THE Alton College 16th annual Scholarships for Excellence Awards took place in the Wessex Arts Centre.

Trevor Heley, managing director of the Foundation, opened the ceremony by welcoming students, parents, sponsors, college staff, governors and the Foundation directors who were in the audience to celebrate the achievement of the successful scholars.

He congratulated the new scholars who between them bring the total number of Alton College students awarded scholarships, since the scheme began in 2002, to 293.

Mr Heley thanked past and present sponsors and donors for their generosity in not only providing scholarships but also grants to students and donations to the college.

He also thanked college staff for their valuable support for the scheme and paid tribute to the high calibre of applications this year and the subsequent outstanding quality of the winning students.

The audience welcomed and heard from Hester Watson. Hester was the business scholarship recipient in 2011 and gave an inspiring speech about how the scholarship had given her the confidence to succeed in her studies and her current career.

She studied business and management at Bristol University and made the most of her industrial placement year. And she explained that the scholarship was a wonderful talking point at interviews and gave her the edge on other candidates.

But ultimately the scholarship has helped her to make her future career choices confidently. Hester is now successfully working as a business executive for Kymira Sport, combining her love of business and sport.

She congratulated the new scholars on receiving their scholarships and wished them all the best in their future studies and careers.

The following awards were presented:

* The Alton Chamber of Commerce and Industry Scholarship for Excellence in Business was presented to Fawziyyah Hamid by Stephen Lewis, president of the Alton Chamber of Commerce.

* The Alton College Foundation Alumni Scholarship for Science was presented to Ben Hudgell by Hester Watson, the Business Scholarship recipient in 2011.

* The Alton College Foundation for Excellence in Performing Arts was presented to Demelza Sears by Trevor Heley, managing director of the Alton College Foundation.

* The Alton Decorative and Fine Arts Society scholarships were presented to Zoe Burgess and Marnie Glue by Peter Wilson, who was a member of the Society and also a director of the Alton College Foundation. Camilla Langdon was unable to receive her award on the night.

* The Alton Lions Scholarship for Excellence in Sport was presented to Lucy Williams by Graham Dix, a member of Alton Lions.

* Sir Simon Robertson presented the Dischma Trust Scholarship for Excellence in English to Stella Eyers and the Scholarship for Excellence in Modern Foreign Languages, sponsored personally by Sir Simon and Lady Virginia Robertson to Lucy Bayliss.

* The Craven Brothers Scholarships for Excellence in Engineering were presented to Katelyn Chelberg, Crystal Knight, and Ollie Suatt by Jamie Campbell of the Ellis Campbell Foundation.

* The Scholarships for Excellence in Humanities were presented to Meagan Harrington (geography), Hannah Knight (politics) and Jessica Wagstaff (history) by Nicholas Branch, sponsor of the scholarships and chairman of Alton College Foundation.

* The Richard Frankel Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Medicine was awarded to Peter Morris, by Merula Frankel, the sponsor of the scholarship and also a director of the Alton College Foundation.

* The Scholarship for Excellence in Music was awarded to Ben Jones by George Heller, sponsor of the scholarship.

* The Alistair Graham Scholarship for Excellence in Modern Foreign Languages was presented to Isobelle Miles by Sir James Scott, sponsor of the scholarship.

* The Scholarship for Excellence in Engineering, sponsored by The Aerogen Company Limited, was presented to Nathaniel Margetts by Tony Wilkinson, on behalf of Aerogen.

* The Rotary Club of Alton Scholarship for Mathematics was presented to Montague Moran by branch member Keith Arrowsmith-Oliver.

The evening was brought to a close by Sara Russell, principal of Alton College. She thanked the Foundation sponsors and donors on behalf of the college and also her staff for their support in the selection process.

Ms Russell praised the outstanding quality of all the applicants and congratulated those receiving scholarships and urged them to seize this opportunity to enrich and enhance their learning opportunities.