Choir show in running for award

COLLEGE students have proven they can pull off an event just as good as the professionals after being shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

A student events team from Cumbernauld College will rub shoulders with the organisers of Rockness and Celtic Connections at the annual Scottish Event Awards in Glasgow’s Radisson Blue Hotel on September 6 where they are in the running for an accolade.

They have been recognised for putting on a successful Glee-style show choir competition which involved primary schools from Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch.

The team - JusTechnique - is made-up of HNC Events students Mark Kerr, Jonathan Scullion, Samantha Shepherd and Margaret McEwan, and they have been nominated in the student category.

The competition - which was supported by the News and Chronicle - culminated in a live final at St Mungo’s Church, Cumbernauld, back in May, with six local primary schools taking part, and raised more than £1,400 for the charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Cumbernauld College is up against a number of universities in its category including Robert Gordon University and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Heather Urquhart, depute principal of Cumbernauld College, said: “We are delighted that our students have been shortlisted in the student category of the Scottish Events Awards. This is a prestigious event which highlights the best in the industry.

“They worked incredibly hard organising the show choir competition and it was a great night which was enjoyed by all who attended.

“It also raised a fantastic amount of money for charity and the students should be very proud of their efforts.

“The whole college is rooting for JusTechnique and we wish them all the best on the night, they truly deserve the recognition.”

Mark Kerr, from Justechnique, added: “It is an honour to be shortlisted for the Scottish Events Awards. The show-choir competition was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see how much the primary school pupils got out of it.

“The event, which formed part of our course work on the HNC events course, taught us a lot of skills which we will be able to take with us when we go into employment. We have a lot of tough competition in the student category but are looking forward to the awards and finding out if we’ve been successful.”