The College of North East London (CONEL) celebrated the success of last year's top students with a sprinkling of glitz at the Regency Banqueting Suite, last Thursday night (17 November).

The Mayor of Haringey - Eddie Griffiths and Tottenham Hotspurs player - Stephen Kelly were amongst the guests helping to make the evening a memorable occasion.

In addition to the winning students from each department, there were several special category awards, including: Role Model for other Students, Effort and Determination and CONEL's Young and Adult Learner of the Year. A Contribution to College Life award - sponsored by the Haringey Safer Community Partnership, was jointly won by two students, for their work on the BRACE initiative (Building Relationships Amongst Cultures Everywhere). The nominees for this category all worked tirelessly to bring together the Caribbean and Turkish communities, helping to improve relationships between the two communities.

Councillor Nilgun Canver, Lead Member for Crime and Community who presented the winners of the Contribution to College Life award on behalf of Haringey Safer Community Partnership, commended the commitment of students to continue working for peace and harmony outside of the College. "The students involved with the BRACE initiative intend to visit local schools with the intention of correcting many misconceptions and ensuring their message of harmony across Haringey and the surrounding Borough's is progressed."

Nicky Harrison, Chair of Governors at CONEL said, "I am very happy to be here tonight, sharing this evening with my fellow school Governors and the College staff; I would like to congratulate all of those students who have been nominated for their good work and commitment to study, and also their parents and their teachers. They should all be immensely proud of their accomplishments."

CONEL's awards evening coincided with the publication of a Government report, compiled by Sir Andrew Foster on Further Education (FE) colleges.

Notes to editors:

According to the Foster report published this month:

• FE colleges in the UK have over three million learners;
• FE colleges provide a breadth of activity including diversity, employment skills, basic skills, second chance and higher education;
• FE education is particularly well-positioned to facilitate social inclusion;
• There are many symptoms indicating that all is not well:
  • 200,000 16-18 year olds are not in employment, education or training,
  • 14 per cent of adults of working age have no qualifications,
  • over five million adults have literacy and numeracy skills below level 1.

About The College of North East London (CONEL)

CONEL has around 12,000 full-time and part-time students and approximately 1,000 staff on several sites including the Tottenham Centre, Tottenham Green Centre, Heron House and the Middlesex University Campus in Enfield. CONEL offer cutting edge facilities and inspirational study environments including excellent Information Communication Technology (ICT), a conference and exams hall and an open access advice and guidance centre.

For more information contact:

Alex Louis or Fenella Brown
Communications and Marketing
Tottenham Centre
High Road
London
N15 4RU

Telephone 020 8442 3113
Visit our website at www.conel.ac.uk