Gorleston Sixth Form College applauds its Class of 2016

Aldreds Award, Kraig Wymer-Webb (Image: ENSFC)

And last week former students and their parents gathered at St Andrew's Church in Gorleston for the annual College Awards Evening.

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Shirley Weymouth, was guest of honour and presented special awards to manyl students for achieving outstanding results or for their contribution to the college or local community.

College Principal Dr Catherine Richards said: '2016 was a very special year with some fantastic results. Our students achieved a 98pc pass rate and there were 22 subjects with a 100pc pass rate. Three students went to Cambridge, more than 40 stayed locally and enrolled at the UEA, and in total over 322 students went to 126 different universities to study courses as diverse as anthropology, aerospace engineering and zoology.'

'Our former students should be very proud of their achievements and proud of the fact they attended such a high performing college. None of this would be possible without the commitment and dedicated team of staff, both teaching and non-teaching, who make sure our students are at the centre of all that they do.'

Anita Gentry prize for English, Saskia Simm (Image: ENSFC)

Special awards were presented to:

Principal's Award for Academic Excellence: Lauren Norman, Ross Downham, Regwaan Choudhury, Robert Sait-Stewart, Matthew Legg and Grace Barnes. Between them, these students achieved a 24 A grades at AS level, 11 A* and 10 A grades and A Level.

Principals Award for Outstanding Achievement at Level 2 over 3 years: Alfie Warner joined the college with only one GCSE at A-C from high school but went on to achieve three more and an A* in finance before achieving three A levels and going to university.

The Dr Lettis Bequest for Work in Art: Awarded to the student who produced what the teachers judge to be the most outstanding piece of artwork. Yasmin Thorp-Spelman's success was notable not only for the outstanding quality of her work, but it was achieved across three art and design specialisms: graphic design, 3D design and fine art. Yasmin was only the second student from the college to be accepted by the University of Brighton's art department, without undertaking an art foundation course.

Ben Garrod Environment Award, Christopher Goreham, collected by his mother (Image: ENSFC)

Award for Positive Contribution to CERN Visit: Amirat Salawu was nominated due to her positive contribution and support she gave her peers on the CERN trip. She helped out on college taster days and was a wellbeing agent as well as giving up her spare time to volunteer at the James Paget Hospital. Amirat is now studying biological sciences at Lincoln University.

Harrison Award for Sporting Achievement (Sportsman of the Year): Tom Boardman achieved gold medals in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions at the Association of Colleges Sport Regional Tournaments giving him the right to represent the East region at the National Championships in one of the three events. At the National Championships Tom won a gold medal in the mixed doubles.

Edward Worlledge Prize for Sporting Achievement (Sportswoman of the year): Lucy Jarvis is a second year student and represents Norfolk for badminton. This year at the Association of Colleges Sport Regional Tournaments Lucy won gold in the mixed doubles, silver in the singles and was fourth in the women's doubles. At the National Championships Lucy won a gold medal in the mixed doubles.

Mason Prize for Drama/Music: Georgia Brabben worked with drive in every aspect of the course and her love of dance shone through in everything she did. Off stage, she worked with sheer determination to give the best she possibly could, putting in many hours of additional work outside of class time. She is now at Kingston University studying Dance.

Biology Award, Olivia Seago (Image: ENSFC)

Thomas Rowe Memorial Prize for Voluntary Work and Contribution to College Life: Shared between Robert Tate and Saskia Simm. Robert took every opportunity to get involved in college open days, open evenings and taster days. He volunteered to be a form rep and participated in forum events on behalf of his peers. He also took part in trialling a new specimen exam question for the English department. Robert has gone on to study geography at UEA. Saskia was a popular and proactive president of the student association. She worked as a student mentor, contributed to open events and taster days and encouraged others to involve themselves in social action through volunteering.

Sir William Utting Prize for Achievement in History, Law, Politics or Economics: Ellie Hagan had a very mature attitude and her academic writing style showed a flair for structure and argument in her written work. She would regularly make contributions in class and bring her knowledge of current affairs into class debates. She is currently reading law at Cambridge.

Aldreds Award for Intellectual Exploration: Kraig Wymer-Webb is a gifted chemist. He is able to deal with even the most complex of problems with confidence and showed real tenacity in making sure he got the right answer. Kraig is taking a gap year before taking up further study at university in either maths or the natural sciences field.

Bruce Halsey Memorial Maths Prize: Matthew Filby was a superb student in both A2 maths and further maths. He scored a full 600/600 in A2 mathematics which has been done only twice in the last decade at East Norfolk. Overall across both subjects he scored 1175/1200, a college record. Matthew is reading mathematics at Warwick.

