A University Centre Weston (UCW) student will graduate this weekend despite having suffered from throat cancer for much of the academic year.

John Byrne kept up with his studies while receiving treatment for the disease and has now earned a BSc (Hons) degree in Counselling.

Along with more than 500 other UCW graduates, he will receive his degree at a ceremony at the Conference Centre in Weston on Saturday (24th September).  

The 51-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in November and immediately underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and complications made him so unwell that he was put on a life support machine for ten days.

Thankfully, John is now well on the road to recovery having been in remission since March.

He said: “I was doing my reading for the course and working on a laptop in hospital because I didn’t want the cancer to take my degree away from me.

“At times it seemed like an impossible task, but I received so much support from my family and friends and everyone at UCW that I was determined to keep going.

“I’m so pleased that I will be able to graduate as planned with everyone else on my course.”

John was unable to attend lectures due to stays in the Bristol Royal Infirmary, Weston General Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

So his lecturers on the degree, which is delivered in partnership with Bath Spa University, provided course materials and feedback to help him persevere.

UCW Counselling lecturer Barbara Feldtkeller said: “John has been such an inspiration to the tutor team at UCW and his peers on the course, I hope he has a really enjoyable and memorable day on Saturday.

“His diagnosis a few weeks into the beginning of the programme came as a shock to all of us, but he was determined to carry on, so we just kept supporting him.”

John, who grew up in London, earned further education qualifications from Weston College before enrolling on a two-year higher education Foundation Degree with UCW in 2013.

He now plans to study for a Master’s degree in Counselling after completing the one-year top-up to earn full Honours.

24% of UCW students graduating with full Honours have earned First Class degrees, and the overall pass rate is 94%.

Of the students on the BSc (Hons) Applied Computing course, which is delivered in partnership with UWE Bristol, 47% will graduate with First Class Honours.

More than 500 University Centre Weston (UCW) students celebrated achieving their degrees at three graduation ceremonies held in the town on Saturday (24th September).

Students in their mortarboards and gowns walked in processions to St John the Baptist Church for the ceremonies, where they enjoyed an inspiring speech from former triathlon world champion Chrissie Wellington and received scrolls to signify their academic achievements.

As well as being the largest ever group to graduate from UCW, the graduates of 2016 are also among the most successful, with close to a quarter of Honours students achieving First Class degrees – above the national average of 19%.

Staff from Bath Spa University and the University of the West of England, Bristol – UCW’s partner universities – were also in attendance to share the special day with the graduates.

Anthony Murray, UCW’s Vice Principal Higher Education, said: “It is always wonderful to celebrate the many successes of our students, and graduation at UCW keeps getting bigger and better.

“We are especially proud of our students in a year where UCW has achieved a fantastic outcome in the Higher Education Review, which saw independent assessors endorse our academic standards and praise how we teach and support our students.

“Almost all of the students who graduated last year are now either working or in further studies, and I’m sure that this year’s graduates also have bright futures ahead of them.”

Among the many UCW success stories this year are the 47% of graduates on the Bachelor’s degree in Applied Computing being awarded First Class Honours.

Course Coordinator Joe Abdulgani said: “These brilliant results reflect their talent and dedication and I’m really pleased everyone had such a memorable and enjoyable day.”

Every piece of coursework submitted and every exam taken by Rimante Zagreckaite, aged 21, on her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with Sustainability was marked as a First, and she was surprised on Saturday by her father and brother flying in especially from Lithuania to see her graduate.

India Lawton, aged 21, who won the prestigious BDC New Designer of the Year Award at the New Designers Exhibition in London in July, graduated with a First after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design.

India is moving to London this week having secured a graphic design role with Amazon.

She said: “After winning the award earlier in the summer and then finding out about the First and getting my job, this has been a great way to celebrate and say goodbye to UCW.”

The processions were fronted by a samba band and singer Marvin Muoneke.

The 20-year-old, who impressed judges on The Voice last year and has toured Britain with a musical over the summer, has progressed from UCW’s Foundation degree in Popular Music on to its new Bachelor’s degree in Professional Music Performance and Production.

John Byrne, aged 51, achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Counselling despite having suffered from throat cancer during the academic year.

Thankfully now in remission, John’s lecturers supported him while he was in hospital and he was able to keep up with his studies while receiving treatment.

He said: “I couldn’t have made a better decision than enrolling with UCW, and I think I speak for every graduate in saying a big thank you to our families and friends for supporting us and sharing this special day with us.”

A Weston College student has been selected for Wessex Water’s Young People’s panel, an enterprise which gives 16-18 year olds the opportunity to experience running a business.

Chris Hutchings, 17, who studies A Level Business Studies, Photography and English at Weston College’s Sixth Form Centre, has been attending meetings at Wessex Water as part of an initiative which enables young people to have a say in how the company is run.

Chris said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to benefit from hands on work which will supplement the theory I’ve learnt in class.

“So far it has been an excellent insight into businesses’ decision making processes, and will be good experience when I apply to university.”

At their first meeting last month, the panel met managers at the company and were taken on a tour of the company’s headquarters in Bath.

At the end of the day, the panel was set the task of creating a presentation about ideas to promote the company’s installation of water metres and improve its customer services.

Chris said: “My presentation will be about the creation of a mobile app that would allow people to monitor their water metre readings and automatically budget their water usage for them, to make sure they are saving money and aren’t wasting water.”

Claire Timmins, Business Studies Tutor at the College, said: “Weston College is all about providing students with the skills and experience they need to progress to work or university.

“This opportunity at Wessex Water is another example of or students benefitting from our strong links with employers across the South West.

“I am confident Chris will prove a credit to himself and the College during this placement.”