'175' Celebration of Achievement 2024

On Thursday, 21st November, here at Hartlepool College we proudly hosted our 31st Annual Celebration of Achievement awards ceremony, a key date in our calendar that this year marked a significant milestone: 175 years of delivering education to the people of Hartlepool and beyond.

The event, aptly titled '175', celebrated the College’s legacy of transforming lives since 1849. Over the decades, tens of thousands of successful students have passed through our doors, and this year's ceremony paid tribute to their achievements. The audience, both in-person and those joining via a #livestream on our dedicated YouTube channel, reflected on the profound impact education has had on the hartlepool, the region and beyond.

As part of the evening, we proudly unveiled a new video commemorating 175 years of education in Hartlepool and beyond. This fantastic production was created, produced, and edited in collaboration with Matt Emmerson (Emmerson Marketing), Richard Rowell, and Nathan Clark (CanvasHQ). The video beautifully captured our 175yrs legacy. (see video link above).

The awards event recognised 40 nominees and awarded 15 Students of the Year across various curriculum areas (see table below), highlighting the exceptional talent and dedication of learners in diverse areas. The grand finale of the evening was the presentation of the coveted Student of the Year 2024 award, which went to Becky Brown.

Darren Hankey, Principal (HCFE), by Teams Call, letting Becky Brown our Overall Student of the Year, she has won and her reaction — Darren Hankey, Principal of Hartlepool College, announces via a Teams call to Becky Brown (currently in Cardiff) that she has been named our Overall Student of the Year 2024. Her reaction says it all.

Earlier in the evening, Becky had already been recognised as the Aerospace Student of the Year, making her a double award winner. The audience—comprising students, staff, employers, and proud family members—heard about Becky’s remarkable determination, hard work, and outstanding skills as a trainee Aerospace Engineer at Boeing in Cardiff, Wales. Her achievements embody our ethos of transforming lives and instilling our HARTS initiative.

Gary Riches, Vice Principal and Master of Ceremonies for the evening said post event "Working at a College with a legacy dating back to 1849 is an immense source of pride. For 175 years, Hartlepool College has been transforming lives, and tonight’s awards evening is a testament to that enduring mission. Every nominee should feel incredibly proud, being shortlisted as a finalist is a remarkable achievement in itself. To our award winners, congratulations on your well-deserved success! And a heartfelt thank you to all the supporters, parents, carers, colleagues, and loved ones - who have played a role in helping our finalists reach this milestone. Together, we celebrate excellence and the power of education to transform lives."

This unforgettable evening was a fitting tribute to our rich history, as well as a celebration of the bright futures of our students. Here’s to continuing our mission of transforming lives for many years to come

The full list of Award winners here;

Award	Winner	Sponsor
Student of the Year ~ Professional & Creative Studies	SKY TAYLOR	Just Williams
Student of the Year ~ Construction and Building Services	REECE POPPLEWELL	Seymour Civil Engineering
Student of the Year ~ Service Industries	MADDISON GARTON	The PFC Trust
Student of the Year ~ Sport, Public Services & Policing	FAITH CAHILL	In Memory of Gus Robinson
Student of the Year ~ Inclusive Learning	GRACE MAILEN	Hartlepool Borough Council
Access to Higher Education Student of the Year	NAOMI NEWTON	MKM Buildings Supplies
Student of the Year ~ Maths & English	BEAUTY OBIDINA	Lexonix
Student of the Year ~ High Performance Sport	ARCHIE SMALL	Hartlepool United Football Club
Student of the Year ~ Education	SHAKIRA ARIF	Teesside University
Student of the Year ~ Aerospace	BECKY BROWN	Willis Lease
Student of the Year ~ Fabrication, Welding, Process & Transport	KAREN DAVISON	Wilton Engineering
Apprentice of the Year	UDHAY KAHRAN SINGH	SeAH Wind
The Jaap Kroese Scholarship	CONAL CLOSE
The Micheal Bretherick Engineering Award	SHANE WRIGHT	Wilton Engineering
The Russell Hart Award for Health & Care	MIA O'DWYER	NHS North Tees & Hartlepool Trust
Student Representatives of the Year	PETER OLUTOLA OLADUNMOYE	Believe Housing
Overall Student of the Year	BECKY BROWN	Troo Cost

View, share or download, over 70 photos from the event here >> https://bit.ly/hcfecoa2024Gal and you can also watch the full ceremony streaming here too https://bit.ly/hcfecoa2024Stream

A big thank you to our sponsors for the evening; The PFC Trust, Gus Robinson Foundation, Believe Housing, Troo Cost, NHS North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust, Seymour Civil Engineering, Orange Box Training Just Williams, Teesside University, Hartlepool Borough Council, Wilton Engineering, Willis Lease, Seah Wind, and our amazing support staff and lecturers, and everyone else who made the event possible: