Jewel & Esk College graduation was held at the Edinburgh Initernational Conference Centre early in December.  Close to 1,000 students, family and friends filled the main auditorium at EICC for the annual graduation and prizegiving ceremony.

Tom Drake, Chair of the Board of Governors at Jewel & Esk, opened proceedings by reflecting on the Academic Year 2008/09.  He noted that the year was one of the most eventful in the College's history as it had seen the completion of the e:volve build project and Jewel & Esk re-launched as one of the most modern and innovative educational centres in the country.  Speaking to the EICC audience, Tom said, "I would like to congratulate the students today in achieving your qualification.  More than that, I give you my thanks for the commitment and hard graft that you have given over the year.  Well done. Clearly, you don’t get successful students without a team of successful staff to teach, support and guide them.  So I would like also to thank the staff.  Academic and Support Staff – many of whom our students do not come into daily contact with – worked tirelessly to ensure that 2008-09 was a successful and enjoyable student experience.  I’m aware that most staff are actually at College today working.  But I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank and acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the staff throughout the year. "