FORMER Royal Forest of Dean College prize-winner Ray Oakey was invited back to the scene of his triumphs – this time to present prizes.

Ray went to the College in November 1998 as a result of a literacy campaign on television.

Since then he has never stopped learning and in 2001 he was made Gloucestershire Adult Learner of the Year.

Ray was introduced by Roger Deeks in his last official event as retiring chair of governors. He highlighted some of the achievements in the past year including the overall pass rate of 96 per cent at A-level and the growth in numbers of students from the local 11-16 schools.

Particularly exciting, he said, is the completion of the new building, which will be officially opened on January 16. This will provide 18 new teaching rooms, all equipped with the latest technology.

Award winners reflected the great diversity of courses and the wide range of students.

There was a special round of applause for Steven Biddington for his achievements in Business Studies.

Steven had a very serious accident during the first year of his course which has left him paralysed and wheelchair bound but, with the support of his fellow students and staff, he completed his qualification to a high standard.

The hairdressing and beauty therapy sections are growing areas and students include mothers facing the challenge of bringing up children while improving their qualifications. For example, Sadie Askew is now working towards her NVQ level 3 in Beauty Therapy as well as having a part time job in a beauty clinic and looking after two children. It was also gratifying to see the number of evening class students gaining awards. This year they included Karen Green who attends the painting and drawing class in Ross on Wye despite deteriorating vision. Another adult achiever was Judith Cole who has coped with dyslexia and made tremendous progress with her numeracy skills.

Students also worked hard in an international dimension. Alison Cocker and Sarah Howe received an award for the excellent spirit with which they undertook work experience in a pre school group in Venice.

Chiaki Nishikawa from Japan and Reinavida Kethro from the Philippines were awarded prizes for their work in Ceramics and Administration respectively.

Danja Gosto was unable to finish her degree course in war torn Bosnia. She joined an A-level evening class in English Literature, passing after only one year and has since gained further qualifications in IT and English. She is also a very active volunteer at the Bream Devils Youth Club. Danja will shortly begin training to be a nurse.

Academic awards went to a number of 'high-fliers', with some stunning achievements at AS and A-levels. Tamsin Sagar and Gemma Savagar achieved a clean sheet of As in their AS exams. Students now at university who were awarded prizes for their high grades at A-level included Joanne Aston, Dylan Lord, Phillip Pritchard, Sarah Dobbs, Megan Humphries and Michelle Harris.

Pride of place in the evening went to the student who was judged to have achieved the most outstanding results. For the second year running, this prize has gone to a former Whitecross student who gained a place at Oxford University. This year the honour went to Alice Saunders.

Her achievement was marked with the presentation of a beautifully illustrated edition of 'The Pickwick Papers'.