Walsall College held its prestigious V6 Awards Dinner on Tuesday 30th June, to celebrate the success and achievements of the college’s V6 students.  During the evening, 23 outstanding students were presented with Student of the Year Awards for achieving excellence in their area of study, along with an additional award for overall V6 Student of the Year, which was this year awarded to two students for the first time. The winners were BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business student, Jade Lindo and Entry Level Certificate in Childcare student, Emily Micklewright.

17-year-old Jade has consistently maintained a high attendance record, completed her assignments on time and achieved distinctions on all units, despite travelling from the far every day and not having access to a computer at home. Jade is also one of only a few in her family to progress to university, having gained a place at the University of Birmingham to study International Business.

Emily Micklewright, 18, also received distinctions in all her assignments and has made remarkable progress since enrolling at the college, following a negative experience at school where she was bullied. Initially Emily had very little self-esteem but now she thrives on college life and has progressed onto a mainstream Childcare course at Level 1, putting her on track to achieving her career goals.

The awards ceremony also included a pre-drinks reception on the college’s roof terrace and a four course meal prepared by hospitality and catering students.

Jill Fraser, founder of Kissing it Better, an award-winning charity dedicated to sharing simple healthcare ideas, attended the event as guest speaker. Jill trained at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas' Hospital in London. During her training, she was awarded a scholarship by The Kings Fund to work in America. The experience gave her an interest in medical journalism and over the last 20 years she has presented health features for many programmes on television and radio including Woman’s Hour, Newsround and Breakfast Time for the BBC.

Walsall College’s V6 is a sixth form with a difference, providing students with the vocational training to become Walsall College Graduates; skilled, professional and enterprising.

Jatinder Sharma OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Walsall College said: “The V6 Awards Dinner was an ideal opportunity for Walsall College to celebrate the fantastic achievements our students have achieved on vocational courses.  These exceptional students are real life examples of students who have excelled through vocational learning and are a real inspiration to others.

“This is the first time in the awards’ history that we have selected two overall winners, but the judges felt that both Jade and Emily, were both worthy of being celebrated for their success.”