End of Year Student Awards 2025

Winner: Award for Endeavour -
Sonali Shah



Sonali has been on quite a journey during her time at College. The shy and nervous student who started at RNC three years ago has been replaced by a quietly confident young person ready to take her next steps in the world.  She set herself big challenges, and has achieved amazing things, and should, quite rightly, be very proud of herself and the decisions that she has made. She is a passionate environmentalist and conservationist and has been an integral part of the gardening group, who have nothing but glowing things to say about her. To quote RNC's gradening volunteers, Phil and Paul:

'The development of Sonali's communication skills with the public plant sale days is a joy to watch as she confidently explains to customers about each plant and how they can be cared for. Without this endeavour from her the project would not have been the success that it has. She will be sadly missed and we wish her all the best for the future. She has been a pleasure to work alongside.'

Highly Commended: Contribution to the RNC Community Award -
Katie Zaple Davies 



Katie has been an integral part of planting and nurturing RNC plants - she always turns up ready to work and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She takes pleasure in the outcomes when plants are sold, or planted in the gardens on campus, and she has been a delight to work alongside this year. Katie was also involved in nurturing trays of plants to be given as gifts to volunteers during National Volunteers' Week and will be sorely missed by the gardening volunteers.

Winner: Contribution to the RNC Community Award
- Rowan Todd



Rowan has made excellent use of her final year at RNC and, despite changing her programme, she has worked incredibly hard to complete her Level 3 Technical awards, all with excellent grades. And... instead of having a well-deserved rest after exams, she spent most of her spare time asking what she could do to help teachers, and supporting students both in and out of the classrooom. She has thrown herself into College life and it's been a pleasure to watch her shine as her confidence has grown - she is a genuine joy to have around, and we wish her all the best as she moves onto her next chapter.

Highly Commended: Award for Progress - Oscar King



Oscar is a popular student and well-liked member of the RNC community, and someone who has shown exceptional resilience and commitment to his studies during his time at RNC, even when times have been difficult.

His enthusiasm and willingness to work above and beyond has shone through, and his ever-increasing confidence has been a pleasure to see. We look forward to seeing more of Oscar's development next year.

Winner: Award for Progress -
Jessie Levison



As a first year Jessie settled well into life at RNC and is making the most of the opportunities on offer. As her confidence has grown, her progress has too, and she should be proud of her achievements across A&DT, Braille, ILS and Mobility, as well as her main programme area. Jessie is making the most of every opportunity thrown at her, from College activities to volunteering with the Brownies.

Winner: Award for Music -
Catrin Young



Catrin had very short notice that funding had been agreed before starting at RNC two years ago, and arrived on travel day still in a bit of shock. By the end of the first half term she had started to become more settled and since then hasn't looked back. Throughout the academic year Catrin has shown a greater maturity in her creative and musical ability, supported her peers and has stepped into pressurised recording sessions. In addition to musical talent, she is always polite and well mannered, punctual for lessons, very independent and generally an all-round exceptional example to others. Catrin is a great ambassador for RNC and the V.I. community and we are sure she will excel in the next stage of her life.

Highly Commended: Award for Work Experience - Max Kenny



Max is an absolute joy. His positive outlook is fantastic. He initiated meaningful conversations with some hard to engage clients. He showed genuine warmth, empathy, and compassion. He was a fantastic member of our team for the week, and his presence is already greatly missed. He also joined me at a music workshop for veterans and their families. Max engaged fully and stunned everyone when he played the piano. Outstanding!

Winner 1: Award for Work Experience - Alyssia Jalloo



Alyssia is super! Thank you for connecting me with her. She is bright and efficient and has an interesting, thoughtful approach. Great to have a student who is so independent and competent. Lovely person. Alyssia returned to HCR  for her second spell of work experience in July 2025 following a successful placement in June 2024. She is an absolute pleasure to have in the office. She is confident, bright, attentive and asks great questions. She also has a wicked sense of humour. We wish Alyssia all the best with her law degree and have no doubt she will make a fabulous lawyer one day.

