Adventurer Ben Fogle Tells Students To Seize Life’s Opportunities

Bishop Burton College welcomed adventurer and TV star Ben Fogle as the guest speaker at its Further Education Presentation Ceremony on 5 July.

Ben, who also presented the prizes, offered advice to the students, saying, “You need to take initiative and work out how to stand out from the crowd in life. Seize the opportunities that are available to you and be a positive person. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.”

Well known as the presenter of television programmes such as Animal Park, Countryfile and Crufts, Ben has also crossed the Sahara Desert, Antarctica, and rowed across the Atlantic. He was given a tour of the College by Principal Jeanette Dawson OBE, and after taking in the variety of areas of study, including agriculture, countryside, wildlife and sport, he declared, “It’s like a one-stop shop for all the things I do!”

He praised the College as somewhere he would have liked to study, admitting, “At 16, I didn’t know where life was going to take me. I failed all of my exams – I felt everyone was better than me and I felt very insecure. I know if I could turn back time, I would certainly have chosen a place like Bishop Burton College to learn hand-on skills.”

Every year, the College’s end-of-term Further Education Presentation Ceremony celebrates the success and hard work of its students, before they embark on an exciting new future. College Principal Jeanette Dawson OBE said, “Our students work hard and deserve a speaker of Ben’s stature to inspire them.”

Over 800 students completed their full time or part time further education studies at the College this year, and in her speech, Mrs Dawson spoke proudly of the students’ additional achievements, saying, “Bishop Burton students have an excellent track record for volunteering and making the most of activities and opportunities available for them in the local community. What a talented and employable group of individuals we have in front of us.”

Prize winners at the ceremony included:

Craig Carr (Award for Progress During the Year in Animal Care)
Lindsay McDonald (Trophy for Progress in Horse Management)
Joe Morland (Best Student in Animal Husbandry)
Andrew Marwood (Student who has Worked Best on the Farm)
Simone Christopher (Student who has Worked Best on the Equine Practical Unit)
Matt Gallantree (Student Contributing most to Animal Management)

Premier FE Student of the Year and winner of the Dennis Hurst Memorial Prize, was Charlotte Dodds, 18, who studied a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport.