Hartlepool students hoping for bright careers after graduation

Students from Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD) threw their caps in the air at the Town Hall Theatre, in Hartlepool, as their success was recognised.

The fourth graduation ceremony will be the specialist arts institutions last under the CCAD brand as the college launches as The Northern School of Art in September.

Certificates were received for degrees including illustration for commercial application, film, TV and theatre production, textile surface design, costume interpretation with design, production design for stage and screen, fashion and photography, with 134 students recognised.

Hannah Bew, 21, from Hartlepool, was among those celebrating.

The textile surface design graduate received a first class honours degree and has recently returned from exhibiting at prestigious trade show New Designers, where she received interest in her work and is now exploring business opportunities from the show.

She said: “Graduating felt amazing.

"It was the perfect day and all the hard work was worth it in the end.

"To come out with a first class degree was the best feeling ever.

“It was a privilege to be chosen to display my work at New Designers among the top textile graduates in the country.

"I received lots of lovely comments about my work and some interest so will see what comes of it and it was an amazing opportunity.

“I am now looking for an internship or work experience and also applying for jobs in textile art in which I hope to pursue as a career.”

Jamie Jones, 21, from Norton, graduated with a first class honours degree in film, TV and theatre production and was also a winner at the prestigious Royal Television Society Yorkshire’s Student Television Awards.

The awards recognise the best in student television and prizes were given in six categories: animation, factual, comedy and entertainment, drama, news and short feature.

Alongside fellow students Sarah Maher, Janice Lee, Jamie Jones, Bethany Taylor and Shaun Hunt, Jamie was recognised for his editing talents in the comedy and entertainment category for the film ‘Cirque’.

He said: “We all worked especially hard on Cirque because we enjoyed filming together and experimenting with new techniques and for me that was the beneficial part.

"Just to be recognised and compared to other university students was amazing but winning is the icing on the cake.

“It still feels crazy to think that something I’ve worked hard on has been noticed and praised by other people.

"Seeing all our names on the list along with other universities was a nice reminder that the work we do here has built up to prepare us for the real world.”

Photography graduate John McCabe, 21 from Billingham, also achieved a first class honours degree, and received the Anjool Malde Photography Award and a £300 cash prize.

Hesaid: “Winning the Anjool Malde Fine Art award was a big surprise and a huge honour.

"As an artist it brings more confidence to my working practice and was unexpected but shows that all the hard work I have put in over the last five years has paid off.

“It’s been a tough three years but you get out what you put in and graduating with a first class honours is better than I could have hoped for.

"I can’t thank CCAD enough for what they have done for me, as they have really helped me find myself as an artist.”