Winner 2: Award for Work Experience - Fionn Holden



Fionn arrived at his placement with a clear goal: to improve his customer service and communication skills, and from day one, his enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and sense of humour made a lasting impression. Over just five days, Fionn made outstanding progress - learning how to use the till, take orders with growing confidence, and even cheekily trying to charge the owner for a cup of tea! Everyday brough new experiences, including the all-important skill of balling up the perfect scoop of ice cream... which, of course, had to be sampled daily. On the final day, Fionn went out with a bang - creating a legendary ice cream with every topping and sauce available. Fionn brought energy, effort, and a brilliant attitude to every task. The team absolutely loved working with him and couldn't speak more highly of his journey throughout the week.

Winner 1: Dixie Dean Sports Award - Olly Johnson



Olly's commitment, professionalism and work ethic has been outstanding.He has handled the demands of high-level sport (regular early morning training) alongside A Level studies with a real focus and maturity. He played every minute in the Premiership of the National Blind Football League and travelled monthly across Europe competing in the European Blind Football League, taking on top sides from across the continent.

Alongside this he has also represented the England Men's Blind Football Squad on two international trips, one to California and another to Germany. Olly led by example every day and is a fantastic role model within the Sports Academy, consistently demonstrating the standards and values we want our athletes to live by.

Winner 2: Dixie Dean Sports Award - Lucja Wyrwantowicz



Over the past year, Lucja has shown outstanding sporting achievement, leadership, and dedication to promoting blind football. She scored her first goal for England in November, playing against Germany, a landmark moment in any footballer's career. Lucja went on to be appointed captain of the England Blind Women' Team  for the Tri-Nations competition in April, leading the team to victory and scoring an impressive three goals, one of which reached 33,000 views on social media, showcasing the growing impact of women's blind football. 

Beyond her performance on the pitch, she has excelled as a role model and ambassador, even representing England during the Nike kit launch. Her dedication to promoting blind football and RNC has also not gone unnoticed. Following a recent event at St George's Park, Head of Paralympics GB, David Clarke, praised Lucja, saying:

'She has a huge future ahead of her and she is a credit to herself and to RNC.'

Winner: Award for Assistive and Digital Technology - Lucy Burke (not in attendance)

Lucy has been described as 'inspirational'. It's easy to overuse this word when talking about students who have faced challenges - but with Lucy, no other word feels right. Her journey, attitude, and refusal to be defined by circumstance makes her a truly extraordinary young person. With an infectious giggle and can-do attitude, you might not immediately realise just how much this student has overcome. 

Sight loss came at a pivotal time in her life, just after completing college and while preparing to step into the world of work. Having very little experience using a laptop when she came to RNC, Lucy  has made outstanding progress. She quickly picked up the basics and is now working independently both in and out of lessons. She is so eager to learn, always practising outside of lessons and looking for ways to improve. She has truly jumped in at the deep end and is absolutely thriving, never shying away from a challenge and always willing to try new things. 

Lucy's determination, positive attitude, and rapid development has been truly inspiring and they are an absolute joy to teach.

Highly Commended: Award for Resilience - Jack Kennedy (not in attendance)

Jack started late in the Autumn Term, which can be difficult as many students have already established their social groups. It's fair. to say that initially he found life at a residential college a challenge, however, his quiet resilience and determination to succeed are a credit to him, and now, at the end of the first year, it is clear that Jack's confidence has grown and he is enjoying everything college life has to offer. We look forward to watching him continue to shine.

Winner: Award for Resilience -
Spencer Molloy



Despite facing a variety of challenges this year, Spencer has achieved incredible things at the end of this academic year. They managed to create and present a very personal EPQ, caught up with Business assignments and has written some amazing pieces of work. Overall, Spencer has demonstrated incredible resilience and has had a very positive and happy end to the academic year. It's been amazing to see Spencer stand strong and keep their head up to achieve everything they wanted to. Spencer has also kept us topped up with cakes and treats throughout the year!