Bruce Halsey Memorial Prize, Matthew Filby (Image: ENSFC)

Anita Hartley Award for Modern Foreign Languages: Elsa Pearson worked conscientiously and with enthusiasm at all the language tasks set - from comprehension passages to translation, from writing essays to learning vocabulary. She is studying liberal arts with French at Leeds University and being successful there too.

Anita Gentry Prize for Achievement in English: Saskia Simm was an exceptional student of both English language and literature. Her varied and eclectic wider reading in both linguistics and literature enriched her perspectives and set her apart as a student whose passion for intellectual endeavour knew no bounds. Saskia is now at Cambridge.

John O'Leary Prize for Achievement in Sociology: Charlotte Sims is an excellent sociologist, displaying a real enthusiasm for the subject. On leaving college Charlie has gone on to pursue her other passion in art and is studying Illustration at Norwich University College of Arts.

Laurie Poulson Award for Giving to Sport: Eleanor Shulver was given the opportunity to become the coach/manager of the netball team at the start of the 2015/16 academic year. She quickly progressed through her Level 1 Award in Coaching Netball. Without the help of Eleanor, it would have been a struggle for netball to play a prominent role for female sport at the college. She is undertaking an apprenticeship with Premier Sport as an activity assistant.

Class of 2016 (Image: ENSFC)

Gardline Award for Top Performing Geologist: This autumn, of the A level geology students who continued onto higher education, 81pc have chosen to study Earth Science subjects. Sam Noakes is the award winner. He gained an A* grade and is now studying for an honours degree in geology at the University of Leicester

Applied Science Award: Bethanie Schroder, who produced outstanding work at all times, completing the applied science certificate and then the subsidiary diploma. She achieved a well-deserved Distinction Star at the end of the course and is currently studying children's care, learning and development at University of Suffolk.

Biology Award: Olivia Seago achieved 3 A* grades (in biology, chemistry and maths) and gained 100pc in each of the three A2 biology units. She secured a work placement with the medical research team at JPUH. She is now studying natural sciences at Leeds University.

Creative Media Award: Alana Taylor was nominated for her positive attitude and hard work. During her time at EN she secured a prestigious work placement with Channel 4. After leaving college she continues with media studies and is working full time.

Contribution to SERN visit, Amirat Salawu (Image: ENSFC)

Psychology Student of the Year: Keira Perks went above and beyond her expectations, and this continued in to A2 psychology. Keira's AS results placed her among the top of her cohort with results of 80/100 and 98/100, gaining a high A grade overall. She is at Birmingham University reading psychology.

Health and Social Care Award: Despite health issues, Charlotte Ellis's passion and interest in her work never faltered and she achieved brilliant results. She never complained even when her illness was taking hold. She is now studying nursing at Hertfordshire University.

3Sun Award for Achievement in Physics: Jacob Archbold scored 100pc in half of his physics papers. He achieved six A grades at A level and two A* and A at A2 level. He has the skills to be a big success in his chosen career and is currently studying maths at Warwick University.

Norwich City Community Sports Foundation Award: Sophie Burns' dedication to her work and the high standards she set herself propelled her towards her goals which saw her gain the respect of her peers as well as her teachers. Sophie is currently studying sports science at St Marys University Twickenham

Daphne King Award for Volunteering, Ray Wang (Image: ENSFC)

Whitehead Memorial Prize for Endeavour and Effort: Megan Soanes arrived at EN with 3 GCSEs having been educated outside of college. She was given the chance to flourish with encouragement in particular from the learning support staff. Megan has gone on to read geological hazards at the University of Portsmouth.

Ben Garrod Award Environmental Award: Chris Goreham gave up free time throughout the year to help with practical conservation tasks at a local nature reserve. He was knowledgeable and reliable, turning up for work whatever the weather. Chris worked at Generation Wood, part of the Bradwell Community Woodland Project in Mill Lane.

Daphne King Award for Volunteering in the Community: Ray Wang took every opportunity to get involved as a member of the Student Association and representing the college. He mentored students and also visited local schools to give talks. He still found time to study and achieved two A*, an A and B grade at A Level and has gone onto Imperial College London to study medicine.

Dr Lettis Bequest for Art, Yasmin Thorp-Spelman (Image: ENSFC)

Principal Dr Catherine Richards (Image: ENSFC)

Darline Award, Samuel Noakes (Image: ENSFC)

Health and Social Care award, Charlotte Ellis (Image: ENSFC)

Laurie Poulson Award, Eleanor Shulver (Image: ENSFC)

Mason prize, Georgia Brabben (Image: ENSFC)

Principal's Award for Academic Excellence Regwann Choudhury, represented by his father (Image: ENSFC)

Psychology Student of the year, Keira Perks (Image: ENSFC)

Sir William utting Prize, Ellie Hagan (Image: ENSFC)

Whitehead Memorial, Megan Soanes (Image: ENSFC)