End of Year Student Awards 2026

(Not in attendance)

Chloe is recognised for her outstanding perseverance, dedication, and commitment to learning. Despite facing significant challenges throughout the year, she successfully completed not one, but two BTEC Braille courses. Her strong work ethic throughout her Braille studies makes her a very worthy Highly Commended winner.

Davide arrived at RNC using uncontracted Braille, but in just two years has completed the BTEC Levels 1, 2, and 3 qualifications – an amazing achievement bearing in mind he is working in his second language. He has shown an incredible work ethic and determination, taking on extra work whenever he could to improve his knowledge. His performance in the Level 3 exam was exceptional and was a testament to his work and dedication.

Rico was nominated for his consistent demonstration of a positive mental attitude and strong perseverance, with both his A&DT and sports sessions. He always tries to achieve his objectives and puts a great deal of effort into everything he does – he approaches challenges with determination and remains motivated even when tasks are demanding.

Amelie demonstrates a great attitude to learning, is determined and resilient and has built confidence almost beyond recognition! She has taken every opportunity available to her, staying positive and resilient (even when facing difficulties); and is part of a friendship group that not only supports each other, but pushes everyone around them to be better. All of this has been balanced against competing as part of England’s Female Blind Football Team, which is no easy feat!

Reisha has been a fun and chatty member of the RNC community throughout the three years of her placement. She is caring and considerate towards her peers which she demonstrated further when she took on the role as a student ambassador, welcoming new students and helping others with a friendly manner, she is a dedicated and diligent student, a great team member and a joy to teach.

(Not in attendance)

Jack has been part of the RNC community for four years and has made excellent use of his time at College and he will be genuinely missed. He always has a kind smile for staff and his peers and has been a pleasure to work alongside and support.

Amy deserves recognition for her perseverance with music composition and production, both areas she found challenging. She has overcome technical difficulties, and a lack of confidence at times, to create a portfolio of work that she would not have thought possible at the start of the year.

Aiden has developed his technical, compositional, and production skills, to produce an extensive library of music which he hopes to promote after his time at RNC. Focusing on new software and instrumentation, his skills and remarkable composition rate has blossomed this year. He deserves recognition for his perserverance and determination, and how he has produced a plethora of music, which both calms him and brightens people’s day.

Ana deserves special recognition for her exceptional achievements in acoustic shooting this year. Winning both the Junior and Senior British Acoustic Shooting Championships is a remarkable accomplishment, made even more impressive by her outstanding score of 595 out of a possible 600 points.

Amelie is recognised for the incredible progress she has made. Arriving with limited sporting experience, she leaves as an established blind football player who has represented her country internationally. Alongside her sporting success, she has embraced the demands of being a TASS athlete while achieving academically, demonstrating outstanding commitment, resilience, and ambition. She has an exciting future ahead in sport and should be immensely proud of all she has achieved.

Toby’s progression has seen him represent England Senior Men’s Blind Football team and recently helped his country secure victory in the International U23 competition. He has been an integral member of the RNC blind football team competing in the European Blind Football League (EBFL) and National Blind Football League (NBFL), contributing to a hugely successful season that saw them win the EBFL and NBFL titles and the Brian Aarons Cup.

Rico has shown exceptional dedication, resilience, and commitment to sport throughout the year. A major highlight was achieving a black belt in Judo, recognising years of hard work and perseverance. Alongside his own success, Rico has also supported others by coaching within our weekly Judo programme. He has won medals at national and international Judo events whilst progressing on the GB Para Pathway with aspirations of representing Team GB at the Paralympic Games. Alongside this, Rico has also made a significant impact in Goalball, helping his team win the Intermediate Trophy. Beyond competition, he has demonstrated excellent leadership through sports coaching and community engagement – his achievements, leadership, and commitment to supporting others makes him a truly deserving winner of the Dixie Dean Sports Award.

Davide now has a well established working medium, using JAWS and a Focus40 Braille display. During his time at RNC he has shown incredible commitment to getting the most out of his ADT sessions; asking questions and trying different techniques to ensure their future success.

Skye has made outstanding progress since starting at RNC in September. She has grown in confidence with managing her own technology and explored a range of assistive technologies, including a QBraille to support her working medium. She is curious with asking questions, always supportive of others and well on the way to her future goals.

(Not in attendance)

Rose demonstrated remarkable determination, perseverance, and commitment at RNC; and despite personal challenges, she remained focused on her studies, consistently showing resilience and a positive attitude. Her hard work resulted in excellent academic progress and offers from multiple universities, including three unconditional offers – a fantastic achievement that reflects her dedication and ambition.

Humna showed exceptional resilience during her time at RNC, making excellent academic progress, despite significant and ongoing health challenges. Following surgery and an extended period of recovery, Humna returned to RNC to complete her studies with real determination. Throughout her journey, she has faced periods where both physical and cognitive barriers have made learning difficult, yet she persevered with an unwavering commitment. She is now set to leave with the equivalent of four A Levels and an EPQ – an outstanding achievement that reflects her quiet strength and determination.

