Wiltshire College Chippenham held its annual Celebration of Success award ceremony on Thursday.

More than 50 students were presented with awards for outstanding achievements. Some have achieved excellence in their course of study; some have made enormous progress through their commitment and hard work, whilst others have made a great contribution to the life of the college community.

Awards were presented by Tim Ward, vice-chairman of Wiltshire College Corporation, and covered a variety of course subjects including sport, public services, beauty therapy, hairdressing, business, administration, IT, art & design, music, media studies, games development, motor vehicle, engineering, foundation studies, access to higher education, travel & tourism and health and social care.

John Adams, assistant principal, said: “These are always very special occasions when we seek to recognise and celebrate the many and varied achievements of our students. Our staff give a great deal of thought to making these awards – they reflect great credit on the winners.”

The awards were sponsored by local people and businesses which included Alan West, the Chippenham Borough Lands Charity, The 1554 Charity, Brian Coombes Jubilee Charity, Maureen Lloyd, Andrew Merrills and Chippenham Twining Association.

The Brian Coombes Jubilee Charity Award is given to for a student who excels in art, engineering or literature. This year the award was presented to engineering student James Sloan for demonstrating a mature approach to his studies, outstanding ability and achieving triple distinction grades on his Level 3 Engineering course. James, who left college this summer, is now studying for a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Loughborough University.

The Wavin Award for the student with the best results on an IT course went to James Swindley. After successfully achieving a distinction grade on his Level 2 IT course at college, James moved on to the Extended Diploma in IT. His enthusiasm, commitment and organisational stood out and he was soon on target to achieve top grades.

James finished his course with triple distinction star (the equivalent to 3 A Levels at A*), having achieved 18 out of a possible 18 distinctions on his course. Interested in Software Development, James has progressed on to the Foundation Degree in Applied Computing at Wiltshire College Chippenham.

The Chippenham Borough Lands Charity Award is given to the student achieving the most from Learning Support. This year’s winner was Cherise Watson. Starting at college at 14, Cherise was determined to do well. “It’s the career I really want and I am prepared to work hard for it,” she said. Having achieved qualifications at Level 1 and Level 2 in Beauty Therapy, Cherise is now working towards her Level 3 and being a fully qualified professional beauty therapist.

The Bill Norris Award for the student(s) who have made the greatest contribution to the community was awarded to the Chippenham Kenyan Adventure Team – Lydia-Ann Bryant, Amy Bye, Hayley Chan, Holly Hayward, Holly Perrett, Molly Downey, Jessica Gittins, Laura Morrow, Natasha Wilkes and Ella Weatherburn.

The student successfully fundraised, promoted and took part in a volunteering opportunity of a lifetime. Travelling to Kenya, they served meals, taught classes, repaired and painted buildings, making a real difference to the lives of the community of Nakuru. The trip was a first for Chippenham students and was given to recognise the work the students had done to make it so successful. Another trip is already being planned for 2013.

John Adams also thanked those who attended in support of the award winners, which included parents, partners, employers, sponsors and tutors, saying: “Without your support, encouragement and professionalism these successes would not have been possible.”