Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards presented to SERC Students

Students from SERC were presented with their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards/Gaisce – The President’s Award, and Certificates of Achievement at the College’s Lisburn Campus recently.

The presentation was attended by more than 150 guests including family, friends and staff keen to celebrate the achievements of the 47 students – from Bangor, Downpatrick, Lisburn and Newtownards Campuses – who were collecting Awards. SERC is the only FE college in Northern Ireland that offers the Duke of Edinburgh’s/Gaisce Award and since 2018 has seen 1,551 enrolments for the programme across Bronze, Silver and Gold Award levels.

Speaking before presenting some of the Awards, Tommy Martin, Principal and Chief Executive at SERC said, “I am delighted to be presenting these Awards to our students, and I congratulate each of you on your success.  You should all be very proud of yourselves, as much as we at SERC, your tutors, your parents, your guardians and friends are proud of you - well done.

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards promote all the skills that we encourage when you come to SERC. Skills, such as teamwork, problem solving and communication are developed through project-based learning which is an integral part of every course at the College.  These are important life-skills which you will call upon in all pathways beyond the SERC community.”

Awards were also presented by Karen Lawther, Operations Officer, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards in Northern Ireland.   Karen said, “For the young people amongst us this evening, you have absolutely excelled! You have set goals and challenged yourselves through four demanding sections showing commitment, dedication and stickability – qualities which young people are often not credited with having. “You have been involved in all kinds of activities from fundraising to football from animal welfare to first aid, from campaigning to cookery, from badminton to bike maintenance, and you have had expeditions in the Mourne Mountain, the North Down Coastal Path, and at Tollymore, Crawfordsburn and Newtownards.  

“I am blown away by the variety of activities and your appetite for challenge. You will have learned much more than you even realise and will continue to draw on and build on those experiences. You are a remarkable bunch of young people, and I wish you all every success for the future.”

Watch out for more photos from the event on social later this week.