 

More than 300 learners, staff, sponsors and guests from local business and industry arrived at the Memorial Hall for the ceremony that celebrates the success and achievements of the College, its staff and learners during the previous academic year. The evening began with a glamorous drinks reception in the Bedwas Hall before guests were welcomed by Barry College Principal and Chief Executive Kay Martin.

 

Once seated, guests enjoyed a three-course gourmet meal prepared and served by Barry College Hospitality & Catering learners and staff. On the menu this year were mushroom, lentil and Caerphilly rissole, tender lamb shoulder with a tomato and tarragon jus and a chocolate chilli tartlet.

 

After coffee, College Principal and Chief Executive Kay Martin introduced the evening with a welcome and review of the year, highlighting the work and achievement of the College its staff and learners during the academic year 2009-2010.

 

Then it was time to turn the spotlight on to more than 60 students and staff who received awards at the ceremony. Winners were recognised after being nominated by members of College staff and then chosen by a panel of senior staff and governors.

 

All the awards were sponsored by local and national organisations, with their representatives presenting the relevant award to each winner. The University of Glamorgan and University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) were the main sponsors of the event.

 

Other organisations that came on board included Cardiff University, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Capital FM, R&M Williams, P&P Timber, the Open University, Dow Corning, SET, Pearson, University of Wales Newport, Agored Cymru, the Barry & District News, South Wales Echo and the South Wales Police. All were delighted to support this positive event within the local community.

 

The ceremony, hosted by television presenter Francis Donovan, began by awarding a learner from every curriculum area in the College. These learners were chosen for excellence and achievement in their subject area.

 

One winner who was recognised was Shani Payter. The 46-year-old from Penarth returned to education after a long break to study an Access to Higher Education (Humanities) course at the College.

 

“I’m chuffed to win this award – I’m really over the moon. It’s a big shock!” Shani said. “I wanted to go to university and realised I needed more qualifications. It was a bit daunting because I’d been out of education for so long. I lived out in South Africa for a while, and I ran a nightclub as well. After that I’d been with the family business for years and really wanted to do something different so I went to College for an interview.

 

“It was fantastic – the course was very intense but it was worth every single second. I really enjoyed everything, especially the psychology aspect of the course. The tutors were really helpful and they were always available if you needed them.”

 

Shani is now studying Housing Policy and Practice at UWIC. She wants to specialise in antisocial behaviour and work in housing.

 

Next came the Cross College and Staff Awards. These awards celebrate learners and staff across all curriculum areas and are chosen for their outstanding achievements.

 

Samuel Massie, 19 and from Cowbridge, won a Cross College Award for his dedicated work on numerous Engineering courses, culminating in him being accepted on to the Pathways to Apprenticeships programme sponsored by British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (BAMC).

 

“I had finished my GCSEs and wanted to do something more technical. I picked up a brochure for ICAT and I decided to take up a course in Aero to see where that would lead me,” Samuel explained. “When I was younger, about 13 or 14, I wanted to be a pilot. But I was diagnosed as dyslexic which meant I really couldn’t be one. Seeing as I was interested in technology and was good with my hand skills I thought why not put the two together and work with aircraft? That was why I was interested in Barry College.

 

“At first I didn’t really know anyone but the tutors were really nice and friendly and I got to know people quickly. A culture of friends develops quiet quickly and it was an excellent experience.”

 

Once he has completed his BAMC apprenticeship and gets his licenses, Samuel hopes to work for different airlines around the world.

 

The outstanding work of Barry College staff was celebrated next, through the Staff Awards. The College values every member of staff and appreciates that during their working lives many go beyond the call of duty to further contribute to the experience of their learners and colleagues.

 

The awards given on the evening recognise individuals or departments for their notable contribution to College life during the 2009-2910 academic year. The ranged from the invaluable supportive role played by the Estates Team in all weathers to rewarding to the Enterprise & Innovation Team for helping Barry College to become only one of two colleges in the UK to be shortlisted for the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for Enterprise.

