Students Graduate in Style!

Coleg Llandrillo Cymru’s 16th Annual Graduation Ceremony was held today at Venue Cymru, Llandudno in front of a full house of students, their families and friends.

The Graduation Ceremony celebrated the outstanding achievements of nearly 200 of the College’s Degree, Foundation Degree, HND, HNC and Postgraduate students. Representatives from Coleg Llandrillo Cymru’s associate and partner universities officiated at the ceremony. This year’s Guest of Honour was Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Welsh Assembly Presiding Officer.

Coleg Llandrillo Cymru’s Principal, Mr. Huw Evans OBE said: “I am very pleased to welcome guests, graduates, diplomates and award winners to the College’s 2009 Graduation Ceremony; the high point of the Coleg Llandrillo Cymru calendar. This represents the completion of many years of intense study, commitment and effort by our students and teaching staff.

“The presentations this afternoon cover all our main Higher Education courses, and reflect both the choice and the range of education provision which is now available at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru. In keeping with previous ceremonies, we also include our Achiever Awards for outstanding performance. We offer our best wishes to our award winners across all curriculum areas.

“This year, the College is celebrating its sporting achievements and is pleased to present its students with their sporting awards and caps for national representation for Wales.

Celebrating 20 years as Principal of Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, Mr Evans was presented with a decorative glass yacht by Dr Roy Bichan, Vice Chair of the College Board during the ceremony. Mr Evans has been influential in the success of the College: in 1989 the College had a £4m turnover compared with the present figure of £34m. In 20 years the College has gone from one site to six main sites and now has over 20,000 students.

Coleg Llandrillo Cymru has further expanded its portfolio of Higher Education courses both independently and in partnership with Higher Education institutions including University of Wales, Bangor, University of Wales, Newport and Glyndwr University. As well as the more traditional honours degree programmes and higher nationals, the College has been at the forefront in developing and promoting innovative and unique Foundation Degrees and vocational courses, including Foundation Degrees in Police Studies, Tourist Guiding and Deaf Studies.

Nika Price from Colwyn Bay was one of three generations of the Price family present at the ceremony, as she was accompanied by her mother and grandmother. Nika, who qualified with an HND in Creative & Interactive Media, said: “I loved my time at College; the Tutors were inspiring. I especially liked the Web development aspects of the course. I am now going on to Bangor University to study for a degree in Computing and hope to become a teacher in the future.”

IT graduate Charles Kana, who was originally from Rwanda, but now resides on Anglesey said: “I have enjoyed every moment of my time at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru; the course was well structured and professionally delivered. The degree has given me the confidence and knowledge to progress and I am now going to Glyndwr University for my final year of study.”

For more information on Higher Education courses at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, contact the Advice and Guidance team on 01492 542 338/9.