THE success of hundreds of students has been celebrated in the first ceremony to recognise those taking vocational qualifications.

York College joined in the national VQ Day ceremonies, a celebration of the people who gain vocational qualifications every year, and the people who help them achieve this success, by hosting a Vocational Qualifications Student Of The Year Awards evening.

Individual students were recognised at the event for their hard work and contribution to their vocational courses. Dr Alison Birkinshaw, principal of York College, said: “In August each year, we celebrate A-level results day all over the country. At York College, students celebrate excellent A-Level results and we see our successful, high-flying students going off to the best universities. “In past years, vocational students have not been given the opportunity to celebrate their success in the same way. It is very exciting to know that there will now be a Vocational Qualification results day which will allow us to give them the recognition they deserve.”

Taj Atwal, a former student at York College, was 16 when she started a national diploma in dance and acting.

Taj credits the qualification with turning her life around. Having moved out of home aged 16 following a family breakdown, she struggled with her studies at first but, with the support of her tutors at York College and the teenage support service Connexions, she not only achieved the qualifications, but left with distinctions in both subjects and gained funding through the Government’s Dance And Drama Awards.

“When I was going through all those ups and downs, it really helped to have the structure of college and working towards the qualifications,” says Taj, now 20 and a first year student at Guildford School Of Acting, one of the leading drama conservatoires in the UK. She said: “I could put my focus and attention on the course and it took me away from my problems outside college. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t got that qualification.”

Dr Birkinshaw said: “Taj is a perfect example of the way members of staff and students work closely together to ensure students reach their potential. Taj worked extremely hard to overcome a number of very serious problems and she became one of our highest achieving students. We are proud of her, our staff, and all the students at the college who daily serve to remind us of the real reasons we all work in further education.”