Top performing students from Newark, Lincoln and Gainsborough took centre stage at Lincoln College’s Annual Awards Ceremony.

A total of 57 awards were presented to students across all three campuses in recognition of their hard work and commitment to their studies.

Winner of the Shooting Star PR Outstanding Achievement Award and the Streets Chartered Accountants Student of the Year (aged 19 and over), Krystyna Waskiewicz, recently completed a Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Travel & Tourism at Newark College.

She was nominated by her tutor Elayne Shannon for achieving a double distinction.

“Despite English being her second language, Krystyna studied a Level 3 course and learned a third language – Spanish,” explained Elayne. “At the same time she took on temporary guardianship of her cousin’s 18-month-old son following her death and had to undergo quite a serious operation.

“The demands on her time and emotions were massive but she never let this have a detrimental effect of her studies.”

Krystyna, 42, said she was overjoyed to have won: “I was very surprised and pleased to when my name was called out – twice! Last year was really hard for me following my cousin’s death and I was going to quit college but my mum persuaded me to stay on. With her support I managed to juggle looking after my cousin’s son and studying and I’m really grateful to my mum for all her support.

“My college tutors, in particular Elayne, also helped me a lot. If I had to leave early or miss college because I had a meeting with social services or had to travel to London where my cousin lived they were very understanding.

“Going back to college was a big deal for me, as I’m originally from Poland and had been out of the education system for 20 years, but I’m now considering going to university. Ultimately I would like a job where I can use my language skills and help other people to improve their lives. I am proof that’s it’s never too late to learn and winning these awards has made all the hard work worthwhile.”

Also among the winners from Newark College was Ashley Robinson who won the Newark Advertiser Outstanding Achievement (aged 19 and over).

His tutor Lynn Clayton, who put Ashley forward for the award, said: “I nominated Ashley because he met all of his coursework deadlines, achieving a distinction grade for his final project on the Level 2 course. He also had an overall attendance of above 95% last academic year.”

Margaret Serna, Chair of the Board of Corporation of Lincoln College, said: “Krystyna and Ashley are shining examples of the many excellent students who attend our campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough.

“The standard of entries for the Student of the Year Award this year was very high and the judges had a very difficult job; however, they all agreed Krystyna and Ashley were worthy winners. I would like to congratulate them and wish them continued success in the future.”

The awards, which were presented to the students by Air Commodore Chris Luck, Commandant at RAF College Cranwell, were sponsored by businesses from across the East Midlands.

During the ceremony on Friday (21^st November) in Deans Sport & Leisure on Lincoln College’s Monks Road campus, former Student of the Year winner Sandie Webster took to the stage to talk about her success. Sandie, who is a mum and runs her own business, studied Painting and Decorating and won Gold at the national final of SkillBuild 2013, the UK’s largest multi-trade competition.

Guests were also treated to performances by Isobel Foster, star of the John Lewis Christmas advert and student of The Gainsborough Academy, who sang live on stage, and Lincoln College’s Performing Arts students.

CEO Gary Headland said it was a fantastic occasion: “I would like to congratulate all of our award winners many of whom have overcome huge challenges to get to where they are today. We heard some really inspiring stories which made me feel immensely proud of the college, the students and of course the staff.

“Our key purpose is to train and educate the workforce of the future and we work closely with local businesses to find out what skills are needed to meet the demands of our economy. Their engagement with the college is fundamental to our success and I would like to thank all of the businesses who sponsored the awards as without them we wouldn’t have been able to stage such a memorable evening. I am delighted they see the value in engaging with us and spotting a future potential staff member early.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Lincoln College

• Lincoln College is the largest educational institution in the county with 10,000 students across three campuses in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Newark.
• It is the largest provider of business training and skills in Lincolnshire providing training for around 1,200 businesses in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
• The college is rated Outstanding by Ofsted and has a wide range of full, part-time and short courses for students aged 16 and above, including university-level courses.

About The Lincoln College Group:
• Founded upon a concept of ‘synergy’, The Lincoln College Group comprises a number of like-minded organisations with a shared purpose of providing exceptional education, training and related services to their students.
• Currently providing secondary, further and higher education, the Group includes Lincoln College (with its campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough and operations in China) and two secondary school academies: The Newark Academy and The Gainsborough Academy. It also encompasses Deans Sport and Leisure, a commercial sports centre based in Lincoln City Centre.
• Lincoln College International, a project to develop and run three Colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the Group.
• The Lincoln College Group is also the lead sponsor of the Lincoln UTC which opened in September 2014.

For further information please contact:
Kate Strawson
Director, Shooting Star PR
kate@weareshootingstar.co.uk
01522 528540
@KateStrawson