Winner: Award for 'Jumping in with both feet' - Nathan Evans



Nathan delivered an RNC first as part of his EPQ. Recognising the impact that sport has on many facets of our development, he set about bringing an afternoon of nostalgic sports to students at the College. His project was an acknowledgment of the many students who have not had the opportunity to experience the fun of sports day at their mainstream school. Although one of the most chilled out students, it is fair to say that the running of the event was massively out of his comfort zone. Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive, although there was definitely evidence of 'bending the rules' in the egg and spoon race! 

Winner: Award for Progress in Mobility - Christina Pereira



From the very start of her RNC journey, Christina has shown exceptional drive, focus, and commitment. She was very nervous when navigating around the College campus. However, through perseverance and determination, she has developed skills, grown in confidence, and can now access all areas of the campus for lessons and social activities.

Being a day student, Christina has worked really hard, often outside of lessons and in her own time to practice routes, but what makes her progress truly remarkable is how far she has come in developing not only academically, but personally. Over time, she has shown enormous growth in self-belief and is learning to embrace mistakes as part of her journey. It has been wonderful to witness her grow into a more confident and self-compassionate young person. Christina has already achieved so much and is only just beginning to realise what she is truly capable of.

Winner: The Award for Progress in Independent Living Skills (ILS) - Eddie Gradinaru



Eddie has made phenomenal progress since the start of their placement. He arrived on programme with a real determination to complete his self-catering assessment in his first year at RNC, which is fair to say is a mighty challenge. But he was undeterred by the hard work involved and worked their way through the self-catering checklist, and is now able to receive a self-catering allowance in Halls. Eddie's determination to achieve his goal was incredible and reinforced by his wish to be able to cook meals that his mum cooked at home in Romania. It was a pleasure to teach this quietly determined young man.

Winner: The Sheryl Cove Creative Arts Award -
Logan Holland



The deserving winner of this award is remarkably creative, dedicated and an entrepreneur. Logan has been folding books into intricate and beautiful shapes such as hedgehogs and trees, and has transformed ordinary materials that were due to go into landfill, into unique works of art. What makes Logan's efforts truly inspiring is that he has sold his handcrafted creations to raise funds for the College, demonstrating both a generous heart and a strong commitment to supporting our community. Logan also spent their time on the VIP open day teaching visitors how to make them and offered each participant a blindfold so they could experience sight loss first hand.

Winner: DofE Camper of the Year Award - Tom Maginn



The RNC Award for DofE Camper of the Year was presented to Tom Maginn. Tom  took all the right kit, with spares, was successfully pitching and striking tents, led a group and was generally prepared for everything, throwing himself into whatever needed doing.

Winner: DofE 'Going Beyond' Award - Roco Bevan (not in attendance)

The DofE 'Going Beyond' Award, goes to Roco Bevan. Roco pushed himself out of his comfort zone, but enjoyed it so much that he stayed an additional night and day. He worked well as part of a team and led on an important decision to call in an incident. This is the first time a student has ever brought an air conditioning unit to camp, but it actually turned out be quite a wise decision.

Winner: Best Team Award - Zach Crème, Tait Latham and Zyare Outerbridge (not in attendance)



This team worked exceptionally well as a team during an A&DT and Gym cross-curricular lesson, producing some outstanding work, supporting one another, and developing strong teamwork skills that will be invaluable in their future, both personally and professionally.

Winner: Taskmaster 2025



This year's Taskmaster winners - Emmy, Isabelle, Lizzie and Rowan. Isabelle and Rowan are pictured collecting the trophy.

Second Place: Taskmaster 2025



This year's Taskmaster runners up - Fionn, Shamreaz and Josh

Third Place: Taskmaster 2025



In third place were Elliot, Ewan, Chloe and Reisha.