HUNDREDS of students have celebrated the crowning moment of years of hard work at a glittering degree ceremony.

Blackburn College's third higher education awards night was held in King George's Hall as proud families gathered to see the students in their Caps and Gowns.

Degrees and diplomas ranged from business and management to graphic design, technology, computing and engineering.

And, behind the congratulations, were numerous stories of personal achievement, many being those of mature students who have had to balance studies with the demands of job and home.

Studying for a Masters in Business Administration is never easy, especially for part-time students holding down a full-time job.

But Stephanie Whalley, careers development manager at Training 2000 in Blackburn, proved it can be done. She was top of the class of all the MBA students and received the Freeman Rich Award for her achievement.

Linda Mason also balanced a demanding job with her part-time studies, still finding time to teach tap dancing and run a step-aerobics class. Not only did she get a degree in Business Studies but she also beat all the other students at the course's validating university, Huddersfield.

And anyone who thinks that a part-time course is a good excuse to get away from their partner should take a leaf out of the Loves' book.

Mike and Debbie Love, nicknamed 'The Lovebugs' by their class, enrolled on an HNC Business course.

Mike, who works for a Jaguar dealership, and Debbie, a bridal wear franchise manager, both went on the course to improve their promotion prospects and have already reaped the benefits.

John Titterington and his son, John, also kept it in the family when they 'passed out' with identical Motor Vehicle HNC qualifications. Personnel officer Helen Forsyth decided to back up her 20 years' work experience with a formal qualification. After three years of part time study, she is now a graduate of the Institute of Personnel and Development.

"I got used to getting up at 5 am and studied for a couple of hours before breakfast, then revised on the morning's study before going to bed at night," said Helen.

College principal John Bolton praised all the students and said the future looked bright for the college.

He pointed out that the purchase of the British Telecom building for £2.5 million now provided the college with top class facilities.

"This building now provides the natural focus for most of our higher education courses and underlines our commitment to giving our HE students an experience and facilities comparable to a university," he said.

Blackburn College, which scored top marks in a recent college inspection, is continually expanding the range of courses on offer and now has links with Lancaster, Glamorgan, Hull, Sunderland, Huddersfield, and Central Lancashire universities.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.