Excellence Awards Bangor and Ards Campus

Students, staff, friends, and family gathered at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) to celebrate the best of the College community at the annual Excellence Awards for Bangor and Ards Campus (23 March).

Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception before over 150 certificates and awards were presented in recognition of outstanding student achievements and staff success.

Awards were presented by guest speaker, Robert Ferguson, highly accomplished entrepreneur with a wealth of experience in business start-ups. Robert is currently managing director of Four Gears Media, CEO and founder of Validata and director and co-founder of both Bountee Ltd and Lettuce Pay UK.   Robert spoke to the guests about his background in business and encouraged everyone to network and make connections.   He said, “I am delighted to be here to celebrate your fantastic achievements.   The Awards are much deserved recognition for the outstanding contribution students and staff have made at College and within the wider SERC community.”

Robert congratulated everyone nominated and receiving awards and wished them every success in their future studies and careers.

This year, the College was delighted to have headline sponsorship support from Decathlon, along with category awards supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award; Fusion Heating for the Apprentice of the Year Award; and Inspired 2 Care for the Champion of Health and Wellbeing Award.

Following the presentations, a Vote of Thanks was given by Sophie Leith Francis, SERC Student Governor. Karen Fraser, SERC Governing Body and MC for the ceremony said, “I want to congratulate everyone here for their effort and achievement, and their commitment to giving their absolute best.   Some will have worked hard to tackle and overcome personal challenges. All deserve to be highlighted and rewarded."

“The students’ awards are not only for those who have excelled in their coursework, but also for those showing entrepreneurial skills, or dedication to bettering their community or our environment.  So tonight, we see a great example of the breadth of experience offered at SERC."

“At SERC, our continuing success depends on the skills, expertise, and personal commitment of all our staff. So, we are delighted to be able to recognise not only the best learners, but also the staff who go the extra mile to deliver excellence – in or out of the classroom.” 

Photos from the reception and awards will be shared on SERC Facebook page shortly.

SERC would like to thank everyone who made the evening so special, our guest speakers, master of ceremonies, the judging panel, our hospitality team and the student engineering company Cutting Edge who engraved the trophies.