“You’re risk-takers and ambitious too. When you take a risk and it goes wrong it can be absolutely horrible, but when you pull it off it’s fantastic,” he said.
“You decided what you wanted to do, you took a chance and you pulled it off. Now you’re prize winners, which is fabulous.”
Mr Spencer said the school had a palpable sense of “vibrancy, energy and confidence”, which was due to the leadership of Principal Sarah Pashley and her team.
Speaking on behalf of the University of Hull and the employer partners, he said: “Every single one of us is so proud and pleased to be associated with this place and with these students.”
Mrs Pashley responded by thanking the school’s Founding Partners and other employer sponsors for their invaluable contribution and added: “I really want to say a huge thank you to the staff. They are amazing and I love working with them.”
Students received awards presented by teachers and representatives of Ron Dearing UTC’s Founding Partners – the University of Hull, KCOM, RB, Siemens Gamesa, Smith & Nephew and Spencer Group.
As part of the ceremony KCOM managing director Sean Royce presented Year 12 student Joshua Stanley,16, with the KCOM award for Best Communicator.
Among the successful students were 15-year-old Kelham Hillier, who claimed no less than six awards, including the University of Hull Award for Academic Excellence.
He said: “I didn’t expect to get this many awards – I would have been chuffed with one and I’m pretty overwhelmed. I feel so happy I made the decision to come here. It’s been really good for me and speeded up my learning.”
Sixteen-year-old Tapi Ngoro received three awards, including The Patron’s Award for Young Advocate of the Year. He said: “This is unlike any other school because of the opportunities you get to work with the employer partners and the work experience that’s available.
“It gives you a real insight into industries you might want to work in. That’s been a real game-changer for me.”