Hopwood Hall College Designs First Class Students

Date published: 02/09/2004

Two Rochdale students have gained first class honours at local universities, having first studied at Hopwood Hall College. Alice Smith and Christian Brett were amongst the first group of higher education students in the country to complete the new Foundation Degree in New Media Design at Hopwood Hall College, and have gone on to outstanding success at universities.

Nine students completed the pilot Foundation Degree at Hopwood Hall College in 2003. These were among the first students in the country to complete the new qualification, which combines vocational work-based study with the academic demands of a university degree. Alice and Christian were amongst five of the students going on to further study have gained the coveted First Class Honours Degree.

Most of the students who graduated from Hopwood Hall College in 2003 have obtained freelance work throughout their college courses. Another of the graduates, Latvian mature student Girts Barenis, has gone straight into the design industry, having landed a job with Saatchi & Saatchi in Bahrain.

Alice, formerly from Oulder Hill High School, studied BA Design & Art Direction and gained her First Class Degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, and has been offered a place on the MA Design and Art Direction. She was also nominated for the “Roses” design student award and is currently undertaking an expenses paid placement as part of the award with the design firm “Magnetic North” based in Manchester.

Christian, a mature student, gained his First Class degree in Interactive Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has been invited to show his work at the Liverpool Biennale, and has been awarded the post of Artist in Residence in Manchester Metropolitan University.

Julian Smith, Head of School of Art, Design & Technology at Hopwood Hall College, said: “This is a tremendous set of results and we are very proud of these students. None of the students studied traditional A levels and all spent two years of their degree at the College. Their subsequent success in achieving the highest degree award possible is a testament to their hard work and the work of their tutors.”

“These results also show that the new Foundation Degree qualification is a very positive alternative to traditional university education, leading to achievement of the highest of academic standards. We hope that there will be many more local students following in their footsteps and choosing to study higher education at Hopwood Hall College”.