Warwick castle the splendid backdrop for graduation day

Warwick castle provided the splendid backdrop when over 160 students from across the region celebrated their graduation.

Warwickshire College and University Centre (WCUC) is the higher education arm of college group WCG and the two ceremonies saw students and their guests from Royal Leamington Spa college, Rugby college, Moreton Morrell college and Pershore college attend.

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The graduates came from a wide array of courses, including business, counselling and psychotherapy, early years, computing, performing arts, engineering, agritech, equine therapy and rehabilitation, veterinary physiotherapy, veterinary nursing and more.

WCG CEO Angela Joyce said: "Graduation is an end and a beginning, it is the celebration of the achievement of an ambition, but it’s also the start of a new chapter for graduates as they head into new careers and directions which may not have been possible before starting their studies.

"St Mary’s Church and Warwick Castle provided a magnificent backdrop for this very special occasion and it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the hard work, dedication and commitment of our graduates."

The keynote speaker at the first ceremony was May Parsons, associate chief nurse director for governance, risk and compliance at Buckinghamshire healthcare trust.

She came to worldwide attention when she delivered in Coventry the first Covid-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials in December, 2020.

"I hope that I was able to inspire the students to continue on with their education and grab all the opportunities they can, while facing challenges with integrity and remaining true to themselves," she said.

The second ceremony saw Nik Spencer, an entrepreneur and founder of the HERU and former student at Moreton Morrell college, receive a fellowship from WCUC.

In 2021, WCG became the first college in the UK to be granted Bachelor degree awarding powers by the office for students, alongside its existing foundation degree awarding powers.

WCUC offers higher education courses in a wide range of subjects through full time and part-time options.

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