Cary-Lee Walker wins Outstanding Media Student of the Year

Cary-Lee Walker with her proud dad Gary Walker

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Cary-Lee Walker from Hopwood Hall College has won Outstanding Media Student of the Year at the National BTEC Awards.

The event was held at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on Thursday 7 July.

Cary-Lee, said: “I never imagined I would be considered for such an award. BTEC has given me the confidence to work in my own ways to help me grow into the person I am today and has also allowed me to make my dreams a reality. It has truly been an honour and will be a day I never forget.”

Her tutor Alex Dobson, Games Development Course Leader at the College, added: “Cary has been an inspiration throughout her time at Hopwood and so I decided to nominate Cary for this award. I was delighted when I received a phone call to say that Cary-Lee won the award and was being invited with tutors, family and friends to the House of Commons for lunch and later to the awards ceremony itself at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London.”

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson in the UK, said: “BTEC is a high quality and demanding qualification with those in possession increasingly sought after by universities and employers.

"This year’s judges were impressed by the quality and number of nominations we received but Cary-Lee really stood out as a truly exceptional student and deserves a huge congratulations”.

The awards recognise the nearly one million students around the country who are studying BTEC qualifications this year. Pearson, who own BTECs, received nearly 1,000 nominations across the 19 award categories for this year’s Awards.

Now in their sixth year, the awards were hosted by Radio 1 Presenter Gemma Cairney and attendees by the winners, their families and teachers as well as stakeholders from the education and business worlds.

Dragon’s Den judge, and BTEC champion, Peter Jones also presented the award for Business and Enterprise Student of the Year via video link.

Ahead of the awards ceremony, the winners, their family, friends and nominators attended a Parliamentary reception in the House of Commons.