Welsh Graduates Celebrate

Posted 12 October 2004

Delighted students from across Wales have graduated from Harper Adams University College, near Newport, in what has proved to be a bumper year for successful graduates at the college.

At the University College’s Graduation Ceremony on September 17, 45 students from Wales were amongst some 520 students who successfully qualified.

Friends and family, staff and well wishers looked on as they collected their degrees and diplomas from the Guest of Honour, Mr Neil Cameron, chairman of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, and a Harper Adams graduate himself.

The mood of the day was very much one of optimism for the graduates and the college itself. In his ceremonial address, Professor Wynne Jones, Harper Adams’ Principal, reflected on a successful year in which student numbers and retention rate continued to grow, and the employment record of graduates last year was an impressive 98 per cent.

He said: “We are here to celebrate your success. It is thanks to your efforts and the partnership which you have engendered with my colleagues and me that has ensured this excellent feeling of community, friendship and motivation that permeates the College and instils a genuine sense of pride of being a student at Harper.

“We are proud of what we and our students achieve at Harper and we want more people to know about it and share in this success in the future. In addition to an academic qualification many of you have a very clear professional focus with high prospects of employment. We recognise the importance of a high quality learning experience for students and have invested considerable amounts in the learning resources available to students.”

These resources included the £3 million Bamford Library and JCB Design Centre, refurbishment of the old library and computer unit into the Foulkes-Crowther Building (opened by HRH The Princess Royal this summer) three new laboratories, a new small animal complex, new gymnasium refurbished bar, and major investment in the College Farm.