On 11th August 2009 the New Deal Hospitality students held the Celebration of Achievement Day at Care Training. Retail and Business Administration students also got involved, and it encouraged the students to work as a team to create a positive event. 

The event was held to celebrate the graduation of the last group of people to complete the current New Deal programme, which is coming to an end at the end of September. The event was also used to raise money for the charities Cancer Research and UNICEF (for children with HIV).

There was music to relax to as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages for everyone. There was also various activities including guess the baby and cake baking competitions, games like pass the parcel and charades, a raffle and a quiz.

At noon, after a fun-filled morning, an awards ceremony took place. Sarah Kirkham (graduate of the New Deal Hospitality programme) gave a speech to get things started.

The speech included a special mention to Mariel; Sarah said, “I would like to take this moment to thank Mariel for the best 13 weeks, without her I don’t think I would have completed or enjoyed this course.” Many students in the audience nodded their heads in agreement. They also agreed with Sarah when she said, “I have made friends with lots of good people here, ones that I never thought I would; I’ll never forget the times we have all spent here.”

Sarah finished the speech off by saying that she hopes “when we all leave here we have achieved what we wanted and hopefully get the careers we are all looking for.” The speech brought tears all round, including to staff.

New Deal staff Mariel O'Meara, Niki Simpson and Sian Brookes were then presented with gifts on behalf of all the students. Mariel got a special T-shirt referencing to her Greek roots, Nikki had a big bunch of flowers and Sian a flowering plant.

Graduation certificates were handed out to all the New Deal Hospitality students, then it was on to a bit of fun with the “Funky Awards”, voted for by the students. The winners were:

"Funniest": Adam Straw
"Best Tattoo": Steven Shannon
"Most Studious" and "Happiest": Richard Henton
"Loudest" and "Best Piercing": Sarah Kirkham
"Most Well Spoken": Michaela Cooper
"Best Dressed" and "Best Hair Style": Daisy Crook
"Most Popular": Sarah Kirkham
"Best Listener": Kayley Marriott
"Best Trainers": Anna Pepper
"Most Outgoing": Chantelle Hudson

The day was a wonderful success, and Care Training would like to congratulate all the students. Mariel said, “It was a brilliant opportunity to celebrate their achievement.”