Top marks for young people in Cornwall whose excellence is celebrated in new awards ceremony

The awards evening at the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth recognised Excellence amongst students from the South Shore Education Partnership which consists of Falmouth School, Helston Community College, Mullion School and Penryn College.

Over 60 awards were presented to students across the southwest peninsula of Cornwall, rewarding them for Academic Excellence, Artistic Excellence, Sporting Excellence and Excellence in the Community.  The University of Exeter Cornwall Campus Excellence Awards represents a spectrum of personal achievements particular to each individual.  The students are recognised for their achievements at various stages of their educational journey.

Katie Morton from Falmouth School was one of many students honoured for their commitment to excellence.  She has been heavily involved in encouraging a local primary school choir ‘Young Lizards’ to sing loud and often.  Music is also extremely important to Angus Webster, who helps organise Falmouth Schools the Jazz Band and is assisting the Musical Director for the schools production of ‘Annie’.  Angus also conducts the Cornwall Youth Orchestra in his spare time, and when he recently went on a conductor’s course in Manchester he was so concerned about how the music department would cope without him, he sent an email with a list of instructions on how to manage in his absence. 

Head girl and prefect Bryony Aitchison from Mullion School was commended for her commitment to developing her work experience with sculptor Peter Randall-Page, whose sculpture ‘The Seed’ is at the Eden Project.  Whilst there Bryony developed her artistic skills by completing sketches and sculptures based on a woodland theme.  Showing a determination to improve and excel also defines Polly Morris from Heston Community College who has played in the County Badminton squad for 3 years and is part of the County Hockey and Netball academies.  Josh Wilson from Penryn College was described as inspirational in relation to his commitment to the Student Council and for his outstanding work as Vice President of the Rotary Interact Club which has involved raising funds for charities and organising community projects.

Several hundred parents, teachers, school representatives, and VIPs including the Mayor of Penryn Cllr Gill Grant and the Mayor of Falmouth Cllr Geoffrey Evans joined by senior members of University staff to celebrate the hard won achievements of the young people in the county.

South Shore Education Partnership Manager, Sue Whitford said: “A truly inspirational evening, an excellent opportunity to recognise the talent, hard work and dedication of the young people from the South Shore schools across the peninsula.”

Professor Mark Overton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter who hosted the event said:“The University of Exeter is committed to working with students from Cornwall to raise their aspirations and support their progression to higher education.  It is my sincere hope that the awards will inspire young people, not only to follow a path to higher education, but also to universities like Exeter. We have been named The Sunday Times University of the Year, and the recent National Student Satisfaction Survey shows that our students in Cornwall are the most satisfied group of students in the UK.

He added: “Our Cornwall Campus continues to go from strength to strength, with the recent completion of The Exchange, a £10 million extension to our library and student support facilities, as well as our flagship £30 million Environment and Sustainability Institute. We could not achieve this success without the successful and ambitious students who study with us, many of whom come from within Cornwall.”

Richard Prest, Outreach Officer University of Exeter Cornwall Campus said: “The Excellence Awards provides an opportunity to give public recognition to the fantastic achievements of the young people from Cornwall.  By working in partnership the University hopes to contribute to this message and encourage the young people of Cornwall to keep on learning.”