Students at North West Regional College (NWRC) have received special recognition awards at the annual Best in Further Education Celebrations at Strand Road, Limavady and Strabane campus.

Bronagh Downey received the Gerard Finnegan Memorial award recognizing achievements in the areas of endeavour and accomplishment throughout her studies, while Sahar Hassan was presented with a brand new award for 2025 – the Award for excellence in ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Megan Clarke, a Hairdressing student at Strabane campus was the recipient of the prestigious Eileen Cairns Scholarship, Orla Hockley received the Zachary Geddis Award in recognition of her extraordinary perseverance and commitment to successfully completing her Level 2 in Beauty Therapy despite facing profound personal adversity, and Kacie Brown received the Barbara Crone Award due to being a diligent and hard-working student.

Bronagh Downey

Bronagh Downey recently completed Year 2 of the Access Diploma in Science. Despite facing challenges, Bronagh was determined to complete her qualification and progress to Higher Education and has always accepted advice, guidance and support.

The award was presented to Bronagh by Eimear Finnegan, daughter of the late Gerard Finnegan.

Bronagh said: "Returning to education at NWRC was one of the most positive experiences of my life. I could never have done it without the support, guidance and pastoral care I received from lecturers, the learning link, and admin and support staff."

Sahar Hassan

Sahar Hassan is described as a hardworking, conscientious and inquisitive student. Judges were told she can always be trusted to be present, punctual with all homework completed. She passed all three modules of her Entry Level 3 exams and is also very generous with her time and patient while explaining new material to fellow students. She was presented with Excellence in ESOL award by Head of Faculty Clare Gallagher.

Megan Clarke, was presented Eileen Cairns scholarship, who was highly regarded member of the Lecturing team at NWRC Strabane.

Megan was praised for her “exceptional endeavour and accomplishment in Level 2 Diploma in Hairdressing.”

Judges were told Megan has shown strong interpersonal skills, supporting peers and contributing positively to the learning environment. And that her determination, work ethic, and growth as a trainee hair professional make her a highly deserving candidate for this recognition.

Alongside her academic achievements, Megan works part-time in a local salon, where she has been able to apply her learning in a real-world setting and further refine her client service and technical skills. Her performance in the salon environment has been exceptional, and she has already begun to build her own client base through word-of-mouth and repeat appointments — a clear testament to her professionalism, reliability, and quality of work.

She was also praised for her versatility, determination, and passion for the wider personal care industry.

Orla Hockley

Tutors who nominated Orla Hockley for the Zachary Geddis award said: “During the course of her studies, Orla experienced the devastating loss of her father David, a moment that could have shattered her focus and ambitions. However, instead of allowing grief to derail her journey, she demonstrated remarkable strength, determination, and resilience. Her ability to overcome such hardship while maintaining her commitment to completing her course is an inspiration to both peers and staff.”

Orla is now progressing onto Level 3 Beauty Therapy in September 2025 and hopes to run her own business in the future.

Kacie Brown

Kacie Brown who received the Barbara Crone memorial award is described as having a “fantastic attitude to her studies, continuously display enthusiasm for learning.”

Her tutors said: “Kacie has a full understanding of how to support young children's learning and development. She was able to analyse and evaluate the importance of childcare legislation and the Level 3 Team are very proud of Kacie's achievements this academic year.

Kacie's aspirations are to continue with her studies by applying for the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Children's Care, Learning and Development.

Honourable the Irish Society Awards

Students Bradley Mullan, Rebecca Gavigan. Caiden Kyle, Callum Devlin and Kevin Conlon also received scholarships from the Honourable the Irish Society to support them in their studies.

Dr. Catherine O’Mullan Director of Curriculum and Academic Standards at NWRC said:

“These celebrations end another wonderful year at NWRC marking the personal achievements of students who have completed their studies in over 60 further education programmes across our five main campuses. I offer my sincere thanks to the exceptional teams across all our campuses. Our academic and support staff are second to none, and I know I speak for them when I say how proud we are of all the students.

“I also extend my congratulations to all of our Awards winners this year for their achievements and success.”

The Best in FE Awards celebrate the achievements of Further Education graduates from the College’s campuses across Derry~Londonderry, Strabane and Limavady.

The event is always a highlight in the College calendar and involves the presentation of certificates and prizes to students from the four main curriculum departments across all College campuses.