The Higher Education Award Ceremony took place on Friday 17 September in Tonbridge with around 80 students and their guests attending. The graduates were all on courses accredited by the University of Greenwich which the College has had a strong partnership with for over 10 years.
The ceremony took place in St Peter and St Paul’s church before the procession, led by macebearer Elaine Scutt, Head of Learning Resources in Tonbridge, Bill Fearon, Principal, and Professor Simon Jarvis from the University of Greenwich, walked down Tonbridge High Street and into the castle where they posed for the traditional hat throwing picture and then enjoyed a reception with food and drink and live music from a College group.
The guest speaker for the ceremony was local businessman and entrepreneur Simon Hume-Kendall. In his inspirational address he spoke about his own career as well as extolling four key qualities of employability – reliability, enthusiasm, ingenuity and honesty (which neatly forms an anagram of hire).
He said of the current job market: “Whatever the economic climate, there will always be opportunities. Employers will always be looking for staff with good qualifications.”
Recessions come in cycles and he advised students not to believe all they read about the jobs market. “Even if there is 5% up to 10% unemployment, that still means there’s 90% to 95% employment, so times are tough, but they will settle again and people with qualifications like yours will be in the best place to help restore the economy.”
Many graduating students spoke of the impact of studying locally on their finances, explaining how they got more personal tuition and support without going into debt. Sarah Baker, 21, who studied for her Foundation Degree in Early Years while working, said: “A lot of my friends are very jealous because it has cost them so much to get their degree at other universities.”
In Performing Arts, Rebecca Thompson, 20, who was nominated for an Outstanding Performance Award by her lecturers, said she turned down the opportunity to study in London to stay at the College. “Everyone here is so lovely,” she said. “I stayed here because of the quality – it is so good. There are great teachers, I have a passion for dance and am now setting up my own dance company.”
Principal, Bill Fearon, congratulated students, saying: “The qualifications you leave here today with will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life.”
The day was a great success and a real celebration of the hard work put in by students and staff. A selection of images from the day are here. We've also posted some to our facebook page (if you see yourself then make sure you tag it, particularly the great hat throwing shot!) and there's a large gallery on the College website (including a great animated shot of all the hats being thrown in the air!).
