AMBITIOUS Daniel Hall has the world at his feet after being crowned Further Education Student of the Year at Redcar & Cleveland College's annual awards.

The 23-year-old, from Marske, won both the overall FE Celebration of Achievement award and Travel and Tourism Student of the Year Award after impressing his tutors and peers with his determination to succeed.

He was among 23 young people who won awards for going above and beyond in order to achieve their goals in learning.

Daniel's tutor, Rachael Glen, who nominated him, said: "Daniel was an outstanding student with exemplary attendance and the most shining example of setting your mind to wanting something and not losing focus.

"He gave his all 100 percent of the time and encouraged his peers along the way - a characteristic not often demonstrated these days. I was so proud of Daniel. He was such an asset, not just for Travel and Tourism, but for the college.

"He is already fluent in Spanish and is now studying Japanese, so I guess the world is his oyster."

Daniel was unable to be at the awards as he was in Paris as part of his degree course at Surrey University, but his proud mum collected the awards on his behalf.

After hearing of his success, Daniel said: "I am over the moon. I can say wholeheartedly that without the support and backing of my tutors, I would not be studying a degree in International Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey - a university regarded amongst the top three in the world for this subject.

"As a mature student, I was very hesitant to go back into education. The opportunity the college has given me has transformed my outlook on my future. Two-and-a-half years ago I felt like I did not have a future, but now I know that if you work hard enough, anything is possible."

Mark Farrell, 30, from Redcar, who works at SSI, was presented with the Higher Education Student of the Year Award by Professor Graham Henderson, Vice Chancellor of Teesside University.

Mark's engineering tutor at the College, Alistair Kemp, nominated him for his relentless efforts and enthusiasm, which saw him obtain eight distinctions and two merits in his HNC in Chemical Engineering.

Alistair said: "Mark was an exemplary, talented student who worked diligently throughout the course and was also always eager to help his peers."

Former Royal Navy sailor Lisa Jones was among those honoured at the annual awards.

Lisa, 32, had to start from scratch after leaving The Royal Navy after seven years' service as an underwater warfare specialist.

She enrolled on an Access to Social Science and Humanities course at Redcar & Cleveland College in the hope of improving her career prospects and life. Despite scraping pass grades at first, her dedication to her studies paid off and before too long she was achieving distinctions.

"I'm over the moon to have won an award. My tutors were amazing. I feel that the Access course at this college really equipped me for university," said Lisa.

Award winners included: Matthew Watts - Engineering and Science Student of the Year Dario Tehrani - Sport Student of the Year Zoe Huzzard and Charlotte Takacs - joint Achievement over Adversity Award winners Krissy Doy -The Sir William Turner Foundation Vicki Lawrence Memorial Award Robert Johnson - Work-based Learning Student of the Year Michelle Patton - Beauty and Holistics Student of the year College Principal Gary Groom said: "We look forward to our annual awards every year because it is an opportunity for us to recognise the great efforts and achievements of all of our students.

"As always, it was very difficult this year to narrow it down because we had so many great nominees. All of our award winners and nominees have gone the extra mile to reach their potential and achieve their goals, so it's great to celebrate them."