EXCEPTIONAL students from Petroc college's Tiverton campus were recognised for their outstanding and personal achievements in a special annual ceremony.

The returning students, who have gone on to university or employment, were reunited with each other, as well as their lecturers who gave glowing citations as the awards were handed out.

Donna Townsend, head of tiverton campus sixth form, welcomed students, parents, lecturers and VIPs to the event - the second of its kind to be held at the college.

Mayor of Tiverton, Cllr Tom Lindus, also attended the ceremony and had the honour of presenting the awards to the outstanding students.

Rebecca Gibson was presented with both the A-level Chemistry Award and the Mathematics Award and is now at the University of the West of England studying physiotherapy.

She said: "It was lovely to come back and see all these familiar faces. I really enjoyed my time at college, especially having smaller class sizes and plenty of opportunities for one-to-one tuition."

Following the A-level presentations, Access to HE students were awarded for their hard work and dedication.

Vanya Lord picked up the award for Access to HE Health Studies and is currently studying Midwifery at Plymouth University. She said: "I couldn't recommend the course more highly, absolutely do it! The support from both staff and other students was outstanding."

At the end of the ceremony Andrew Pierce, chair of governors, spoke of how events like this are a 'joy of the job', adding: "The enthusiasm here tonight is fantastic – I wish I could bottle it."