From the moment Madison arrived at RNC she has thrown herself into College life, embraced every opportunity with enthusiasm, and demonstrates a genuine desire to learn. She has an incredible curiosity for knowledge, demonstrates remarkable courage, resilience and determination, and has also become a valued and much-loved member of the student community. Her smile, positivity, and drive make her a pleasure to work with.

(Not in attendance)

From the very start of his RNC journey, James has shown exceptional drive, focus, and commitment. Since starting with us in January 2026, he made quick and impressive progress with his mobility training – in a very short time he learned campus routes, local routes, mobilised around the ciity centre, and now travels independently by train.

Ella rejoined the Mobility programme in February 2026. Her goal was to build confidence in bus travel, learn routes around the local town, and master the journey to a weekly work placement each Friday. She made fantastic progress, quickly developing her skills, and now travels to and from her work placement entirely on her own each week.

Alice started at RNC last September and has made exceptional progress on the ILS programme – completing laundry and preparing and cooking meals, with support initially and then completing the self-catering assessment by Easter – phenomenal progress! Alice is always on time for her lessons and demonstrates a keen interest in learning new skills.

Jacob consistently demonstrated creativity and a willingness to explore a variety of artistic mediums. He approached new challenges with enthusiasm and imagination, producing thoughtful and engaging work. He is friendly and supportive with his peers. His clay models are particularly impressive, with carefully devised characters and creative storytelling elements. His work consistently showcases excellent artistic skill, attention to detail, and originality.

Esperanza Carberry, Christina Perreira, Madison Saunders, and Emily Whittle

This Team is described as ‘always willing to take on new challenges’. Their communication and teamwork skills have developed throughout their programme, and they have demonstrated excellent childcare skills during their Every Day is a Learning Day project.

Harvey Ford-Simms, Humna Hussain, Ruben Morris, and Ana Vindberg

The Acoustic Shooting Team had an outstanding year of achievement. Together they have demonstrated exceptional dedication and commitment to their sport, achieving remarkable results. One became the British Junior and Senior Champion with an outstanding score of 595/600. One secured second place in the same Championships, with an impressive score of 595/600, just one point behind. Another member achieved a fantastic third place finish in the Junior British Championships, scoring 589/600, demonstrating sustained commitment and improvement. And finally, our fourth team member narrowly missed out on a medal position, despite only starting the sport in September. Together, these students have supported and inspired one another, creating a positive and ambitious team environment.

There was joint recognition for Shabaz and Jessie who threw themselves into their work experience with great professionalism and left a really positive and lasting impression on their employer. They were ambassadors not just for RNC, but for inclusion in society, as they raised awareness of the needs of customers with vision impairments and other disabilities, including the delivery of some very entertaining training to the staff.

Millie not only had an ongoing internal placement, but also took part in the June work experience week. With her Braille placement she demonstrated outstanding commitment and the rapid progression of confidence when teaching, delivering engaging, and well-structured sessions. One colleague described her as ‘motivating and professional’. Her second work experience was a very worthwhile placement outdoors, spending quality time with her favourite animal – a horse.

Finn’s commitment to his weekly placement was notable. The team at the National Trust property enjoyed working with him, and commented that he brought great positivity to the placement, demonstrated excellent preparedness, punctuality and attendance, and built very good relationships with the team. Finn always completed tasks to a high standard and the team were so confident in his ability that they were happy for him to lead a tour of visitors during work experience week.

Kai secured an ongoing weekly placement as a direct result of a very successful work experience week in February. Kai always shows kindness and support to his peers at College and transferred those qualities to a primary school who have reported that the children really benefitted from his presence, stating: ‘We have loved having Kai with us – he is a star!’

Emilio had to cut his expedition short last year after falling ill, during a sweltering hot walk. It would have been easy to decide not to pursue DofE after having had this experience, but Emilio was determined to prevail! He was only required to do one night camping and two days walking but wanting to make up for his last experience he requested to do two nights camping and three days walking, including the mammoth walk to the summit of Pe-y-fan. He was an inspiration to the whole group.

The DofE group were fantastic this year. They were hugely supportive of each other both around camp and on the walks. As always it was a tiring few days with many miles walked, culminating in a final romp to the top of Pen-y-fan. Incredible effort!

Taskmaster this year was a very close competition with three teams sharing joint second. Teams this year (amongst other tasks) build a tower of shoes, create an advert for a boring object, and throw a pack of cards into a box without stepping into an exclusion zone.

In third place with 14 points:

Amy, Emma A., Jessie, Kai,, and Vasilisa

In joint second with 16 points – three teams:

Ewan, Oscar, Toby, and Tom

Alleah, Danny, Ishaq, and Tegan

Abdullah, Dayzie, Elliot, and Humna

In first place with 18 points and an excellent endorsement for selling a wall from, Dwayne (Olly) ‘The Rock’ Johnson:

Amelie, Lucja, Olly, and Sharnie