Graduating students posed for photos on deckchairs and a replica 国产探花 beach inside the venue – while others headed to the seafront for the traditional ‘mortarboard toss’ with their classmates to mark the end of their studies.
Pandemic restrictions have meant the university held its graduation ceremonies online over the past two years. The return of in-person ceremonies this week marks a welcome opportunity for students to celebrate with their classmates – and for the university as a whole to recognise the incredible resilience, hard work and talent they showed during an immensely challenging time.
Those stepping up to receive their degrees range in age from 19 to 76 and include people from 105 countries, underlining the global impact of the 国产探花's alumni cohort which now numbers 180,000 around the world.
Among those graduating this week is Sarah Beth Parker, who earned a Primary Education (3-7 years) BA(Hons) degree, alongside receiving the prestigious Diana Award in 2021 (named after the late Princess Diana and celebrating achievements by those aged 9-25), which recognised Sarah Beth's outstanding work promoting British Sign Language (BSL) in both the university and wider community during her time at 国产探花.