 

The last award to be presented was the Principal’s Award for Learner of the Year. This prestigious award was presented to the learner that most reflected College values through outstanding achievement, their attitude or participation in extra-curricular activities. Individuals were nominated by College staff and the winner chosen by the Principal.

 

The delighted winner of this award was James Fraser. James started on a part-time GCSE Art & Design course and left with a WJEC Foundation Diploma which allowed him to gain a place at Bath Spa University studying Fine Art. James had also been commissioned to produce a unique piece of artwork – ‘Celebrating Success – Dathlu Llwyddiant’ – to commemorate the College’s final year before its merger with Coleg Glan Hafren to create Cardiff and Vale College.

 

“James has a thoughtful, personal approach, a genuine creative ability and openness allowing him to fully reach his potential,” Art & Design Lecturer Adrian Metcalf said.

 

Following the presentation of the awards, Chair of Governors Peter Cope gave a vote of thanks, congratulating all the award winners.

 

Barry College would like to thank all of its sponsors who supported the event. The support of the sponsors ensures that the success of our learners continues to be celebrated in such a high quality way.

 

Notes for editors

Award winners in full:

Award                                                 Winner                                    Sponsored by

Access to FE/HE                                Shani Payter                           Cardiff University

Accountancy                                       Phillipa Bates                          PricewaterhouseCoopers

Aero Engineering                                James Butcher                       University of Glamorgan

Art & Design                                        Jenna Heffernan                     UWIC

Beauty & Complimentary Therapy     Gina Hollinshead                     Academi @ Barry College

Business & Administration                  Christopher Weedon               Business Dynamics

Childcare                                             Emma Toogood                      Capital FM

Construction Brickwork (Barry)          Andrew Cooper                       R&M Williams

Construction Brickwork (Cardiff)       Andre Marquis                                    R&M Williams

Construction Carpentry (Barry)          Alec Brereton                          P&P Timber

Construction Carpentry (Cardiff)        Naomi Gilfillan                                    P&P Timber

Construction Painting & Decorating   Gary Carpenter                       R&M Williams

Counselling                                         Pauline Hall                             Open University

Electrical                                             Mitchell Farleigh                      VGTA

Engineering                                         John Powell                            Dow Corning

ESOL                                                  Dorota Jakimowicz                 SET

Foundation Skills                                 Daniel Reynolds                      Capital FM

Hairdressing                                        Susan Thorne                         Academi @ Barry College

Health, Care & Welfare                      Sarah Hayes                           Pearson

Hospitality & Catering                         Nicole French                         UWIC

IT & Computing                                   Laura Hamilton                       University of Glamorgan

Plumbing                                             Nathan Linskey                       VGTA

Public Services                                   Lisa Coughlin                          South Wales Police

Sport & Fitness                                   April Havard                            UWIC

Teaching & Training                            Sarian Thomas-Jones                       UniversityofWalesNewport

Travel & Tourism                                Sandra Kubanska                   Agored Cymru

 

PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS

Work Based Learning                         Jordan Price-Davies               VGTA

School Link                                         Christopher Renee                  UWIC

HE                                                       Sian Jones                              University of Glamorgan

Contribution to College Life                Danielle Brigham                    OCR Cymru

Learner of the Year                             James Fraser

 

STAFF AWARDS

Team Awards

Cardiff Construction Training Centre Welsh Baccalaureate Team

Enterprise & Innovation Team

Estates Team

Hospitality Glamorgan Suite Team

Marketing & Communications Team

VGTA Quality Team

Individual Staff

E-learning Support Assistant Kate Ellaway

Director of Learning (Teaching & Learning) Emil Evans

Motor Vehicle Technician Samir Karim

Learning Assistant Alison O’Brien

NVQ Co-ordinator Work Based Hospitality, Cleaning & Customer Service Chris Williams

EMPLOYER/PARTNER AWARD

Outstanding Contribution – British Airways Maintenance Cardiff

• Pics show the winners, Shani Payter and Samuel Massie. Many more pics are available
• For more information or pics contact Chris Baker on 01446 725015 or [e-mail]
• To find out more about Barry College visit barry.ac.uk or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @barrycollege

Ends##